Idol 22 - Lee Dewyze

22. Lee Dewyze

Season 9, Winner

I'll be honest, I could still feel my outrage by remembering that Lee's performances during his Idol run was not the work of someone who's ready to carry on the tradition of vocal spotlessness forged by Kelly Clarkson all the way through to Kris Allen. Oh, and he has a charisma of an oyster. Haha. That being said, he was a guy who may botched a few notes along the way, but he clearly sounded like Pavarotti when you line him up against Travis Garland or Ke$ha or a half-dozen of the other chart-toppers who graced the Idol stage that season.

Looking back, I never really saw Lee as a potential Idol winner. Sure, he got lauded by the judges as ''commercial'' and ''current" but that fact alone didn't convince me that he's worthy of being Kris Allen's successor. His audition was decent and I think his Hollywood round performances - though limited - was alright. I honestly saw him as just another fodder who's lucky to end up in the Final 7.

Then, semifinals came and I suddenly noticed his potential as a great competitor - not necessarily a winner - that season. Through out the semifinals round, he picked more contemporary songs, which surprised me in a good way. His versions weren't exactly flawless but at least, it wasn't as expected as the other contestants.

I think Lee hit the trifecta during the semifinals by choosing an appealing recent hits, giving it a unique - but not too unique - twists, and singing them solidly. Yes, his pitch was never perfect on any of them but as I've said, his song choices NEVER bored me to tears.

Now, when he finally got into the Final 12, he tried to improve on his performances by trying not to be the nervous-to-the-point-of-nausea guy - see Lips Of An Angel. Haha - and that's was probably his turning point. He managed to pull out great performances every week since the Finals started. Yes, he had some missteps here and there - Kiss From A Rose - but I though he was able to still maintain that enormous momentum on his side.

So, come Top 3 night, Lee arrived ready to play the game and came out looking like a champion. I don’t care if you think some of the praise he received that night wasn’t deserved, that's politics then and the momentum was certainly in his favor. To me, it was impossible to deny that Lee was, without question, the star of that Top 3 evening. He was almost crowned that night - that obviously doomed Crystal Bowersox's chances the next week.

Sadly, come Finale night, Lee certainly choked. His first song choice was Lee’s stupidest decision of that evening as The Boxer wasn't really his biggest hit. It should've been Treat Her Like A Lady. His second performance another ballad, which only further showed me how weak his interpretation have become. As for Beautiful Day was a song that worked well on paper for Lee and certainly was his best attempt of the evening, but his performances were all starting to merge together by the end of that evening.

But why is Lee above Crystal in my countdown? Well, even if I think Crystal deserved the title more than Lee by sheer basis of their performances during the Finale, I was never really a fan of Crystal and her style. Lee Dewyze, on the other hand, seemed more marketable and I think I'll prefer to have his post-Idol album than Cyrtal's. Oh, and to me, Lee picked songs with melodies people will connect to more throughout the competition.

Favorite Performance(s): Treat Her Like A Lady, to me, has turned Lee Dewyze into a legitimate force. Vocally, the intensity and passion was palpable and the audience clearly ate it up and asked for seconds. Lee's version of Hallelujah, on the other hand, was epic and really did cement his position as the one to beat going intothe Finale.

Treat Her Like A Lady

Hallelujah

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