Daniel Johns

Daniel Johns is my hero not only because he is an accomplished singer and songwriter, but because he has gone through so much getting where he is.

First of all, Daniel and the other Silverchair group members, Ben Gillies and Chris Joannou, were in their early teens when they started their band in Newcastle, Australia. They got their first break when they were around 15 with their hit song "Tomorrow" on their first CD, "Frogstomp". This song was a number one hit in Australia as well as the United States. Then about a year and a half later they realeased their next CD, "Freak Show", which contained another hit called "Freak".

A while after "Freak Show" was released, Daniel developed anorexia(an illness in which a person loses weight through starvation) and went through treatment for about a year before making their third CD, "Neon Ballroom", in 1999. This CD contains songs, such as "Ana's song", which were created from poems Daniel wrote as he struggled through his anorexia. I respect him for being able to overcome his illness and still be able to keep singing as well as write another CD.

Another reason I respect him is because of his care for animals. Daniel has been a strict vegan for many years now, and he, as well as the other group members, are part of the Llama Appreciation Society (LAS), an animal rights group that I recently joined. He also wrote a song called "Spawn Again", in which he sings about animal rights and can be heard on "Neon Ballroom".

These are only a few reasons Daniel Johns is my hero. But he is mostly because it is very hard to become an accomplished singer at such a young age and still be able to get through every thing he did.