Daniel Johns ’not anxious anymore’ to put out new record after his global podcast hit

Daniel Johns has revealed how fans’ love of a viral podcast put him on course to create a new album “on my own terms”.

Daniel Johns has fast-tracked his return to music after the viral success of his soul-baring, smash-hit podcast and will release his second solo album FutureNever in April.

“I know I have a tendency to go missing but I’m back now,” Johns wrote in a “personal letter” to fans to unveil his album plans.

The podcast turned out to be the genius play to get the former Silverchair frontman to his end game, to release a Daniel Johns record completely “on my own terms”.

Australian musician and singer-songwriter Daniel Johns with his dog, Gia, at his Newcastle home. Picture: Luke Eblen

But no one was expecting the Who Is Daniel Johns? podcast to go viral when it kicked off in October, topping the Spotify chart throughout its six-week season and finishing in the top 20 for 2021.

Johns signalled he had new music in the works when he launched the podcast’s deep dive into the success of Silverchair and its toll on his mental health.

He teased snippets of songs in the background of the podcast episodes.

“The only way to get people to hear my art is through vessels like this because I don’t want to perform on stage,” Johns said when the podcast launched.

The podcast was one of the top 20 on Spotify for 2021.

Two weeks ago he told followers the reception to his raw and revealing series — which shared his battles with an eating disorder, depression and anxiety and why he and wife Natalie Imbruglia split — had “changed my plans” for 2022.

“Thank you for listening to my podcast Who Is Daniel Johns? I didn’t know that I needed that experience but I did,” Johns wrote in the letter to fans.

“The reception around the world has inspired me and I’m not anxious about what comes next anymore, I’m ready for the FutureNever.”

Johns agreed to the podcast to put a full stop on his Silverchair past.

FutureNever is out on April 1.

Ironically, talking about the band, with which he never wants to play ever, ever again, boosted Silverchair’s streams by more than 35 per cent during the series.

Seven years after the release of his debut solo album, Talk, Johns has parted company with his previous label home, EMI, and resumes his career with FutureNever as the first release on his own newly created label, “via a new global deal with my friends at BMG”.

Those friends include his brother and respected music industry executive Heath Johns, who runs BMG’s operations in Australia.

The musician, who detailed his regular battle of wills with record labels and producers over the Silverchair years, has now also wrested control over how his new music will be shared with the world.

Johns won’t be ‘leading’ with singles or playing live for his new record. Picture: Michaela O'Neill

“I won’t be leading in with singles, the album is designed to be enjoyed as an album.,” he said.

“Call me a hopeless romantic but that’s the benefit of releasing music on your own label. Nobody can tell you what to do.”

He has launched the FutureNever.art website as a marketing hub for fans to pre-order the record and buy exclusive “merch” and “an evolving, interactive platform” to stay directly connected to his bolstered fan base.

Johns may have been obligated to get super active on social media as part of the Spotify podcast deal but he clearly enjoyed finding his people online during its season and told fans he was “ready to have fun with this”.

Daniel John's letter about his new album.

While his letter heralded the album will be an “eclectic mix of music that I’ve made over the last couple of years”, FutureNever is also believed to feature some of the strongest pop songs Johns has written over his three-decade career.

It would be a good bet WhatSoNot, aka Johns close mate Chris Emerson, will be among the “friends (who) will be jumping on the record” with John yet to do the big guest-list reveal.

FutureNever is available for pre-order via FutureNever.art and is released on April 1.

Originally published as Daniel Johns ’not anxious anymore’ to put out new record after his global podcast hit