Idol 83 - Jon Peter Lewis

83. Jon Peter Lewis

Season 3, 8th Place

Jon Peter Lewis was obviously something different for the Idol franchise at that time. He was a bluesy type of rocker that looked like a pen salesman, as Simon said. Season 3 was obviously a girls' year, and 'Idol' obviously wanted some diversity.

Now, when JPL auditioned, I wasn't exactly sure what to think. I really was captivated and thought he was very unique, but he wasn't what I was expecting on the show. But I liked him. I wasn't blown away, but I liked him. Haha.

Then came the semifinals, and I thought that he sounded really good with Tiny Dancer, although I still believe others were more deserving to move on. After that, something happened. A Little Less Conversation. Haha. JPL got on the stage, kind of yelled or talked throughout the song poorly, moved around like a crazy person, and certain judges and tons of viewers ate it up - including me.

I must admit though that when Jon dances around - which was way too often - he really loses control of his voice. He usually compromised his singing and the sound that came out of his mouth wasn't very good. Vocally, it got very shaky and rough.

Things didn't get too much better in the Finals. Yes, he somehow balanced the singing and dancing, well.. at least in Drift Away - even though the chorus still wasn't very good. Unfortunately, he got increasingly tentative and nervous on songs when he didn't dance very much - She Believes in Me and Rocket Man - and the singing didn't get any better when he did dance - This Ol' Heart of Mine and Jailhouse Rock.

Ok. Now, his post-Idol music is much, MUCH better than anything he did on Idol. Heck, if I were to base my favorites on their stuff post Idol, JPL would definitely be in my Top 20. He has a brilliant studio voice, and he is a terrific song writer.

Favorite performance(s): I definitely think JPL sounded the best on his audition. He had such a cool and unique tone. My favorite live performance from him, though, was Tiny Dancer. I didn't think it was amazing, but I quite enjoyed his tone. I thought it was a bit wobbly, but nice. Also Drift Away was quite nice. Well, at least until he started dancing around. He sounded really shaky during that.

Tiny Dancer

Drift Away

#82 Sing-off with Megan Joy