Two years ago, Robby Johnson was an unhappy industrial products salesman in his native land of Canada who had no intentions of ever being an artist. Then, he unexpectedly recorded a song and put it on Facebook. One year ago, he had a video on YouTube on its way to three million hits.
Two months ago, the independent artist was singing his YouTube sensation song "South of Me" on the "Late Show With David Letterman" - snagging coveted national exposure on a popular TV show that established artists yearn to be on.
Some would call Johnson an overnight success. Others would say that he just found a way to release his distinctive voice and untapped musical talents onto an appreciative world.
So, what magical event caused the genie's bottle to set free Johnson's ability to musically connect with people all over the planet? The life-changing event was a simple Christmas present in 2012 - a present that, at the time, Johnson considered "the worst gift ever."
"My wife and my family passed the hat and collected enough money to give me a demo session for Christmas. I originally thought the recording session was the worst gift ever," Johnson told HNGN in the exclusive interview.
Why was it such a terrible gift?
"I was an industrial products sales rep on the road and I had never wanted to be an artist and I wasn't going to be an artist, but I would always sing around the house and write songs. And sometimes over a campfire I would sing karaoke and do impersonations of Elvis Presley and Garth Brooks, who are both huge influences in my life. One time I translated Garth's 'The Dance' into French and sang it at a campground. People started crying. They loved it."
"My wife, Pier-Anne, knew I wasn't happy. I'm a creative person, but my salesman's job didn't allow for much imagination or creativity. You have a catalog of products to sell and that's it. That's the reason my wife decided on the demo session as a Christmas gift - to push me into the studio."
Just days after receiving the gift, he used it.
"I went into the studio and sang one of the country/rock songs that I have written called 'I'll Be There Rockin' and Rollin.' It has a Rolling Stones kind of sound and the lyrics are really 'hooky.' The musicians playing on the song said, 'What are you doing here, you should be in Nashville.' I told them no, no--but I have to admit, during the recording session, I was at peace with myself. I had a lot of energy that day in the studio and driving away from the studio listening to the CD of my song, I realized being a singer was what I was meant to be. I just never wanted to see that for me. That demo session was the push I needed."
Next came social media.
"I decided to put the song on YouTube and Facebook. The friendship requests were pouring in and, in a month and a half, I topped the friendship limit on Facebook."
That success, and Johnson's new-found belief that music was what he was meant to do, sparked him to take "a leap of faith." And that leap put him in touch with renowned musician/producer Jimmy Nichols and Grammy-winning songwriter/guitarist Frank Myers, who co-wrote "Tomorrow" for Chris Young, "I Swear" for John Michael Montgomery and "I'm Already There" for Lonestar.
"I started going back and forth between Canada and Nashville and that's when I met Frank and Jimmy," Johnson explained.
It was during one of those trips to Nashville that Johnson, Frank Myers and another hit songwriter, Anthony Smith, wrote "South of Me" - the song that blew up YouTube and landed Johnson on the set with David Letterman.
"I had written an earlier song that had the phrase "being south of me" in it. So, the three of us latched onto that idea and we wrote 'South of Me,'" revealed Johnson. "We said let's give it a nice groove and cool feel. We wanted to write a song that people can relate to about a lost love, a love that can't be. It's important to me that a song has a message that people can share and feel an attachment to."
The video of "South of Me" put Johnson on the musical map.
"We shot the video in Jamaica in the summer of 2013. It was directed by Brian Smith, who has directed numerous No. 1 music videos. We had a lot of fun shooting it and we brought in the people and the beaches of Jamaica to give it an authentic feel."
What was it about the video that caused it to rack up almost three million hits?
"I think it was the what the song had to say combined with video's strong visuals. And, also, in today's world, Facebook and social media played their roles. When you put a video or a song out there you don't know what's going to happen. We were really surprised and amazed by the reaction and shares and all that. It was really cool."
There's no doubt that Johnson's appealing voice, his strong delivery of the song's heart-aching lyrics and his good looks powered the song to its phenomenal success. Legions of music savvy viewers voted the video to the top of the weekly CMT Pure 12-Pack Countdown seven times.
Check out the mega-hit YouTube video of "South of Me" here:
In the wake of the video's amazing achievement, the single of "South of Me" was released later in 2013. A few months after the video went up on YouTube and the single of the song was released, Johnson's "leap of faith" kicked in.
"Because of all that had happened - and was happening - I took a leap of faith and moved to Nashville with my family at the end of 2013. Now I go back and forth between a home in Tennessee and one in Canada."
Johnson is quick to point out that it was teamwork that landed him on the "Late Show With David Letterman."
"My publicist Elaine Schock sent out my first-ever press release and the Letterman show replied immediately. They said they wanted me on the show. You know, all that is happening for me isn't just because of me. It's because of the people around me, my team - the people in production, the songwriters, musicians, studio technicians and, of course, Elaine. She has such a great reputation that when she sends out a press release, people look at it. That's what happened to me."
Was the experience of being on David Letterman's show all that you expected it to be?
"It was really, really amazing. I would watch the show growing up. It was my late night show, but actually being on the show was kind of surreal. Arriving there just after lunch and rehearsing with the band, Paul Shaffer's Orchestra, was incredible. It was an awesome experience and it was really cool. Then, when I was on the set with David Letterman sitting at his desk, I was soaring - somewhere out in the atmosphere. I had to talk to myself and say, man, you need to come back to earth now. I came back down and I had a lot of fun. It was an amazing experience."
Not only did Johnson have one appearance on Letterman, but he got two shots of national TV exposure back-to-back when the episode with his performance re-aired two weeks later.
"I got a whammy," he acknowledged, laughing. "I understand that it doesn't happen often that a show is re-run that fast. Usually they wait a little longer to re-air."
View Johnson's memorable performance on the "Late Show With David Letterman" here:
What kind of reaction did you get from your appearance on the Letterman show?
"Well, in my hometown here in Canada, since I am only the third French Canadian from Quebec to perform on the Letterman show, the reaction was huge. Lots of interviews. I was on Skype and the phone doing interviews for what seemed like 24/7. I did interviews for a few national outlets in both Canada and the States. Radio interviews, too."
Johnson also performed "South of Me" on FOX's "Huckabee" show.
Now, the unhappy salesman who received a Christmas gift demo session just two years ago is on the brink of releasing his first album.
"We are about to go into the studio to cut more songs for the new album. We had previously cut twelve songs, but country music is evolving so fast. It has changed a lot in the two years since we cut those first twelve songs. I mean, take Jason Aldean's single, 'Burnin' It Down' - who would of thought two years ago that he'd release something like that. Nobody. It's a great song."
"Since country music is evolving really fast, we have to make sure the songs we cut for the album are current and in tune with what country music is now. We've got some great new songs for the album and I think people are gonna love it. We are looking to release the album at the beginning of 2015."
Johnson and his team are in the midst of finalizing details of his upcoming cross-country tour to promote the new album. And the singer-songwriter can't wait.
"Now, being in music, I have creativity and I connect with people. I'm a happy guy. I love to create special moments with fans. When you perform and they come to you after your show and share stories with you - that's the best."
