Blake Lewis
Blake Lewis at the 2009 American Music Awards.
Background information
Birth name	Blake Colin Lewis
Also known as	BShorty[1]
Born	(1981-07-21) July 21, 1981 (age 30) Redmond, Washington
Origin	Bothell, Washington, United States
Genres	Pop, soul, electropop
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, producer
Instruments	vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums, beatboxing, loop pedals
Years active	1998–present
Labels	Arista Records (2007–2008) 19 Recordings (2007–present) Tommy Boy Entertainment (2008–present)
Associated acts	Kickshaw (1998–2002), Darude
Website	www.BlakeLewisOfficial.com

Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer-songwriter and beatboxer who was the runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol. His major label debut album A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream) was released on December 4, 2007 through 19 Recordings/Arista Records.^[2] On October 30, 2007, his first single "Break Anotha" was released. The album landed on number ten on the U.S. Billboard Billboard 200 as its highest peak position with 97,500 copies sold in its debut, and over 350,000 copies so far. After the release of his second single "How Many Words", which peaked at number eight on the U.S. Billboard Dance/Club Play Songs, Lewis was dropped by Arista Records. Lewis eventually signed with Tommy Boy Entertainment.

His second album, Heartbreak on Vinyl, was released on October 6, 2009. The first single "Sad Song" was released on July 21, 2009 and peaked at number ten on the U.S. Billboard Dance Radio Airplay. The album charted at number 135 on the U.S. Billboard Billboard 200, number twenty on the Billboard Independent Albums, and number seven on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums with over 4000 copies sold in the first week (1000 of those were digital downloads).

Biography[link]

Early years[link]

Lewis was born in Redmond, Washington to Dallas and Dinah Lewis.^[3][4] Dinah is a former rocker who still sings and plays guitar.^[5] He is an only child and is of Welsh, Swiss, German and Irish descent.^[6] He attended Kenmore Junior High and later Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, Washington.^[7][8] In high school, Lewis participated in many high school state competitions . He also took part in numerous musicals, as well as comedy and rap videos with his friends.^{[3][9][10][11]} In many of these videos, he portrayed his alter ego, Jimmie Walker Blue, the character he introduced during the semi-final round of American Idol.

Lewis started beatboxing at seventeen. He picked up this talent purely by ear, listening to CDs of beatboxing, after he was inspired by Matthew Selby, a former member of the Los Angeles-based a cappella group M-Pact, of which fellow American Idol semi-finalist Rudy Cárdenas was a member.^[6][12][13] Aside from singing and beatboxing, Lewis plays the guitar, keyboard, drums and has written many songs such as "She Loves the Way", "Emotional Waterfalls", "Dumpty Humpty" and "Jealousy".^[14][15][16] He describes himself as an improv musician and often uses devices such as loop pedals and the Kaoss Pad to layer beatboxing, instruments, vocals and effects to create a song live on stage.^[17]

Being a member of the a cappella group Kickshaw for four years after graduating from high school in 1999, Lewis worked with the group on a 10-track album titled Put It In the Microphone but he quit the group in 2002 to become a solo musician going by the stage name Bshorty, which was basically inspired by the nicknames of the members of 311 and "aggressive inline-skate videos during the 1990s", "doing drum and bass shows, and conscious hip hop shows, singer-songwriter stuff, and electronica and hip hop".^{[10][12][18][19][20][21][22]} He made connections with various musicians by performing regularly in many venues in Seattle such as Nectar Lounge in Fremont, SeaMonster Lounge, Lo-Fi Performance Gallery, Jet Deck in Everett (now in Mill Creek) and hosted shows like The Digital Lounge shows at ToST.^{[6][17][23][24]} Before Idol, he was working on a solo album with a number of tracks finished.^[25]

[edit] American Idol

Overview[link]

Though he initially found American Idol unappealing, Lewis auditioned for it in Seattle with "Crazy" by Seal and an off-screen rendition of "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5.^[26][27][28] Introducing himself as the local beatboxing champion in the audition, Lewis beatboxed along with his teammates, including Chris Sligh, Rudy Cárdenas and Tom Lowe, to "How Deep Is Your Love" by Bee Gees in the Hollywood's Week. The memorable performance received a standing ovation from the audience and Paula Abdul, who commented "that brought down the house". In an early episode of the United Kingdom edition of American Idol, Lewis recalled his first solo performance in the Hollywood's Week was "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" by The Temptations. When later he sang it in front of the other finalists, Phil Stacey felt that it was the best performance he has seen from Lewis.^[29]

Lewis ended up the last male contestant standing, despite Simon's first impression that the singer was a bit "over the top" adding "I don't know if you're as good as you think you are". But soon afterward, the judges began predicting Lewis' "front runner" status. In an exclusive interview with X17Online on March 4, 2007, Simon Cowell foresaw Lewis' chance to take the crown.^[30] After Lewis' performance of "Lovesong" by The Cure/311 on March 27, Paula Abdul said that she would love to see him in the finale. Cowell further confirmed that Lewis was the front runner of male contestants on American Idol. Lewis, upon entering the top 2 on May 16, 2007, he thus became the first ever contestant from the Northwestern United States (specifically, Washington) to compete in the finale.

Lewis' beatboxing and scat singing skills had been featured occasionally throughout the competition, notably in the performances such as "Virtual Insanity", "All Mixed Up", "Time of the Season", "You Give Love a Bad Name", "You Should Be Dancing", "This Is Where I Came In" and "This Love". He had also rearranged songs including "You Keep Me Hangin' On" and "You Give Love a Bad Name". Although Lewis' first performance in the semi-final weeks, "Somewhere Only We Know", was pure singing and inspired judges to make comments about his contemporary vibe, his signature performance on the show was probably "You Give Love a Bad Name" by Bon Jovi. Lewis incorporated a substantial beatboxing component, making the song sound significantly different from its original version. Jon Bon Jovi, the lead singer of the band who also coached the contestants that week, noted that Lewis' rendition was "rolling the dice". All three judges acknowledged the huge risk of Lewis' arrangement, but also praised him for his originality including beatboxing. Randy Jackson believed that it was the most original performance ever on the show. Cowell even predicted that 50% of the audience "would absolutely hate it" but another half would love it. The groundbreaking performance was later ranked number six in top 20 all-time greatest American Idol performances on AOL.com.^[31]

Several original versions of songs Lewis performed re-entered Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart shortly after the show. Lewis' first performance on-stage, "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane, re-entered the chart at number 26 (number 19 on Hot Digital Tracks chart);^[32] "Time of the Season", a The Zombies' hit in 1968, reached number 67;^[33] Ryan Adams’s "When the Stars Go Blue" hit number 39 (number 37 on Hot Digital Tracks chart);^[34] Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" shot up to number 29;^[35] "This Love" and "She Will Be Loved" by Maroon 5 jumped to number 41 and number 45 respectively.^[36][37] Maroon 5’s album Songs About Jane had re-entered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart at number five on June 2, 2007 as well.^[38]

On May 11, 2007, Lewis visited his hometown, Seattle, Washington for the traditional Idol Top 3 hometown visits. He made numerous appearances at radio stations and then played a concert in Seattle at Westlake Center, including a performance of "Baby Got Back" with Sir Mix-a-Lot. He also visited the top of the Space Needle. Fans followed him to Bothell for a parade and concert at the Sammamish River Park. Afterwards, he proceeded to Safeco Field to sing the national anthem, "The Star-Spangled Banner", for the Seattle Mariners's Game.

Lewis claimed 311 as his all-time favorite band after his performance of "All Mixed Up".^[39] Responding to a viewer question on March 13, 2007, he had also confessed his love of "underground hip hop, electronic music" such as Common Market and Panda Conspiracy, with an addition of The Mob Law, which in Lewis' opinion, "should be signed to a major label".^[40]

While being the last two contestants waiting for the results on May 2, Lewis and Chris Richardson answered Ryan Seacrest's question about their close relationship, saying that they are best friends.^[41] Interestingly, Lewis has "Chris Sligh, Rudy Cárdenas", contestants from the sixth season of American Idol, listed as his own "American idols" on his profile on American Idol official website, while Sligh and Cárdenas also have Lewis on their lists.^[42][43][44] Furthermore, Lewis claimed in an interview with The Blaker Girls that besides Richardson, Cárdenas and Sligh, his best friends on the show were Brandon Rogers, Jordin Sparks and Gina Glocksen.^[16] In the episode of The View on June 14, 2007, Lewis said that there were "a lot of writers on the show", including Richardson, Sligh and himself.^[45]

Jimmie Walker Blue, his alter ego was introduced in the middle of the Idol.^[46]

Performances/Results[link]

[edit] Post-Idol

Lewis' songs from the American Idol have been on sale at the iTunes Store and the American Idol official website as Blake Lewis - EP (called a "bundle" on Idol official website) shortly after the finale of Idol, along with other songs that did not make the EP's cut that are being sold as individual singles. Figures from SoundScan which were posted on USA Today indicated that Lewis' "You Give Love a Bad Name" was "the biggest-selling download of the season", with 192,000 copies sold.^[47]

After the finale of Idol, Blake Lewis has made several appearances on television shows. He performed Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved" on The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet (combined with a snippet of U2's "With or Without You"), The Today Show, Live with Regis and Kelly and The Early Show.^[48][49] In the episode of The View on June 14, 2007, he sang "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane.^[45] Lewis had also appeared on Total Request Live, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet with the winner of Idol, Jordin Sparks and Larry King Live with contestants who made into the top ten of American Idol.^[50][51][52] On July 4, 2007, Lewis performed "God Bless America" and "America the Beautiful" on Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular with Sparks and Melinda Doolittle.^[53][54]

Lewis took part in the "American Idols Live! Tour 2007" from July 6 - September 23, 2007, along with other contestants in the top ten. He revealed on The View on June 14, 2007 that all the male contestants on the show would be playing musical instruments on the tour (for the first time ever), "doing like a folk band," and that he would bring along his loop pedals for his beatboxing.^[45] Before several shows, Lewis improvised, got dressed up as a janitor character named Bob Bobberson and sometimes as a Pop-Tart.^[55] He performed "She Loves the Way" on the last show, becoming the first Idol who sang their pre-Idol original materials on the tour. He and Chris Richardson have "started working on a little documentary" on the tour and it will be published at their MySpace profiles.^[55][56]

Lewis was named number five in the list of the ten sexiest Idol contestants ever on the website during the running of the sixth season of American Idol and was ranked number 21 in the list of music's 21 sexiest single men on June 11, 2007 on AOL.com.^[57][58] Later in the issue of People magazine on June 15, 2007, the brand-new runner-up of Idol appeared on its list of "Hottest Bachelors of 2007".^[59][60][61] He has also made a cut on the list of 50 hottest guys on Elle Girl.^[62]

Career[link]

[edit] 2007-2008: A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)

On March 6, 2008, he performed "How Many Words", from his album A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream), on the American Idol result show.

On the release of his second single, Blake Lewis spent much of his time promoting the single "How Many Words" at various radio stations. While Blake Lewis parted with his label, Arista Records, in June 2008,^[63] he will begin his national tour starting on the East Coast at the end of September with the help of 19 Recordings and will be playing songs from A.D.D. as well as new songs.^[64] Details about the tour can be found at Blake Lewis's Myspace page^[55] or the website of his official street team, the Blake Lewis Army.^[65]

Upon his record deal with Arista Records/19 Recordings which was announced officially on August 24, 2007, A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream), Lewis' "electro-funk-soul-pop" first studio album, was released on December 4, 2007.^[66][67][68] In fact, the singer has been recording his album in the studio "for all night long" since June 18.^[68][69] "Break Anotha", the first single from A.D.D., was released to radio on October 30, 2007 and on iTunes Music Store on November 13.^[70][71]

Blake's second single, "How Many Words" was released on March 10, 2008. A.D.D. has been made available at iTunes and includes his music video for his first single "Break Anotha". On June 25, 2008 Entertainment Weekly officially announced that Lewis was dropped by his label, Arista, but will remain on Idol creator Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings roster.^[72]

Lewis has said he's already written four songs for his second album, which he's working on with his band's drummer, KJ "Quantize" Sawka. The pair will be co-producing the effort, which Lewis describes as "Massive Attack meets Zero 7 — drum-and-bass with a little pop influence."^[63]

Lewis said he may release the disc through his own label, which he's in the process of getting off the ground. "I'm super-passionate about this record," he said. "Who knows what's in store? Half the year's over, and it's only going to keep going."^[63] According to MTV News, the album is expected to have the electronica genre like the first album, and "he is experimenting with his own music" by implementing blue-eyed soul, pop music, rock, jazz, emo, indie and some metal genre. It was also reported on KIIS-FM that Lewis will collaborate with Chris Richardson, KJ "Quantize" Sawka and Ryan "Alias" Tedder.

As of August 2008, the artist has added one song to his sophomore LP, which may be out on the last quarter of 2008 or first quarter of 2009. Lewis told the interviewers that he is very excited to premiere his new songs, and he has learned some lessons from his "A.D.D." era. On an interview, he said, "Where to start… Orchestral Drive-By: KJ and I are about 5 songs deep now. Can’t wait for you all to hear this. I haven’t been this excited in a while. I haven’t been able to produce in a year and half, besides a couple songs on ‘A.D.D.’ and from what I have learned in the last year, it sure has paid off. STOKED!!!"^[73]

It was reported that Lewis has collaborated with his friends on the band, Project Lionheart at a track called "My Eyes" and "Hell Yeah".^[74] Aside from that, he also collaborated with Common Market's "Trouble Is", where he contributed backing vocals.^[75] Blake says who is currently producing his record with his drummer, KJ Sawka. Blake also recorded a track at 311 frontman Nick Hexum’s house for the next album. Blake finished a charity song called "Selfless" with Darude for Dance4Life. In September, Blake was featured on a song for BT's album, which he says is a “throwback to Flock of Seagulls.”.^[76] Blake has also been in Darude's song "I Ran" which hit the charts and is on local radio stations constantly.

[edit] 2009-Present: Heartbreak on Vinyl

On April 30, 2009, Lewis performed at the 2009 Congressional Clubs' First Lady's Luncheon to Honor Michelle Obama.^[77] He performed three songs including a beatbox version of "America the Beautiful".

His second album, Heartbreak on Vinyl, was distributed under Tommy Boy Records^[78] - a dance/hip hop/electronic label whose catalog includes albums by Africa Bambaataa, Biz Markie and De La Soul. He signed a deal on Tommy Boy Entertainment to record an electronica album.

The first single from the album, "Sad Song", was released on July 21, 2009. The album was released on October 6, 2009.

Acting[link]

Lewis will make his voice acting debut in the English dub of the anime series, Durarara!!, in which he will voice Kasuka Heiwajima.^[79][80]

Philanthropy[link]

Lewis has been supporting cancer research at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle by donating 50% of the proceeds from the merchandise of The Blaker Girls.^[81] He chose to put his support behind this organization after a best friend of his as well as his friend's girlfriend were diagnosed with lymphoma.^[9][82] In 2010 Lewis competed on Don't Forget the Lyrics to raise money for the Seattle Children's Hospital, a charity that he has worked with for over ten years.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

EPs[link]

Notes:

• ¹ Since Blake Lewis was available exclusively through the iTunes Store, it was not eligible to chart on the Billboard 200.^[86]

Singles[link]

Notes:

• ¹ While Jordin Sparks, the winner of the sixth season of American Idol, had "This Is My Now" as her official single, Lewis did not announce his choice of single officially, despite the fact that "You Give Love a Bad Name" was the highest-charting track among his "bundle" of songs available for downloading. "You Give Love a Bad Name" entered a number of charts.
• ² Unlike the debut songs of previous winners and runners-up of American Idol, all five songs that appeared on Blake Lewis (EP) were released digitally only, not physically.^[86]
• ³ While not being announced as a single, "Time of the Season", the song Lewis performed in the British Invasion week on American Idol, has debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 99, the Pop 100 chart at number 74 and the Hot Digital Songs chart at number 70 in the issue of the charts on June 9, 2007.^[86] Several tracks by Lewis have made appearances that week on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and the Pop 100 chart as well, including "This Love" (number 2; number 80), "When the Stars Go Blue" (number 10; number 92) and "I Need to Know" (number nineteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart).

As featured artist[link]

Unreleased original works[link]

• "Closer to Reason"^[89]
• "Dumpty Humpty"
• "Emotional Waterfalls"^[90]
• "Four Letter Word"
• "Give It to Me" (duet with Laura Blue)^[91]
• "Jealousy"
• "My MySpace" (featuring The Sampler)^[55]
• "She Loves the Way" (produced by BT) -- he performed the song on American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007^[92]
• "Transmission"
• "Love Takeover"
• "Drivin' Me Crazy"^[93]

Guest vocals[link]

• 2003: Unexpected Arrival, "Julie" (featuring Blake Lewis); "Take Control" (featuring Blake Lewis) Both chorus's written by Blake
• 2007: Caleb Cunningham/K-Tone, "My Eyes" (featuring Blake Lewis)^[94]
• 2007: KJ Sawka, "Brotherhood of the Drum" (featuring Blake Lewis); "Move On" (featuring Blake Lewis); "WTO" (featuring Blake Lewis) (from the album Cyclonic Steel)^[95]
• 2008: Darude, "Selfless" (featuring Blake Lewis); "I Ran (So Far Away) (featuring Blake Lewis)
• 2009: DJ Dan, "Operator" (featuring Blake Lewis)

Cameos[link]

• 2006: The Sampler, "The Chuck Norris Rap, The Harry Potter Rap, Snakes On A Plane Rap" (Music Video)
• 2007: Jordin Sparks, "Tattoo" (music video)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Blake Lewis

• Official website
• Blake Lewis on Sony BMG Musicbox Network
• Blake Lewis at American Idol
• Blake Lewis at the Internet Movie Database
• Blake Lewis on AOL.com
• Blake Lewis on Last.fm

Lee DeWyze
DeWyze performing in June 2010.
Background information
Birth name	Leon James DeWyze, Jr.
Born	(1986-04-02) April 2, 1986 (age 26) Mount Prospect, Illinois, U.S.
Genres	Rock, alternative rock, indie, folk
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano, drums, bass
Years active	2003–Present
Labels	WuLi (2007-2010) 19 (2010-present) RCA (2010-2011)
Associated acts	Louis Svitek, Lee DeWyze Band
Website	www.LeeDeWyzeOfficial.com

Leon James "Lee" DeWyze, Jr.^[1] (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 Live It Up was released on November 16, 2010, through 19 Entertainment and RCA Records. WuLi Records, citing demand from DeWyze's fan base, plans to release a third album of pre-Idol recordings, What Once Was, on February 14, 2012.

Background[link]

DeWyze was born in Mount Prospect, Illinois, the eldest son of Kathleen (née Donahue)^[2] and Leon (Lee) DeWyze, Sr., who worked as a postal carrier in Elk Grove Village, Illinois.^[3] He has two older sisters, Shannon and Sarah, and a younger brother, Michael. His musical influences include Cat Stevens, Eric Clapton, Ben Harper, and Simon & Garfunkel.

DeWyze attended St. James Catholic Elementary School in Arlington Heights, Illinois, and Prospect High School in Mount Prospect, Illinois, up until his senior year, due to too many unserved detention hours. 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.^[4] While he never graduated from either high school, he eventually got his GED.^[3]

[edit] Pre-Idol career

After leaving school, DeWyze worked as a paint salesman. He also worked as a trading floor clerk at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2007–2008^[5] before returning to work at the Mount Prospect paint store until he auditioned for American Idol and making it through to the Hollywood rounds of the show. The store continued to support him during his American Idol run by selling tee shirts encouraging fans to vote for Lee.^[6]

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.^[7] WuLi released a remixed and remastered edition of So I'm Told in 2010.^[8] 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,^[9] 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.^[3] The Lee DeWyze Band was featured on a local television sports program, The Chicago Huddle, hosted by ABC 7's Ryan Chiaverini, during the 2008 and 2009 seasons.^[10][11]

DeWyze also had an acting role in 2006 in a low-budget short horror film Deadscapes: Broken Road.^[12] He played one of a trio of survivors in a land overrun with the undead.

[edit] 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 5. Crystal Bowersox and DeWyze made it to that top two, in which he won.

His closest friend among the competitors is Andrew Garcia.^[13] 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, Aaron Kelly, and Alex Lambert and Lacey Brown from Top 16. Before every performance, DeWyze would call his family.

DeWyze was 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.^[14] As a result of winning the season, DeWyze also won a recording contract.

Performances/results[link]

• ^Note 1 Song included on American Idol Season 9 compilation album.
• ^Note 2 Due to the judges using their one save to save Michael Lynche, the Top 9 remained intact for another week.
• ^Note 3 Song selected by Simon Cowell.

[edit] Post-Idol career

DeWyze's Idol coronation song, a cover of U2's "Beautiful Day," was released as a digital single on May 27, 2010.^[16] 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."^[17]

DeWyze signed with Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment and RCA Records.^[18]

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 he 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.^[19]

DeWyze returned to Arlington Park Race Track in Arlington Heights, Illinois, for a post-Idol homecoming concert on September 24, 2010, where he performed for more than 20,000 people. His 12-song set of cover songs and pre-Idol originals also included a new song, “Only Dreaming”.^[20] On January 23, 2011, DeWyze performed at halftime during the NFC Championship Game between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field in Chicago.

[edit] Live It Up (2010–present)

In July 2010, DeWyze described his upcoming album:

"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."^[21]

On October 7, 2010, DeWyze announced that his debut album, scheduled for a November 16, 2010 release,^[22] would be called Live It Up and the first single, also called "Live It Up," would debut October 13 on On Air with Ryan Seacrest.^[23]

October 12, 2010, DeWyze announced that his single "Live It Up" would be held off for release. Instead a new single titled "Sweet Serendipity" aired in its place on October 13, 2010. The album Live It Up was released on November 16, 2010. DeWyze performed the second single, "Beautiful Like You", on the American Idol Season 10 Top 12 Results show on March 17, 2011.^[24]

DeWyze's first headlining tour kicked off on June 19, 2011, in Columbus, Ohio, and continued through July 22.^[25] Singer-songwriter Corey Crowder opened for the first eleven shows.^[26]

• June 19: The Basement, Columbus, Ohio
• June 20: Old Rock House, St. Louis, Missouri
• June 22: Varsity, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• June 23: Union Terrace, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin
• June 24: Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• June 25: Davis Park, Rockford, Illinois
• June 27: Musica, Akron, Ohio
• June 28: Altar Bar, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• June 29: Gramercy Theatre, New York, New York
• June 30: Alive at Five, Stamford, Connecticut
• July 1: Brighton Music Hall, Boston, Massachusetts
• July 7: Six Flags Fiesta Texas, San Antonio, Texas
• July 8: Brewster Street Ice House, Corpus Christi, Texas
• July 9: Six Flags Over Texas, Arlington, Texas
• July 10: Antone's, Austin, Texas
• July 11: House of Blues – Bronze Peacock Room, Houston, Texas
• July 20: Six Flags Great America, Gurnee, Illinois
• July 21: Simons Estes Amphitheatre, Des Moines, Iowa
• July 22: Campus Martius Park, Detroit, Michigan

Setlist ^[27] (some variation between 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.^[29]

WuLi Records, citing demand from DeWyze's fan base, has released a third album of pre-Idol recordings, What Once Was, on February 14, 2012. The album has a total of nine tracks.

International Concerts (2011–present)[link]

Lee DeWyze made his début on the international tour scene when he came to South East Asia and China to do his first international concerts, from May 7 to May 17, 2011. He made his first concert stop in Manila, Philippines, doing two straight night concerts. He then travelled for a short stop over to Taiwan, and then went on to Hong Kong for another stop over. He then continued his scheduled concert tours by going to Jakarta, Indonesia, and then to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for a second two-night concert. Before returning to the United States, he stopped over Bali in Indonesia for a brief tour vacation.

Personal life[link]

DeWyze said in an interview that he owns an English bulldog named Capone, is afraid of heights, and loves playing Scrabble and Poker. He plays guitar, piano and the drums.^[30]

DeWyze has some of the lyrics to "Miles From Nowhere", words from a classic Cat Stevens song that say, "Lord, my body has been a good friend but I won't need it when I reach the end" tattooed on his arm.^[31][32] He has three other tattoos, including a silhouette of the Chicago flag and tree of life on his right arm and a Shel Silverstein illustration on his left arm.^[30][33]

On July 27, 2011, DeWyze announced his engagement to model and actress Jonna Walsh. The couple plan to wed in the fall of 2012.^[34]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Digital albums[link]

Singles[link]

Digital singles[link]

Collaborations[link]

• 2008: Square One Organic Baby Food Company promotional CD (6 of the songs are sung by Lee DeWyze).

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

http://www.irishcentral.com/ent/Irish-American-Lee-DeWyze-is-in-the-top-three-on-American-Idol-93672374.html

External links[link]

• Lee DeWyze Official Site at Sony Music
• Lee DeWyze at American Idol
• Lee DeWyze at Billboard.com
• Lee DeWyze site at WuLi Records
• Lee DeWyze at the Internet Movie Database

Robbie Rivera
Robbie Rivera at Winter Music Conference 2009
Background information
Birth name	Roberto Rivera
Born	(1973-08-07) August 7, 1973 (age 38) San Juan, Puerto Rico
Origin	Puerto Rico
Genres	Electro House Dance Funk Tribal Progressive House
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Juicy Music Virgin/EMI Records
Website	www.robbierivera.com

Roberto "Robbie" Rivera (born 1973) is a prolific house music producer and DJ born in Puerto Rico. He has an extensive catalog of original productions and remixes to his credit, ranging from Tribal to Progressive House, as well as incorporating Garage and Latin elements^[1]. He and his wife Monica Olabarrieta have homes in Miami and Ibiza. On October 28, 2009, DJ Magazine announced the results of their annual Top 100 DJ Poll, with Rivera placing #95.^[2]

Biography[link]

Early years (1986 - 1999)[link]

Rivera grew up in Puerto Rico, he was a fan of Freestyle and Eurobeat when he bought two turntables to teach himself Djing techniques. Rivera performed at weddings and school party gigs, eventually leading to nightclubs at age of 16. After high school graduation Rivera attended The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale to study music production and was introduced to many different digital audio tools including the popular Protools program. While in college he released his first record, "El Sorullo", a track influenced by Latin house music. The track became popular in New York and Miami and his career was underway.^[3]

Rise to fame (2000 - present)[link]

In 2000, Rivera's track "Bang" became a huge hit, making it to number one of the United Kingdom dance chart. The track also made it on to several dance compilation albums and was used frequently during the 2000 Sydney Olympics. The song became popular enough that it gave Rivera some face time on Top of the Pops and MTV. Rivera started his own label, Juicy Records, and recorded mix CDs for Max Music, Filtered, and others. Rivera produced his first album Do You Want More? for Ultra Records and Independence in France. The first single "Which Way You're Going" reached the number one position on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Songs chart and was released on the UK label Toolroom, the track was created in early 2003 when Rivera contacted lyricist Ned Bigham, Jean-Jacques Smoothie and Timo Maas; It was the first completed song and lead track which was inspired by Coldplay's hit "Clocks".^[4] In 2003 he also released his track "Girlfriend" which featured vocals by Justine Suissa.^[5] During 2007, Rivera's Juicy Show began weekly airplay on XM Satellite Radio (now SIRIUS XM RADIO) in the United States and Canada. Today, Rivera's Juicy radio show can be heard on radio stations around the world, including (but not limited to): Radio FG,Contact FM and Fun Radio (France); Dero FM (Argentina); Vibe FM (Romania); Novoe Radio FM (Belarus); 105FM and various FM frequencies(Italy); Loca FM (Spain); Turkish Side FM (Cyprus); Risfe FM (Hungary); Radiovolum Digital (Norway); various FM frequencies (Brazil); Dance FM (Morocco).

In 2008 he made a collaboration with Armani Exchange by mixing an album called Twilight for the store.^[6]

Rivera's branded Juicy-themed DJ shows have a devoted following of club goers that number in the thousands at each show; the most well known of these parties is Juicy Beach, occurring at the oceanfront Nikki Beach Club venue in South Beach, Miami, every year during WMC (Winter Music Conference).

Rivera appears as the featured producer on the track "In The Morning" on Wynter Gordon's debut album With The Music I Die.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

The following list contains studio albums produced by Robbie Rivera.^[7]

• 2005 Do You Want More?
• 2008 Star Quality
• 2009 Closer To the Sun
• 2011 Dance Or Die Series 1

EPs[link]

This list contains extended plays by Robbie Rivera, his aliases and co-productions.^[8]

Singles[link]

This list contains singles by Robbie Rivera, his aliases and co-productions, it does not contain singles which were remixed; For remixed singles look at Remixes section. ^[9]

Chart positions[link]

Aliases[link]

This list contains the names of the aliases used by Robbie Rivera. ^[13]

Co-productions[link]

This list contains the names of the co-productions with Robbie Rivera and other artists. ^[14]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official Site
• Official Site
• DJ Times Magazine March 2010 cover story

See also[link]

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart