Lee DeWyze

Leon James "Lee" DeWyze, Jr. (born April 2, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the winner of the ninth season of American Idol. Prior to Idol, DeWyze had a solo career and formed the Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called So I'm Told in 2007 and Slumberland in 2010, both on WuLi Records. His post-Idol album Live It Up was released on November 16, 2010, through 19 Entertainment and RCA Records.

Lee DeWyze - Sweet Serendipity



Lee Dewyze - Hallelujah (Studio Recording)


American Idol - Lee DeWyze "Beautiful Like You" March 17, 2011


Lee DeWyze - Beautiful Like You (Audio)





Background

DeWyze was born in Mount Prospect, Illinois, the eldest son of Kathleen (née Donahue)[2] and Leon (Lee) DeWyze, Sr., who worked as a postal carrier in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.[3] He has two older sisters, Shannon and Sarah, and a younger brother, Michael. His musical influences include Cat Stevens, Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, and Simon & Garfunkel.
DeWyze attended Saint James Catholic Elementary School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, up until his senior year, due to too many unserved detention hours. After leaving Prospect High, he attended Forest View Alternative School in Arlington Heights, having been inspired both by his teachers and his interest in music to return to his studies.[4] While he never graduated from either high school, he eventually got his GED.[3]
DeWyze has some of the lyrics to "Miles From Nowhere", words from a classic Cat Stevens song that say, "Lord, my body has been a good friend but I won't need it when I reach the end." tattooed on his arm. He has three other tattoos, including a silhouette of the Chicago flag and tree of life on his right arm and a Shel Silverstein illustration on his left arm.
DeWyze said in an interview that he owns an English bulldog named Capone, is afraid of heights, and loves playing Scrabble and Poker. He plays guitar, piano and the drums.
[edit]Pre-Idol career

After leaving school, DeWyze worked as a paint salesman. He also worked as a trading floor clerk at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2007–2008[9] before returning to work at the Mount Prospect Paint" store until he auditioned for American Idol and making it through to the Hollywood rounds of the show. The store continued to support him during his American Idol run by selling tee shirts encouraging fans to vote for Lee.[10]
DeWyze started singing at an early age and was discovered by Louis Svitek, who saw DeWyze, then 17, playing guitar and singing at a house party in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Svitek signed DeWyze to WuLi Records, the independent record label he runs with Ryan McGuire in Chicago. Dewyze formed the "Lee DeWyze Band" with Svitek, McGuire and Jeff Henderson. DeWyze recorded two albums, So I'm Told (2007) and Slumberland (2010), both produced by Ryan McGuire.[11] WuLi released a remixed and remastered edition of So I'm Told in 2010.[12] In 2008, as a favor to band member Jeff Henderson, DeWyze and the band recorded a disc for Square One Organic Baby Food Company, a company owned by Henderson's wife. DeWyze recorded six songs on the "Square One Organic" promotional CD,[13] also produced by Ryan McGuire.
As a result of touring in the area and performing at many venues, DeWyze and his band's music were known locally, even getting radio play on WXRT long before he auditioned for American Idol.[3] The Lee DeWyze Band was featured on a local television sports program, The Chicago Huddle, hosted by ABC 7's Ryan Chiaverini, during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.[14][15]
DeWyze also had an acting role in 2006 in a low-budget short horror film Deadscapes: Broken Road.[16] He played one of a trio of survivors in a land overrun with the undead.
[edit]American Idol

DeWyze auditioned in Chicago at the United Center for the ninth season of American Idol on June 22, 2009, after encouragement from his friend Vincent Ferrara who was also trying out for the contest in Chicago. He auditioned with the song "Ain't No Sunshine". He was one of only 13 people from Chicago, the lowest number out of all 7 audition cities, to make it through to Hollywood week. During Hollywood week his group included Aaron Kelly and Crystal Bowersox, all of whom made the Top 5. Crystal Bowersox and DeWyze made it to that top two, in which he won.
His closest friend among the competitors is Andrew Garcia.[17] Garcia was his roommate throughout the season until he was eliminated in the Top 9. Lee stated that he was generally close to all the Top 10 Idols, but he is also especially close to Siobhan Magnus, Katie Stevens, Michael Lynche, Aaron Kelly, and Alex Lambert and Lacey Brown from Top 16. Before every performance, DeWyze would call his family.
DeWyze was one of two contestants in Season 9 to never land in the bottom three, the other being Crystal Bowersox. The judges praised him for shedding his shy persona throughout the season and showing, with confidence, that he was "in it to win it."
On May 14, 2010, DeWyze performed at the Arlington Park Race Track in Arlington Heights, Illinois, with more than 41,000 people attending as part of his American Idol Homecoming day. Along with performing at the race track he had a parade in Mount Prospect, performed at a local AT&T store, and threw out the opening pitch at a Chicago Cubs baseball game.
On May 26, DeWyze was crowned the winner of American Idol Season 9.[18] As a result of winning the season, DeWyze also won a recording contract.
[edit]Performances/results
Episode Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition Auditioner's Choice "Ain't No Sunshine" Bill Withers N/A Advanced
Hollywood First Solo "One of Us" Joan Osborne[19] N/A Advanced
Hollywood Group Performance "Get Ready" The Temptations N/A Advanced
Hollywood Second Solo "You Found Me" The Fray N/A Advanced
Top 24 (12 Men) Billboard Hot 100 Hits "Chasing Cars" Snow Patrol 7 Safe
Top 20 (10 Men) "Lips of an Angel" Hinder 10 Safe
Top 16 (8 Men) "Fireflies" Owl City 1 Safe
Top 12 The Rolling Stones "Beast of Burden" The Rolling Stones 9 Safe
Top 11 Billboard #1 Hits "The Letter" The Box Tops 1 Safe
Top 10 R&B/Soul "Treat Her Like a Lady"1 Cornelius Brothers & Sister Rose 8 Safe
Top 9 Lennon/McCartney "Hey Jude" The Beatles 9 Safe
Top 92 Elvis Presley "A Little Less Conversation" Elvis Presley 4 Safe
Top 7 Inspirational Songs "The Boxer" Simon & Garfunkel 2 Safe
Top 6 Shania Twain "You're Still the One" Shania Twain 1 Safe
Top 5 Frank Sinatra "That's Life" Frank Sinatra 5 Safe
Top 4 Songs of the Cinema Solo "Kiss from a Rose" — Batman Forever Seal 1 Safe
Duet"Falling Slowly" — Once with Crystal Bowersox Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová 3
Top 3 Contestant's Choice "Simple Man" Lynyrd Skynyrd 3 Safe
Judges' Choice3 "Hallelujah" Leonard Cohen 6
Top 2 Contestant's Choice "The Boxer" Simon & Garfunkel 1 Winner
Simon Fuller's Choice "Everybody Hurts" R.E.M. 3
Coronation song "Beautiful Day" U2 5
^Note 1 Song included on American Idol Season 9 compilation album.
^Note 2 Due to the judges using their one save to save Michael Lynche, the Top 9 remained intact for another week.
^Note 3 Song selected by Simon Cowell.
[edit]Post-Idol career

DeWyze's Idol coronation song, a cover of U2's "Beautiful Day," was released as a digital single on May 27, 2010.[20] DeWyze has said about the song: "I like that song a lot; it's a really good song (...) Is it something that is necessarily in my genre? No. There were songs on the table, and I went with the one I thought would represent the moment the best."[21]
DeWyze signed with Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment and RCA Records.[22]
DeWyze performed the national anthem at the Staples Center for Game 2 of the 2010 NBA Finals on June 6, 2010.
As a result of winning American Idol he became the headliner of the 2010 American Idols LIVE! tour. The songs he chose to perform for the tour include "Beautiful Day," "Rocket Man," "Treat Her Like a Lady," "Hallelujah," and "Use Somebody."
DeWyze won "Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star" at the Teen Choice Awards on August 8, 2010.[23]
DeWyze returned to Arlington Park Race Track in Arlington Heights, Illinois, for a post-Idol homecoming concert on September 24, 2010, where he performed for more than 20,000 people. His 12-song set of cover songs and pre-Idol originals also included a new song, “Only Dreaming”.[24] On January 23, 2011, performed at halftime during the NFC Championship Game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field in Chicago.
[edit]Live It Up (2010–present)
In July 2010, DeWyze described his upcoming album:
"It’s gonna be like a whole rock/pop sort of deal. It’s gonna be very chill rock, a little harder stuff. It’s gonna be my vibe — stuff I would have done from day one and what I’ve always done."[25]
On October 7, 2010, DeWyze announced that his debut album, scheduled for a November 16, 2010 release,[26] would be called Live It Up and the first single, also called "Live It Up," would debut October 13 on On Air with Ryan Seacrest.[27]
October 12, 2010, DeWyze announced that his single "Live It Up" would be held off for release. Instead a new single titled "Sweet Serendipity" aired in its place on October 13, 2010. The album Live It Up was released on November 16, 2010. DeWyze performed the second single, "Beautiful Like You", on the American Idol Season 10 Top 12 Results show on March 17, 2011.[28]
DeWyze's first headlining tour kicked off on June 19, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio, and will continue through July.[29]
June 19: The Basement, Columbus, Ohio
June 20: Old Rock House, St. Louis, Missouri
June 22: Varsity, Minneapolis, Minnesota
June 23: Union Terrace, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
June 24: Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
June 25: Davis Park, Rockford, Illinois
June 27: Musica, Akron, Ohio
June 28: Altar Bar, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
June 29: Gramercy Theatre, New York, New York
June 30: Alive at Five, Stamford, Connecticut
July 1: Brighton Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
July 7: Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas
July 8: Brewster Street Ice House, Corpus Christi, Texas
July 9: Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas
July 10: Antone's, Austin, Texas
July 11: House of Blues – Blue Peacock, Houston, Texas
July 20: Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois
July 21: Simons Estes Amphitheatre, Des Moines, Iowa
July 22: Campus Martius Park, Detroit, Michigan
[edit]Discography

[edit]Albums
Year Album details Peak Certifications
(sales threshold)
US US
Digital US
Heat[30] US
Indie CAN[31] UK
2007 So I'm Told[32]
Released: July 7, 2007[33]
Label: WuLi
Format: CD
— — — — — —
2010 Slumberland[34]
Released: January 7, 2010 (iTunes)
January 20, 2010 (physical release)[35]
Label: WuLi
Format: CD, digital download
— — 7 39 — —
US: 17,000[36]
Live It Up
Released: November 16, 2010
Label: 19, RCA
Format: CD, digital download
19 10 — — 79 122
US: 141,000[37]
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
[edit]Digital albums
Year Album Peak Sales
US
Heat US
Indie
2010 Season 9 Favorite Performances 9[38] 40
US: 5,000[39]
[edit]Singles
Year Single Peak Album
US[38] US
Adult Pop[40] CAN
2010 "Beautiful Day" 24 — 13 non-album single
"Sweet Serendipity" 110 23 96 Live It Up
2011 "Beautiful Like You" — — —
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
[edit]Digital singles
Year Single Peak Album
US[38] CAN
2010 "Hallelujah" 44 57 Season 9 Favorite Performances
"Falling Slowly" (with Crystal Bowersox) 66 70 non-album single
"The Boxer" 88 72 Season 9 Favorite Performances
"—" denotes releases that did not chart
[edit]Collaborations
2008: Square One Organic Baby Food Company promotional CD (6 of the songs are sung by Lee DeWyze).
[edit]Awards and nominations

Year Presenter Award Result
2010 2010 Teen Choice Awards Male Reality/Variety Star Won

References from Wikipedia.com