We recently connected with Aria Johnson and have shared our conversation below.
Aria, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I was just five when I confidently announced to my kindergarten teacher, ‘I’m going to be a singer and tour the world!’ She chuckled, as did my parents, but I meant every word. By age eight, I was already imagining a future as a motivational speaker once I was done touring with music. I still remember the rush of empowerment I felt speaking at a city council meeting as a young Girl Scout – that’s when I truly discovered my voice. As for my foray into acting? That was an unexpected twist! I decided to try acting in my 30s, filmed a bunch of pilots and surprisingly landed a role as the music expert on ‘Beverly Hills Pawn,’ and that’s when my life changed forever.
Aria, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My journey has always been about empowering others, showing them that they are worthy and capable of making their dreams a reality. Music was my first platform for this mission. I grew up in the San Fransisco Bay Area and spent my teenage years in a girl group, performing all over the West Coast. After College, I packed my bags and moved to LA to pursue a solo career. I almost got signed to Warner Brothers Records when I was on NBC’s music competition show, ‘Star Tomorrow,’ winning 13 out of 14 weeks before being eliminated – talk about a tearful moment! But I wasn’t done yet.
To prove to myself I could make it, I released an album, opened for Ludacris, performed in stadiums, and received awards like the World Music and Dance Award, eWorld Music Award, and a Billboard Songwriting Award. I hoped my music would be a soundtrack for love, heartbreak, and inspiration.
The highs and lows made it a really hard industry to be in. The Me Too movement later publicized and validated what it was really like for women in Hollywood. Eventually, I fell out of love with performing and decided to pivot. I wanted to help up-and-coming artists avoid the pitfalls I encountered and bring positivity to the industry.
That’s when I founded The Golden Voice, a vocal coaching and artist development firm where my team and I helped young celebs from Disney kids, to indie artists, to major label artists get to the next level of their career. My team worked hard and directly contributed to multi-platinum record sales, over 50 million album sales, and 100 million YouTube views.
During that time, I landed a starring role as the music expert on ‘Beverly Hills Pawn.’ We ended up shooting 5 seasons, broadcast in 83 countries and it was the #1 program on Reelz Channel, which honestly blew our minds. Presently, I have a travel series on Discovery Channel called ‘Nature is Fly,’ where myself, my 7-year-old daughter, and my husband have adventures like diving with sharks or walking tightropes across canyons. This means a lot to me because family is everything and the time we get to spend together is invaluable.
My path to becoming a speaker was not straightforward. I had always aspired to speak, but I waited until I had genuine experiences to share. After a severe health crisis landed me in the ER and led to a five-year battle for my life, I emerged with a message about overcoming burnout and embracing self-love.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
After ‘Beverly Hills Pawn,’ I moved to Bend, Oregon to start a family away from the spotlight. With a baby on the way and no local support, the challenges were immediate. My husband’s work with Discovery Channel meant frequent travel, leaving me to juggle motherhood and career often without help. This intensified my natural workaholic tendencies. I used those same overachieving tendencies to throw Pinterest-worthy parties, lose the baby weight, and ‘kill it at work, mama,’ until my body screamed ENOUGH!
I collapsed and ended up in the ER with 10/10 body pain and bleeding from the throat, and the doctors were baffled. After dozens of doctors couldn’t help me, I had to quit my job because I couldn’t sing anymore and felt like I was going to die. Even with all the accolades, I never felt good enough. I had pleased, performed, and perfected my way to success since I was 4 years old, standing on a restaurant table singing ‘On the Good Ship Lollipop.’ So taking away my job was brutal.
When I was told my health conditions were incurable I experienced a dark night of the soul. That was the moment I knew something had to change.
It took five years, 10 diagnoses, 20 doctors, and thousands of pills to realize that the keys to getting better started and stopped with me. I threw myself into self-development to try and fix my mental state. I decided to re-parent myself as I would a 4-year-old girl, doing things that were good for me, even when I didn’t feel like it. That meant eating when I was hungry, sleeping when I was tired, and most importantly, learning to say ‘NO.’
I relentlessly studied bio-hacking, read research papers, and learned what worked and what didn’t. I took up daily meditation, breath work, infra-red saunas, and ice baths. I learned that to love yourself isn’t a feeling. . . Love is an action.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Every woman I meet seems overworked, overwhelmed, under appreciated, undernourished, and on the verge of collapse. But they keep going, pushing themselves to break the glass ceiling in their careers, striving to be the best wife, mother, sister, friend, and to fit into their high school jeans to boot! It’s an impossible standard. I want them to understand that neglecting self-care will inevitably lead to burnout, which can manifest as anxiety, depression, dependency on substances, or physical health issues. Astonishingly, 83% of all autoimmune diseases affect women. The reason? They often prioritize everyone else’s needs over their own.
Therefore, I’m here to emphasize that to survive this fast-paced lifestyle, they must implement self-care. I want them to understand that caring for yourself is not a luxury; it’s a necessity for thriving. It doesn’t need to be an hour-long morning routine like social media would have you believe. It can be as simple as 5 minutes of meditation, 2 minutes of breath work, or 30 seconds of cold at the end of your shower. Even the smallest step towards self-care can lead to monumental changes in your life.
My current goal is to help these high-performing women not only reach the top but stay there, creating a life overflowing with health, love, and happiness.
Lastly, I’m excited to announce my book, ‘Love Notes Anthology,’ will be released on February 28th where I’ll be telling more of my story.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://ariajohnson.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ariajohnsonofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ariajohnson
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ariajohnson
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/ariajohnson
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@ariajohnsonofficial https://thegoldenvoice.com/