One of the strangest seasons of “American Idol” came to a dramatic, and emotional, finish tonight as Lee DeWyze was named the winner of the nation’s biggest singing competition.
The Illinois paint store worker, who wowed Idol fans with his booming rocker growl and down-to-earth modesty, captured the “American Idol” Season 9 title over longtime season front-runner Crystal Bowersox, the cool, dreadlocked single mother with the raspy folk-rock voice.
Lee looked stunned and nearly fell down as Idol host Ryan Seacrest revealed he won the tighter-than-expected contest. Looking like he was about to burst into tears, Lee was mobbed by the other Idol finalists from this season and gave Crystal a hug, telling her that he loves her.
“This is amazing,” the underdog winner said as the audience cheered wildly and his parents jumped up and down in celebration. “I’m so happy right now. I’ve never been happier in my life.”
Moments later, Lee clutched a microphone to sing his victory song, “Beautiful Day,” as laser lights flickered and mounds of confetti streamed down from the ceiling above the stage inside the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, where the results were announced live on Fox.
Idol’s at the same time and in the same place: Chicago during the summer of 2009.
The two connected during the auditions and actually became good friends before both were selected for the semi-finals — the crucial round where the public begins voting for their favorite 24 singers.
That’s when Crystal and Lee began to get noticed.
Crystal, a 24-year-old native of Elliston, Ohio, stood out among the Top 12 women because of her folksy style — her dreadlocks, her strong guitar and harmonica playing and, most of all, her dazzling voice. She idolizes Janis Joplin, Melissa Etheridge and Tracy Chapman, and she can belt out songs that can match those music stars in quality.
Michael Becker/ FoxLee DeWyze was considered a dark horse during Season 9 of ‘American Idol,’ but he gained a lot of ground on front-runner Crystal Bowersox during recent weeks.
Lee, a 24-year-old paint store worker from Illinois who has recorded two albums on a small record label, stood out among the Top 12 guys because of his booming alt-rock growl and disarming shyness.
Early on in the competition, he struggled to stay on key, but he compensated for those flaws with growing confidence and intense performances that riveted the Idol audience and fans at home.
As the season moved forward through the finals, Crystal was touted as the front-runner and she kept up her strong performances, while Lee steadily improved and attracted more and more fans, giving Crystal a run for her money.
During the past few weeks, Lee managed to out-perform Crystal — first on Frank Sinatra night, then last week with his mesmerizing renditions of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Simple Man” and Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
The Idol judges seemed to be pushing hard for Lee to advance to the finale with Crystal, and that’s exactly what happened as Casey James was sent home.
Ironically, both Lee and Crystal shared one of the biggest moments of the season two weeks ago, when they performed a dazzling duet of “Falling Slowly,” by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova.
Apparently rattled by stage fright, Lee suffered a performance setback Tuesday night during the final showdown against Crystal, struggling to hit the high notes on two of his songs. Crystal was stellar, sounding like a polished professional singer, on all three of her songs.
In the end, Tuesday’s performances didn’t mean much to Idol’s millions of voters. They ended up choosing Lee over Crystal.
Vince Bucci/ Fox’American Idol’ winner Lee DeWyze is surrounded by other finalists from the 2010 season shortly after he learns he won the competition over front-runner Crystal Bowersox.
——————————————————————————–
‘AMERICAN IDOL’ WINNERS
SEASON 1 – Kelly Clarkson
SEASON 2 – Ruben Studdard
SEASON 3 – Fantasia Barrino
SEASON 4 – Carrie Underwood
SEASON 5 – Taylor Hicks
SEASON 6 – Jordin Sparks
SEASON 7 – David Cook
SEASON 8 – Kris Allen
SEASON 9 – Lee DeWyze
——————————————————————————–
Len Melisurgo is a local news editor at The Star-Ledger and a self-professed reality TV addict. He has been blogging about “American Idol” since the start of Season 9.
——————————————————————————–
MORE COVERAGE OF ‘AMERICAN IDOL’ SEASON 9
Live Idol blog from tonight’s season finale
‘American Idol’ polls: Idol fans think Crystal sang better, but they’re backing Lee for the win
‘American Idol’ Top 2 recap: Crystal Bowersox steals the show, could win title over Lee DeWyze
Are Lee and Crystal among the best, or worst, finalists in ‘American Idol’ history?
NJ.com/ Star-Ledger Season 9 Archive
FoxCheck out our recent photo galleries dedicated to former American Idol finalists AARON KELLY, SIOBHAN MAGNUS, TIM URBAN and BIG MIKE LYNCHE
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Comments (12 total) RSSPost a commentOldest comments are shown first. Show newest comments first
Posted by Allen24
May 26, 2010, 10:19PM
So American Idol is over for another year – but what did we learn along the way?
Here’s 15 Things Idol taught us this season… why Ellen failed, what show should Big Mike have auditioned for instead, how bad were Ke$ha, Diddy and Gaga, and why Kara is Idol’s new MVP.
If you’re an Idol fan – you’ll love this!
http://www.remotepatrolled.com/2010/05/american-idol-15-lessons-learned/
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Posted by wendymaddy
May 26, 2010, 10:34PM
Lee is cute and winsome, and sings well, but Bowersox is a personality and will probably go far in her career. Hope she eventually dumps the dreadlocks, however. They’re scuzzy and messy. Her kid has beautiful, wavy blonde hair, so presumably she does, too. They’re just the same age and both are single, aren’t they? Maybe they’ll make beautiful music together.
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Posted by annomalley
May 26, 2010, 10:43PM
The tweeners with raging hormones voted for Lee. Crystal was a parent and tweeners never vote for parents. Lee was an ok singer but he was not a star. He has no personality and usually looked like a deer in the headlights. Crystal has the talent and star power to endure. The real voting will happen in WalMart next fall when both have cd’s on the rack before Christmas. You can bet that Crystal will outsell Lee.
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Posted by Starliter
May 26, 2010, 10:44PM
That’s 2 years in a row the show named the wrong winner.
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Posted by talkiseasy
May 26, 2010, 11:01PM
Lee wasn’t great but he is solid. I do believe he will find success in the biz. Just my 2cents.
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Posted by TopTwitsBlog
May 26, 2010, 11:56PM
Lots of tweets of the Idol finale from celeb Idol fans like Christina Applegate, Paula Abdul. Here’s a recap:
http://www.toptwitsblog.com/2010/05/celebs-tweet-american-idol-finale.html
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Posted by JerzGal43
May 27, 2010, 1:17PM
Such a fun recap!!!
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Posted by sean.serritella
May 27, 2010, 1:59AM
This guy is the worst winner to ever win Idol. The show has jumped the shark last year when Adam Lambert didn’t win but this takes the cake. Lee totally stinks. I’d never pay to see him sing because he can’t. My farts sound better than him. My friends can sing better than him and they can’t sing.
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Posted by neilnicky017
May 27, 2010, 4:01AM
They’re scuzzy and messy. Her kid has beautiful, wavy blonde hair, so presumably she does, too.
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Posted by jollyscoden023
May 27, 2010, 4:54AM
I’d never pay to see him sing because he can’t. My farts sound better than him. My friends can sing better than him and they can’t sing.
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Posted by ireaddaily
May 27, 2010, 7:15AM
I’m really disappointed. When Lee sang the line “What would you do if I sang out of tune…” I laughed because he is off key so much. I guess the answer is that you get voted as the American Idol.
Crystal is the better singer by far. I wish her well in her musical career.
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Posted by kingwill
May 27, 2010, 11:11AM
U people need to relax with bashing Lee..Crystal has been average the past few Weeks before the Finale show. Lee has been very good and even better than Crystal up until the Finale show where people obviously didn’t hold it against him too much.
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