Johnson released his independent, self-titled debut, “Rayne Johnson EP” in 2020 The project achieved success on the Top 10 iTunes Country Album chart, and his debut single, “Front Seat” broke into the Billboard Top 40.
We spoke with Johnson about his latest song “Somebody with a Broken Heart,” his musical journey, and what it was like for him to grow up in Fairfield.
Q: Tell us about what you’ve been working on musically.
Rayne Johnson: COVID-19 stopped everything show-wise, but we still tried to have some sort of plan as far as recording new music and stuff like that. So, we’ve been working on some new songs. Just recently, I released a new song called “Somebody with a Broken Heart,” and it’s been doing really well. I will be releasing new songs throughout the summer, and around October, we’re going to have the EP done. It’s been cool.
Q: Your song “Front Seat” from the Rayne Johnson EP was in the Top 40 on Billboard. What was that like for you?
A: We knew “Front Seat” was a good song, or I wouldn’t have chosen to put it on the EP, but I had no idea it was going to do it. It wasn’t like that song that you record and you’re like, ‘This is the one, and people are going to love it.’ So, obviously, when it comes to Billboard charting and things like that, country radio has a ginormous influence on that, and I was fortunate enough to have somebody that was in county music in the radio industry that believed in the song, and believed in me, and being an independent artist, it’s tough to break through that. A guy named David Corey in Boston was like, ‘I really think this is a great song, I’m going to start spinning it.’ So, he started playing the song in the evening rotation, and it worked its way to the daytime spin, and people just reacted to it, crazily, in a really good way.
Q: What was it like for you growing up in Fairfield and what is it about home that’s kept you rooted here?
A: Everybody who has ever met my dad thinks he’s from Alabama or Georgia. He’s got a real Southern vibe. I feel like I can’t speak for the whole state of Ohio, because I haven’t spent tons of time up in the Northern part of Ohio, and things like that, but just living in Southwest Ohio, and I guess being that it’s so close to Kentucky, or whatever it is, but I feel like there’s that Southern hospitality and that Southern feel for the majority of the people that I’m around and I’m with. It’s that welcoming kind of a feeling, and I’ve always enjoyed that about Ohio.
At least the areas that I grew up in, and the area that I live in now. Also, there’s a love-hate about Ohio. Anybody that lives in Ohio is going to know exactly what I mean. I feel like we have hardcore four seasons. Sometimes, I love that. Sometimes, I hate it. But I guess I love it more, that’s why I can stay. By the time winter’s over, I’m ready for it to be over, and by the time summer’s here, I’m excited about it. And, when it’s toward the end of summer, I’m so ready for fall. I still live in Butler County.
Q: Why did you want to pursue music and what’s prepared you for where you’re at now?
A: I’ve always worked. I got a job working for the railroad right out of high school, but I was also heavily involved in church, and my youth group. So, when I was younger, I started volunteering to be in the worship band at church and started singing and doing that. I was taught music, but I didn’t know for sure I wanted to pursue music. I can play guitar, but I’m not Stevie Ray Vaughan, or anything. I’m more of a vocalist, and I play a little bit of guitar so that I can sing.
I feel like growing up doing that and playing at church sparked that. I had a chance to be on stage and performed in front of people. I played in a Christian rock band. We traveled some and did a lot of shows. Then, after that journey, I played in a country band, Pistol Holler, that was here local around Cincinnati for a long time…I think every artist has those steppingstones of building themselves as an artist.
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