West Fargo’s American Idol

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Last night on American Idol the nation got a chance to watch the journey of a local singer chasing his dream. Zach Johnson got his golden ticket to Hollywood. We sat down with the former NDSU student, turned American Idol hopeful.

Not every 21–year–old gets over 500 Facebook friend requests overnight.

“I’ve had a lot of people say they know me personally. And it’s like, maybe I guess. I don’t remember.” Zach said.

Then again, not every 21–year–old gets featured on American Idol.

“My mouth’s never been that dry. It was crazy I think I was in there for like three minutes.” He said.

Zach began singing at a young age. When he found out American Idol was coming to Minneapolis last June he thought, “Might as well.”

He says, “The results you can get from it. There’s endless opportunities from it and really just because it was close.”

Zach’s mom Janelle says, “As soon as we’d seen a little glimpse of him on TV it was just loud.”

Then came Zach’s shot in front of the judges. And after two tries at it, he got his ticket to Hollywood.

“I was ecstatic. I think I blacked out the audition because of how excited I got afterwards. It was ridiculous.” He said.

The roller coaster didn’t stop there. About two weeks later he found himself in the spotlight again, this time in Sioux Falls, South Dakota next to Idol judge Keith Urban.
Zach says, “People wanted to take pictures. I felt like a celebrity. I felt like Justin Bieber.”

So while California dreams await him, in the meantime he can still strum on his guitar in front of his closet fans.

“Puts a big smile on my face. I’m curious to see what happens next, see where he goes from here and just be there to support him.” Janelle said.

You can watch Zach continue his path to the top on American Idol. You can watch every Wednesday and Thursday night right here on KVRR.