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. Garcia was his roommate throughout the season until he was eliminated in the Top 9. (“It was like a music video for me,” DeWyze laughs.) His latest album, Frames, was released on August 20, 2013 to critical acclaim. The couple were married on July 21, 2012. Pages using duplicate arguments in template calls, https://americanidol.fandom.com/wiki/Lee_DeWyze/Personal?oldid=40758. Winner At the judges' final deliberation, it was revealed that he did enough to make the Top 24. Watch Lee DeWyze’s entire Yahoo Entertainment Facebook Live chat and acoustic mini-concert below. The single was even named one of the top 10 most influential syncs in 2014 from the Musicians Guild of America. As a result of winning the season, DeWyze also won a recording contract. Male Before every performance, DeWyze would call his family. Back when DeWyze first appeared on television in 2010, the Chicago Tribune in his hometown dubbed him “The Reluctant Idol,” and he admittedly struggled to come to terms with the fact that American Idol didn’t really showcase his dark, folky aesthetic. No. It wasn’t for fame or any of that stuff,” DeWyze tells Yahoo Entertainment. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. DeWyze's next album, Oil & Water, will be released on February 12, 2016. The single was released on iTunes and other digital retailers on April 25, 2013, the day he performed the song on American Idol. “I went on the show, truthfully, for no other reason than I wanted to do this for a living. DeWyze was on a episode of Season 10 performing his new song, Beautiful Like You, on American Idol. “I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had people come up to me and how much the storyline has changed, where it’s like, ‘Hey man, I’m a huge fan of The Walking Dead. Then the right things happened, the right things clicked … and I had a song on The Walking Dead.”, DeWyze had broken away from the Idol machine, after releasing one 2010 album on the show’s affiliated label, RCA Records, when he composed a song inspired by The Walking Dead, his favorite TV drama. “There’s so many things you could look back on, and say, ‘I would’ve done this,’ but you know what? “I’ll just be blunt and honest: Coming off of that show, I always felt I had to reverse-engineer my career. “I was just in my house. Music 'American Idol' Finale: Lee DeWyze Upsets Crystal Bowersox A cavalcade of performers hit the finale stage, including Christina Aguilera, Janet Jackson and Bret Michaels. The album's first single is called Sweet Serendipity. On his personal blog, DeWyze has said that he owns a bulldog named Capone, is afraid of heights, and loves playing Scrabble. 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. On October 6, 2011, RCA Records announced that DeWyze was no longer on the label, the option on his contract having expired in September. At the end of the day, what’s the goal? The songs he chose to perform for the tour include "Beautiful Day," "Rocket Man", "Treat Her Like a Lady," "Hallelujah," and "Use Somebody. Watch the performance and full interview below: Posted by Yahoo Entertainment on Friday, February 9, 2018. That is why I did it,” he said. Lee sang "Fireflies" by Owl City. Age That’s why I did all of that in the first place. He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week. His post-Idol album Live It Up was released on November 16, 2010, through 19 Entertainment and RCA Records. “And because of that, it could sound like, ‘Oh poor you.’ But the truth is, when I came off of the show, it was definitely a tug of war, like, ‘Do I play this character that was just on the show?’… Or do I say, ‘OK guys, I’m really a singer-songwriter; that’s what I do, and check it out’? he is close to are Alex Lambert,Lacey Brown and Crystal Bowersox. After that, he was placed in a holding room with Shelby Dressel, Haeley Vaughn, Maddie Penrose, Jessica Furney, Angela Martin, Didi Benami, Lacey Brown, Aaron Kelly, Ashley Rodriguez, Joe Munoz, John Park, J.B. Ahfua and Janell Wheeler. During Hollywood week his group included Aaron Kelly and Crystal Bowersox, all of whom made the Top 24 and subsequently the Top 5. DeWyze was one of two finalists on the show and was the one of two contestants in Season 9 to never land in the bottom three, the other being Crystal Bowersox. On May 26, DeWyze was crowned the winner of American Idol Season 9. … I don’t even know if I knew what my potential was. Lee sang "Beast of Burden" by The Rolling Stones. He auditioned with the song "Ain't No Sunshine". “As far as people ‘underestimating me’, it’s hard [for me to say that], because, you see, I won,” DeWyze continues. Plus, he chatted about his experiences being on a reality TV show, The Walking Dead, and more! Other contestants. Randy, Simon and at least one other judge voted "yes", sending him to the next round. But to then be thrust into this thing — there was an element of finding myself again. I want as many people as possible to hear my music.”. His post-Idol album Live It Up was released on November … Randy, Simonand at least one other judge voted "yes", sending him to the next round. Placed Winner The album has sold 141,000 copies to date. I was by myself,” he recalls. He sang "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. 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? I just knew I wrote songs and sang, and that’s it. “It was really because I wanted to have music be a career for myself, so right out of the gate, I started writing music — just writing and writing and writing. That was really why the focus ever since then has been that.”, And so DeWyze insists he’s not bitter about his time on Idol. DeWyze, however, is still signed to 19 Recordings and is currently working on a new album. On his final solo performance, he sang "You Found Me" by The Fray. “When I came off of American Idol — I’ve made this pretty clear over the past few years — it was always about the songwriting for me. Season 9 At least for me personally, I knew how to write songs, and I sang the way I sang. Placed American Idol Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. He had also released two independent albums called So I'm Told in 2007 and Slumberland in 2010, both on WuLi Records. There were songs on the table, and I went with the one I thought would represent the moment the best.". He received enough votes to be considered "safe" for that week. “American Idol does not cater towards the singer-songwriter. The song became the second most viral song of that week in the United States on Spotify and debuted at number 29 on the Billboard Pop Digital Songs chart. American Idol Wiki is a FANDOM TV Community. His closest friends among the competitors were Siobhan Magnus and Andrew Garcia. He sang "Ain't No Sunshine" by Bill Withers. I wasn’t able to show that on [Idol]. Leon James "Lee" DeWyze, Jr. (born April 2, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Illinois who won season 9 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. 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. Mount Prospect, Illinois Season On January 15, 2013 DeWyze announced that he had signed a new deal with Vanguard Records. He has four tattoos including: lyrics from Cat Stevens' "Father and Son" on his arm, a silhouette of the Chicago flag and tree of life on his right arm, and a Shel Silverstein illustration on his left arm.