How DeWyze won 'American Idol'
How DeWyze won 'American Idol'
Simon Cowell was granted his final wish on "American Idol."
Lee DeWyze, the bashful paint sales clerk championed early by the biting British judge on the Fox singing contest, was crowned "Idol" on Wednesday over single mother Crystal Bowersox. His victory was based on votes cast after Tuesday's performances, which drew more acclaim from the judges for Bowersox, though DeWyze was Cowell's favorite from the outset.
DeWyze knew it, too. Back during Hollywood Week, the show's rapid-fire post-audition phase, he took note of Cowell tapping along as he crooned The Fray's "You Found Me." It became clearer after his rendition of Snow Patrol's "Chasing Cars" during the first round of the semifinals that Cowell was pushing for the throaty underdog from Mount Prospect, Ill.
"I fought for you to be here," he told DeWyze. "I still believe in you."
Such affirmations helped the unassuming rocker to overcome his shortcomings, namely a lack of self-confidence, to take down Bowersox, arguably the ninth season's most powerful singer. Despite his innate shyness, DeWyze solidified himself as a contender early in the finals with deft takes on The Box Tops' "The Letter" and the Rolling Stones' "Beast of Burden."
"You are growing faster than anybody on this stage," Kara DioGuardi told him.
Indeed, DeWyze was always on the ascent, powering through walking pneumonia for the Cornelius Brothers' "Treat Her Like a Lady," and making everyone take notice when he unexpectedly dueted with a bagpipe player on The Beatles' "Hey Jude." The sheepish vocalist struggled more at conversing with Ryan Seacrest and maneuvering through the group routines than singing.
The panel wasn't just satisfied with DeWyze's raspy tone. Panelists demanded to see the scruffy, 24-year-old singer smile. He finally flashed them a goofy grin and started to hit a stride after Elvis Presley's "A Little Less Conversation." Meanwhile, Bowersox began to fumble when tasked with out-of-her-element genres. Still, her spot on the finale always seemed certain.
When the dreadlocked 24-year-old musician first belted out "Piece of My Heart" at her audition, Bowersox felt like a folksy singer who could appeal to the masses. She possibly peaked early in the semifinals with unapologetically flawless versions of Alanis Morissette's "Hand in My Pocket" and Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Long As I Can See the Light."
"We need you here," Ellen DeGeneres declared at that point.
However, DeWyze managed to swirl flavors from the previous two "Idol" champs — Kris Allen's boyishly reserved stage presence and David Cook's rocker-next-door musical stylings — to create a palette pleasing to the biggest bloc of "Idol" voters, namely the howlers looking for their next heartthrob who made certain DeyWyze never appeared as low vote getter.
Besting top seed Bowersox may have made DeWyze's win taste sweeter, but don't call it an upset. Several online outfits predicted he would take home the top prize: the "Idol" title and a record contract. DialIdol.com, which tracks busy signals on the separate phone lines dedicated to each contestant, correctly projected DeWyze as the winner Wednesday morning.
"This isn't about, 'Oh, I want to be the next big thing,' and then be gone," he said backstage after winning. "I want to do this for a long time, and that's really important to me — stay true to myself, and just make good music."
DeWyze's future success, as with all "Idol" winners before him, will be determined by record sales, not viewer votes. With his rock-infused singer-songwriter leanings, DeWyze has the potential, like eighth season winner Allen, to be eclipsed by a more daring runner-up or, in the case of fifth season fourth-place finisher Chris Daughtry, to rock out on his own.
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- Posted on May 27, 2010
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Wow I wanted Lee DeWyze to win American idol cause he is a good singer and alot of people voted for him in the last three years.
You are the next American Idol. Most teenagers wish that they would be crowned the next idol. For one lucky person if happened. Lee Dewyze was the winner of last season of Idol. For one thing, he was one of the favorites from the begging if the show. He was loved by many fans and many teenage girls loved him.
Another reason Dewyze won the last season of idol was because of all of his great
talent. He had the voice and was able to accomplish anything the judges asked of him. I know that I was a fan of his from the start. He was such a great singer and was a singer people actually like to hear on the radio.
Finally, Lee Dewyze deserved to win last season of idol. He was amazing and he got far with that voice of his. He has inspired people to reach for their dreams and when you do something good always happens !
You are the next American Idol. Most teenagers wish that they would be crowned the next idol. For lucky person if happened. Lee Dewyze was the winner of last season of Idol. For one thing, he was one of the favorites from the begging if the show. He was loved by many fans and many teenage girls loved him.
Another reason Dewyze won the last season of idol was because of all of his great talent. He had the voice and was able to accomplish anything the judges asked of him. I know that I was a fan of his from the start. He was such a great singer and was a singer people actually like to hear on the radio.
Finally, Lee Dewyze deserved to win last season of idol. He was amazing and he got far with that voice of his. He has inspired people to reach for their dreams and when you do something good always happens !
haylie for me deserved to win american idol when the finalist were crystal and lee i voted for lee but really i voted for none of them i didn t like crystal because she sings kinda boring and i never liked her on american idol.
Ever heard of American Idol? Well how about Lee Dewyze? Lee Dewyze was definitely the judges favorite contestant. I think that this article was very interesting. Also, I love Lee! He was my favorite contestant out of them all! I thought that because he wont the whole event! Also, Lee got his very own record deal and has his own c.d out! The runner up to Lee was Crystal Bowersox. After reading this article it left me with a simple question. Why did Ellen & Simon love Lee so much?
Lee deserved to win he was really good that hole season i watched him my mom would call me in there and i would run in screaming he is my favorite singer he is what inspired my to be in my choir class i love it so thank you lee for being my inspiration he rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Lees really good and has been good that hole season i watched. His album is going to be sick when i comes out. I wish i could sing like that or even close to what he does, but i think he a better guitar player than he is as a singer. I think that's what pulls it off playing the guitar and singing at the same time cuz that's really hard to do trust me i seen people do it and its not pretty.
Lee was definitely my favorite from the start. He was humble and always put on a spectacular show. No matter what, he was determined to always give his best. I really liked Crystal too. She was hard working and like Lee, determined. I always thought Lee would win, and I am super happy he did!
I am so happy Lee won!!! He was my favorite! I totally agree with the judges they made a great choice. I think Crystil was just as good though so I didn't really care who won.
I watched Lee the whole season and I thought he was going to win the whole time. He was my favorite from the beginning! I honestly think he was the better singer and deserved the music career he won. I was so excited when he won last season and I know that a lot more people were excited as well, especially Simon. Even though he was unsure if he was going to win or not, he still went after his dream and achieved it!