29 Oct 2020 Local singer lands spot on Netflix’s new show ‘Sing on!’

by Travis Gupton

In 2020, music is all around us. Everyone is trying to be the next best thing and outdo the former next best thing. However, for 23-year-old Deshon Washington, his goal is not to be the next best thing, but to be something that no one has ever heard before. 

Deshon started singing in his choir at Conway High School and that was when he learned that the emotion you put into music is what makes the music so special. 

“My choir director, my art director, Mr. Husky would always say, `Whatever you are singing, you are telling a story,’” Deshon said. “Whether it is by yourself or with a group of people, you want that emotion to show. That way you portray it as real.” 

From being in that choir to now a young man, Deshon and his music have become something so unique that you would have a hard time comparing his style to someone else. To Deshon, that is what it’s all about. 

“To create something new would be more than I have ever dreamed,” Deshon said. “If I can stand out and stand alone and it be good — be something that people would be like, `I want to listen to this. It’s something out of this world.’” 

Even though his goal is to create something new, Deshon did get to live another dream and perform on a new Netflix show called “Sing On” which was filmed in London a year ago. This new karaoke competition premiered in September and is anchored by “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” star Tituss Burgess. The goal for contestants is to sing a once popular song as closely to the original track as possible. A graphic at the bottom of the screen reveals how close they are to hitting the right notes and intonation of the original track. The more accurate the six contestants are, the more money they bank for one contestant to win at the end of the episode. 

For Deshon, it was a rollercoaster of events to make it onto the show. The first of those happened at the Karaoke World Championships. Deshon had competed in it for three years trying to reach the world competition in Las Vegas and last year he did just that. But when he was competing on the state level of the competition, a producer messaged him on Facebook about an upcoming project that had to do with a karaoke competition on TV. 

After many skype interviews and auditions, Deshon got the phone call he was waiting for. 

“I’ll never forget I was at the house,” he said. “I was just walking around, going to get some pizza rolls or something and I got a call. It had a plus 444 extension and it said London. I was like, `Who is calling me from London right now?’ I remembered that they said that the producers may be from London. They congratulated me on making it to the final listing for ‘Sing On!’”

Deshon was one of the 48 people out of 50,000 auditions to make the show. He had to go outside his comfort zone on the show and sing exactly how the original artist would sing the song and for him that was hard to do. 

“For me to basically stick to the script was tough,” he said. 

Deshon was not always a singer. He actually started out as a dancer. During one of the times he was dancing a record producer noticed him and saw something in him that launched his singing career into new horizons. 

“I recognized right off the bat Deshon’s performance skills were outstanding,” Fret Monkey Records producer Blake Goodwin said. “I knew right then and there that he was going to be an entertainer and that his power towards singing was electric.” 

When Blake and Deshon started recording music together, Blake noticed that the emotion the young man had in his singing was something that could not be ignored. 

“I feel like that was the best part working with Deshon,” Blake said. “Every time he brings in a new song it always has a new vibe or a new emotion. You can feel the influences. Every song is so personal and in-depth with him.” 

From the first song that was done in that studio, Deshon has grown in many ways according to Blake. Deshon says that to really be different and not be like every other artist, he needs to expand his genre to more than R&B and become something even more. 

Deshon’s goals are time-oriented. Even though his eyes are focused on the now, he still has big dreams when it comes to where he wants to be down the road. He mentioned Darren Sewell of 105.3 F.M in Fayetteville who played some of his music on his radio show. Blake described what makes Deshon so successful and what will make him successful for years to come. 

“All it takes is that dedication,” Blake said. “Preparation meets opportunity, equals success. You know that’s all it is.” 

Deshon has a passion for music that is contagious and the fact that he keeps trying to expand his style and make it even more unique makes him someone that somewhere down the road could be a household name.