Alexz Johnson may very well be the most famous woman you’ve never heard of. Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia she has been a working force in the industry since 2000 when she was cast in the Disney Channel series, So Weird. In 2004 she starred in the Canadian musical television series Instant Star. The show ran for four seasons and its success and those of the soundtracks propelled Johnson into pop stardom. However Johnson is no cookie cutter Princess of Pop. She is one of the few who proves herself as equally talented behind a microphone as she does in front of a camera.

In March 2010 Johnson released her much anticipated (official) debut album Voodoo. In comparison to pop performers who rely on computer correction to hide the lies of their lack of talent, Johnson lets her voice ring true. Also rather then using sex and shock value to sell the record, she packaged it like a noir film and made each track like its own separate scene.

When asked about artists who use products like auto-tune and sex to sell their records Johnson replied, “I believe that’s a different industry than the one that moved me in pursuing music in the first place. I don’t acknowledge that aspect of the industry as music, but solely entertainment – for some”

The road that led to the release of Voodoo was a stormy one. Even with the success of Instant Star, Johnson had a difficult time releasing her own music. In 2007 she had a short lived deal with Capitol-EMI that fell through due to industry changes. In February 2008 she was signed to Epic, but a year Johnson and over a third of their artist catalogue were released from their contracts. The shelving of that album prompted Johnson to start writing with her brother, Brendan James Johnson. Though considered a critical success, Voodoo did not receive a significant amount of airplay as it was deemed “not commercial enough”. To remedy this Johnson began working with producer Demo Castellon and his team (the Demolition Crew) to give the album a radio friendly make over.

But, the original album is like a Maxfield Parrish painting; lush and musically luminous and when you try to enhance something that’s already so beautifully balanced it starts to lose its natural beauty. But Johnson promises that this is not the case with this album. “Keeping the integrity of the songs is what matters to me most. I feel different about each song on Reloaded and to me; it’s not about being better or worse. It’s different. The songs are getting another chance to be heard, and I’m thrilled about that. It’s always an interesting and humbling process allowing others to get creatively involved in your work. I find it fascinating at times, and hope I always remain open to collaborations like this one.”