Lee DeWyze’s biggest claim to fame is probably winning Season 9 of “American Idol” but the singer/songwriter has accomplished so much more since taking home the crown five years ago, and he hopes that AI doesn’t define who he is as a musician and artist.
“That was five years ago, and I really want people to see me as who I am now,” he says. “There are so many creative things that I’ve done since the show to demonstrate who I am as a person and artist.”
DeWyze’s music has appeared on TV shows such as Nashville; he wrote a song for Ronan Keating, which reached No. 1 in Ireland; and his most famous tune to date, “Blackbird Song,” was used in an episode of “The Walking Dead” last season. That song became the second most viral song on Spotify the week it aired on the hit show.
“I am a huge fan of the show and I wanted to try and get a song in, so I spent a few days writing this song, and I recorded it, engineered the whole thing and sent it off to AMC and they absolutely loved it,” he says. “A few months later, I was watching it on the show. The response from it was amazing.”
DeWyze even produced a video for his single, “Fight,” which won Best Music Video at the LA Indy Film Festival last year.
Undoubtedly, winning the ninth season of “American Idol” did a lot to bring Lee DeWyze into the limelight, but even before rising to fame on the show, the singer was building a nice career for himself.
With his Lee DeWyze Band, the singer-songwriter from Mount Prospect, Ill., released two independent albums—“So I’m Told” and “Slumberland”—and was creating quite a following, but his appearance on the show in 2010 changed his life forever.
“It was a great experience and I will always appreciate it,” he says. “I loved what it was able to do for my career, but it didn’t change the type of music I made.”
In that respect, the records he put out before Idol weren’t very different than those that came after—“Live It Up,” “What Once Was” and “Frames.”
“Coming off of the show, it made me revert further back to what I used to do before Idol,” DeWyze says. “You go on the show and you’re singing cover songs and you sing them this way or that way, and that’s not really who I am or what I do. I am a more grittier singer and being on the show, there were all these choir voices around me and I just wondered, do I need to sing prettier?”
So, while “American Idol” contestants are usually told they grow as artists throughout the competition, DeWyze feels it was the opposite for him, as he had to learn a different way of performing.
“It wasn’t something I was used to; being judged or performing to impress people,” he says. “I couldn’t get up there to do the songs I wanted to do or sing because I wanted to sing. For me, I had to change up what I was doing.”
On Monday, April 13, DeWyze will be heading to Jammin’ Java for a night of great music.
“A big difference between what I’ve done in the past and what I’m doing now is I bring out my guitar and I’ve got my kick-pedal, and it’s definitely more aggressive, stompy, acoustic rock,” he says. “We have a good time and I’m looking forward to being out there and playing for my fans, who have been just awesome.”
DeWyze will also be holding a Meet and Great before his concert at Jammin’ Java.
“So often, you play a show and you don’t get a true chance to meet the fans,” he says. “The biggest misconception is that when artists are done performing, that’s it, and they don’t have anything else to do, but that’s not the case. With the meet and great, it gives me the chance to let them get to know me and connect better with what I’m doing.”
Fans can come in, listen to his sound check and then DeWyze will take photos and answer questions for the crowd. Then, everyone can settle in for the concert.
“We’re working on some new music and we’ll be performing some of that on the road,” he says. “There’s a new song called ‘Stone’ that fans have been excited about and I really appreciate their support.”
For more information, visit jamminjava.com.
