As he prepares to put on a performance behind the dark wings of the auditorium, Prosper High School alumni Isaiah Johnson lights up the stage, where he first discovered his passion for singing.
During his time at Prosper High School, Johnson sat in PHS classrooms in what he called “the shadow,” but now spends his days on stage as a singer with the stage name of “Zae Romeo.”
Not knowing what he would do after high school, Johnson said he had multiple opportunities to start a name for himself. He’s worked with numerous artists and celebrities and formed his own opinion about each of them.
“I got to write with a lot of really cool people and write for a lot of really great people,” Johnson said. “So, I think the opportunity that it’s given me has been incredible.”
While he experiences ongoing interactions with famous musicians, Johnson never expected these moments to come.
“I wasn’t even sure what I wanted to do with my life,” Johnson said. “Honestly, I was not, really, the greatest singer when I was here (at PHS).”
In his high school years, his older brother remained in the spotlight and held the top position in his choir class.
“I kind of lived in the shadow for my first two years,” Johnson said. “He (his brother) was a singer in our family. I was like, ‘I’m never gonna be that good.’ I’ll tell you now, he’s a bartender.”
After some time, Romeo became more and more popular around the school. Choir teacher Crystal Chamberlain had heard of him but never knew him personally.
“I knew of him (when he was in high school). I was not his teacher, but he was always really talented,” Chamberlain said. “It is really amazing to see what he has accomplished and now writing music and also performing which is really cool.”
According to Johnson, not everything goes smoothly in Romeo’s world. He said he has faced adversity through multiple things. His Christmas Lights City Lighting performance at the Plaza Lighting was his first time having backup dancers. He had to think fast and find a solution to a problem the dancers had.
“I went to the dancers, and I was like, ‘all right, listen, so you can either dance or you cannot dance, and if you’re going to dance, you’re not to pull this together in a week,” Johnson said. “And, they did.”
While his experience includes plenty of overcoming moments, Johnson is still learning. Now he wants to share some of those lessons with others who want to follow a similar path.
Math teacher Trisha Weyenburg welcomed Johnson back to Prosper High School recently. She updated him on everything that happened around the school.
“I loved how he encouraged the students to not give up on their dream, but to work for it,” Weyenburg said. “He reminded them it may not be easy, but it is not impossible.”
Whether he’s speaking as Isaiah Johnson or Zae Romeo, he said he put his mind to being a singer and accomplished that goal. Now, his goal is for other students to find their own success.
“Enjoy school – like master classes,” Romeo said. “Do the thing. Get out of here. Graduate, and do what you love.”
