Biography
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 is scheduled for release on November 16, 2010 through 19 Entertainment and RCA Records.
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DeWyze was born in Mount Prospect, Illinois, the eldest son of Kathleen (née Donahue) and Lee DeWyze, Sr., who worked as a postal carrier in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. He has two older sisters, Sarah and Shannon, and a younger brother, Mike. His musical influences include Cat Stevens, Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, and Simon & Garfunkel.
Education
DeWyze attended Saint James Catholic Elementary School in Arlington Heights, Illinois and Prospect High School up until his senior year. 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. While he never graduated from either high school, he eventually got his GED.
Pre-Idol career
After leaving school, DeWyze worked as a paint salesman. Before auditioning for American Idol and making it through the Hollywood rounds of the show, he had been selling paint for six years at the “Mount Prospect Paint” store. The store continued to support him during his American Idol run by selling tee shirts encouraging fans to vote for Lee.
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. 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, 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. The band was featured on The Chicago Huddle hosted by ABC 7′s Ryan Chiaverini, where DeWyze sang the composition “Another Sleep Song” from his second album Slumberland.
Beside singing, DeWyze also had an acting role in 2006 in a low-budget short horror film Deadscapes: Broken Road. He played one of a trio in a land overrun with the undead.
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 24 and subsequently 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. 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, and Alex Lambert and Lacey Brown from Top 16. Before every performance, DeWyze would call his family.
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. 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. As a result of winning the season, DeWyze also won a recording contract.
POST-IDOL CAREER
DeWyze signed with Simon Fuller’s 19 Entertainment and RCA Records. His first post-Idol album will be on RCA Records, scheduled for a November 16, 2010 release. When describing the upcoming album Lee says:
“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.”
His first single, a cover of U2′s “Beautiful Day,” was released as a digital single on May 27, 2010. 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.”
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, DeWyze 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.
DeWyze’s first headlining tour kicked off on June 19, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio, and continued through July 22, finishing up in Detroit, Michigan. Singer-songwriter Corey Crowder opened for the first eleven shows.
On October 6, 2011, RCA Records CEO Peter Edge confirmed that the 25-year-old DeWyze was no longer on the label. DeWyze was the last of a nine-year partnership between Idol, 19 Recordings and Sony Music, which had an exclusive license on the show’s music releases. DeWyze’s option officially expired in September. A few weeks later in early October, it was announced that DeWyze’s runner-up, Crystal Bowersox, was no longer on her label as well.
Personal life
DeWyze has some of the lyrics to “Father and Son”, a classic Cat Stevens song, tattooed on his arm. He has three other tattoos include a silhouette of the Chicago flag and tree of life on his right arm and a Shel Silverstein illustration on his left arm.
DeWyze stated on his blog that he owns an English bulldog named Capone, is afraid of heights, and loves playing Scrabble and Poker. He also plays the drums.
On July 27, 2011, DeWyze announced his engagement to model and actress Jonna Walsh. The couple met on the set of his music video for Sweet Serendipity and currently plan to wed in the fall of 2012.
Source: Wikipedia