Alexz Johnson - A Stranger Time (2017)

Alexz Johnson is a Canadian pop singer and actor who rose to international fame on the music-themed teen drama series Instant Star and its series of soundtrack albums. Born Alexzandra Johnson on November 4, 1986, in New Westminster, British Columbia, she began studying music at a young age and ultimately got into acting as well. Her big break into show business came in 2000 when she was cast as Annie Thelan, the lead role in the Disney television series So Weird during its third season. A few years later in 2004 she was cast as Jude Harrison, the lead role in Instant Star, a CTV teen drama about an adolescent music star on the rise who had to deal with overnight fame as well as personal drama. The show was nominated for numerous Gemini Awards and broadcast in over 100 different countries.

On each episode of Instant Star, Johnson's character performed a song, some of which she had a hand in writing. These songs were compiled on a series of soundtrack albums released by the Universal-distributed Orange Lounge label: Songs from Instant Star (2005), Songs from Instant Star, Vol. 2 (2006), Songs from Instant Star, Vol. 3 (2007), and Songs from Instant Star, Vol. 4 (2008). As she expanded her acting career, she did the same with music. Deals with the Epic and EMI labels fell through, but she ultimately returned to Orange Lounge, who released her first proper solo album, Voodoo, in 2010. Three sets of demo recordings, a live release, and a remix album followed from 2011 through 2013 and preceded the 2014 release of Johnson's second album, Let 'Em Eat Cake -- a set of sophisticated rock-leaning pop.