(April 19, 2021) Our favorite television show, TV One’s Unsung, will feature singer and songwriter supreme Syleena Johnson this Sunday, April 25 at 9:00 pm ET / 8:00 CT.
Syleena Johnson took to music early, growing up not only with a musical father, but also listening to influential artists such as Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Tina Turner, The Dells, and Mavis Staples. She would later apply this love of soul as a member of her high school gospel choir.
But Syleena’s road to music was hardly easy. Her father, Syl, was not encouraging, as his lackluster success with his craft led him to think little of the music industry. On top of that, Syleena suffered from vocal nodules and had to go through speech therapy. And when Syleena was 15, her parents split up. Despite these setbacks, Syleena’s relationship with both her parents and her music remained strong: She contributed as a singer and songwriter on her father’s 1994 album, Back in the Game. After having nodes removed from her vocal cords, she took two years of speech therapy. She has seven years of vocal training. All the hard work made Johnson one of her generation’s most soulful and realistic R&B singers.
See a clip below from this week’s Unsung episode.
