U.G. Digital Mag: It’s amazing to connect with you. Like so many
others, I was immediately drawn to your voice when I saw your
audition. Thank you for taking the time out to speak with us, and
congratulations on making it to this point in your career. Despite
what happened with the show, so many people don’t get to this
point.
Johari Noelle: Absolutely. Thank you so much.
U.G. Digital Mag: You’re so welcome. So what does it feel like at
this point? Is it still kinda surreal for you?
Johari Noelle: You know what? It’s gotten to a point where I say
this is something I’ve done for a long time, and as the process
was beginning, it was really surreal. I couldn’t believe it was the
situation I was in. I was very grateful and excited, and now, I’m
grateful and excited for the future. In that moment, it was absolutely surreal.
U.G. Digital Mag: Right. Now your story is amazing in regard to
you and your sister being conjoined at birth, and the road you
traveled with that alone. It shows your strength, and that you’re a
fighter and survival. Did you both fall into the arts?
Johari Noelle: What’s funny is the four of us [me, my sister, and
my 2 younger sisters] were involved in the arts. I guess it’s like
a family thing. My parents had my sisters and I involved. As we
got older, about 5 or 6 years old, they put us in musicals outside
of school, and things like choir, dance, and gymnastics. There
wasn’t anything we had not tried. As we got older, we could really weed out what thing was really for us. For me, it was singing,
and for her, it was dance. That’s what she does. She’s studying
dance at NIU, and that’s her passion. My younger sister, who is
14, plays the violin, and my youngest sister is into film making,
and enjoys dance as well. It’s cool to see them blossoming into
the arts. We’ve all been very involved since we were younger.
U.G. Digital Mag: Take me back to your audition for the show.
Was there fear or eagerness? What were your emotions?
Johari Noelle: Oh wow. Basically, I had just done a YouTube
cover, and it was to a song called Runnin by Naughty Boy featuring Beyoncè. I really liked the song, so I did a cover. A week
later, a friend of the casting director for BET reached out to me
on Instagram, saying my voice was amazing, and I should ta ke
the opportunity. She attached a flier with Kelly Rowland all over
it, and I wondered exactly what it was. I was so nervous and
wasn’t sure if it was legit. I looked it up and saw it was legit, and
I submitted right away. The casting director reached out within something like 15 minutes, saying she loved it. She said she
would try to get me a call-back. Then I did a Skype interview with
the directors where they got to know me, where I’m from, and
what I felt Kelly should see in me. Two weeks later, I got an email
for the call-back. My original location was New York, but I didn’t
have the money or the time because it was such short notice. I
asked if I could do another, and they said Atlanta was available.
My father and I went to Atlanta, got there the night before, and
it was so amazing. When I walked in, there were 30 girls, and
within an hour, there were 300 girls. Every single girl could sing.
It was amazing. It wasn’t like you could tell who would make it or
who wouldn’t. Everybody had it. I was nervous and intimidated
at first. I had this moment before my audition where I went in the
bathroom and just started singing my audition song. Talking to
myself, I was just like, you got this. Don’t overthink it. Accept it
and relax. When I went in, there were three other girls, and we
had like 10 seconds each to sing. Kelly and Frank wanted me to
say my name, my age, where I was from, and then sing. The first
two girls went and they were great. Then I sang and that was it.
We all stayed, and then they started grilling us. Frank asked me
my background, and he was asking about what I had done recently. He said it sounded like I had a lot of training; but I told him
I hadn’t, and I had been in school. He asked me how old I was
and I said 20. They asked me to stick around and of course I said
great. I ran out the room and grabbed my dad. I was so excited.
Later that evening in the second round, it got pretty intense.
They were dropping people left and right. They would walk up
to girls, and if they stopped, you had to sing. They stopped at a
couple of girls and they sang great. They walked back around
to those same girls, tapped them on the shoulder, and they just
walked out. We all knew they were gone. Kelly and Frank then
said for us to let it all out and scream because it wouldn’t be so
hard after this. We all just started screaming, because we were
on pins and needles. It was intense. We did different techniques,
harmonies, and they just filled us in on what would happen.
U.G. Digital Mag: I think it’s amazing to hear the story behind it
all. When you think of the whole opportunity, I can understand
where the excitement comes from in being able to follow what
you dream of doing. Where were you when you got the call saying you would be a part of the show?
Johari Noelle: I was at home. I was watching Netflix, and my
phone was ringing. I remember thinking who this unknown
number was face timing me. I answered and it was Kelly. She had
on no make up, and her hair was pulled up. She was laughing
because i was just cheesing. She said they wanted me to come
to LA, and asked if I wanted to come. I was like yes, and she was
laughing. She asked me if I was from Atlanta, and I explained
I was from Chicago. She then realized I had come all the way
from Chicago to audition. Her advice was just to be ready to be
a team player, and work hard. I text my mom the picture of Kelly
and i on Face Time, and she called me screaming. They sent me
a bunch of paperwork to fill out, and that was like 2 days before
Christmas. This was like the ultimate Christmas gift.
U.G. Digital Mag: That had to be really amazing. What was your
family’s reactions, and the reaction from your friends?
Johari Noelle: They were all extremely excited. For them, it was
major.
U.G. Digital Mag: It’s so cool, and again, to be able to follow your
dreams, there’s nothing better. What were some of the best takeaways in regard to making it in the business?
Johari Noelle: The first thing was that confidence is everything.
When I got there, I was nervous because everyone was so talented. It was so unreal that they picked me. I was such a rookie,
and everyone had crazy experiences. A lot of them had been
signed to major labels, been on major shows, and toured with
some of the greatest artists. It was just like wow. I also took away
being prepared. If they ask you to sing at the drop of a dime,
you should have a song prepared. It should be your go to song.
A lot of times, I was thinking far into it instead of just going for
it. I also learned this is just the beginning for me. For a lot of the
girls, I realized they had done things before, and they had been
told yes, or no, on different occasions. This was really my first big
thing, and my first real no. I made it this far, so it’s something to
look at. It should be enough to tell me I have something special.
One of my idols chose me. We really bonded and grew so close
because we were always with her. The whole thing was unreal. It
reminds me to be more comfortable in myself and to trust in my