DAILY SUNDIAL (Student paper at CSUN)
http://sundial.csun.edu/2009/10/country-pop-artist-returns-to-los-angeles/

Country pop artist returns to Los Angeles

By Valentina Doucette

Published on October 19, 2009

In the last 5 years country music icons like Carrie Underwood, and Taylor Swift have skyrocketed the Billboard charts. Country has slowly made its way to the pop world and a new genre called “Country pop” has emerged. Twenty-year-old Johnny Cooper, a new up and coming indie artist from ....Texas...., has made his way all throughout the West Coast. He is returning to ....Los Angeles.... to perform an acoustic show at the Key Club today.

Cooper’s new album, “FOLLOW” has been debuted at No. 22 on Billboard’s “Heatseekers” album chart. Through Cooper’s influences he has found this evocative blend of blues, rock and pop. Cooper’s influences range from Fly and the Family Stone to John Mayer, and even Kanye West.

Talking to Johnny over the phone, I asked what his inner drive to pursue music was, and he said, “In life everyone you come across finds their inner drive in what they want to do, and somewhere along the line you make a decision to pursue what you love … you can find that passion when you’re 20 or when you’re 50 … but it usually ends up being what your comfortable with and what you truly love. And this is what I love.

“I love getting up in the middle of the night with the guys if I can’t sleep and just jamming and playing music all night, that’s always been my drive,” he said.

Cooper made it clear that he wants to make a difference within the music industry and takes a lot of pride through live performances. He wants to make sure that each fan feels the same and gets the same experience.

“I would be so happy just to live and die just performing on a stage then selling 3 million records … it’s just so much more cooler to me,” Cooper said.

Though Johnny’s music is gradually climbing to the top, recently Johnny was premiered as a new up and coming artist on AOL Music. As Cooper’s music becomes more known he explained, “that there comes a point as an artist where you can’t sign and give every fan a autograph but you can definitely show your appreciation for your fans.”

The show tonight is free, and Johnny will be performing an acoustic show so you’ll get to see him at a more intimate level.

From listening to Cooper’s last album I really connected with his lyrics, they were so authentic and so simple. I personally think if John Mayer’s music and The Beatles music had a baby, it would be Johnny Cooper! If you’re someone who loves all different genres of music, you should be at the Key Club tonight.