Keyser was born in Pompano Beach, Florida. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and his father John and mother Cheryl shared joint custody, but Johnny lived primarily with his father. Johnny and his father formed a close relationship, "He"s like my brother more than my Dad", he has said.
Before competing in, he recorded a seven song European Parliament called From Where I Stand, released May 16, 2012. Season 11
Keyser was first noticed when he auditioned for Season 11 in Saint Louis, Missouri. His rendition of Sam Cooke"s "A Change is Gonna Come" and vocal prowess moved all three judges, with the show"s season-long ad campaign built around Jennifer Lopez"s exhortations "You Know You"re Gonna Be A Star, Right?" and "Keep Singing..".
Despite his a cappella version of Amos Lee"s "Dreamin"" in the Hollywood rounds, he was cut from the competition.
Although when he and three others were announced as possible wildcard entries into the Final 25, Keyser was touted as the likely inclusion, but he was not chosen as the Wild Card to return on the show. = Performances and results Season 12
Keyser came back for the twelfth season.
= Performances and results
Following his departure from, Keyser was approached by numerous music industry professionals interested in working with the raw new talent. Keyser wanted to produce and record an album.
Shortly upon their arrival in Nashville, Keyser was approached by Grammy-winning producer Bryan Lenox.
They recorded the seven-track European Parliament From Where I Stand. lieutenant was released on May 16, 2012, to highly positive reviews, and he was asked to perform the title track "From Where I Stand" at the Fox 2 Studios in Saint Louis on May 23. lieutenant reached #44 on the Billboard Heatseaker Albums charts.
He was a member of the top 40 on during Season 12.
