Lara Johnston is the daughter of Doobie Brothers’ member Tom Johnston. She started singing and performing at an early age and went on tour with her father’s band every summer during her childhood years. She was just two years old when she went onstage and sang “Listen to the Music” with the band. A year after, she started studying classical ballet and has since then performed in several productions of The Nutcracker. As a seventh-grader, she starred as Dorothy in the school’s production of The Wizard of Oz. Growing up, Lara was part of school and church choirs.
In 2006, she won first place at the USA Unsigned Artist World Showcase after singing “Chain of Fools.” After winning, she spent her summer in L.A., taking private singing and acting lessons. In the same year, she performed nine songs at the Bruce Cohn Fall Music Festival. It was such a success that she was invited to be part of the Doobie Brothers/Willie Nelson concert held in Maui.
In 2007, Lara Johnston sang four songs in St. Louis, Missouri for the Tony Larussais Animal Rescue Foundation. The first two were a solo numbers while the other two were duets with R&B/soul singer Michael McDonald. The St. Louis Choir backed them up and they received a standing ovation from the crowd after their performance.
Lara Johnston also sings regularly with Soul Band, her school’s choir, at the Golden State Warriors basketball games. She is currently preparing her demo.
Lara Johnston is one of the nine contestants on MTV’s reality talent search Rock the Cradle, wherein offspring of pop and rock stars compete to prove that the talent is in their genes. She hopes to get discovered and grab a recording contract soon. Lara Johnston is looking forward to spending the rest of her life doing what she really loves to do—singing.
(Photo courtesy of MTV)