Singer-songwriter Lee DeWyze, best known for winning season nine of “American Idol,” performed at Lauderdale Live, the first annual Fort Lauderdale music festival on Dec. 7. He talked about his music’s evolution since “Idol” and his life as a touring musician.
Since winning “Idol” in 2010, DeWyze released his album, “Liveit Up,” six months later. In 2012, he married “Couples Retreat” actress Jonna Walsh, who he says is his best friend and influenced his latest record, “Frames.” Guitar-playing DeWyze said the song “Who Would’ve Known” is about the two getting married and the emotions leading up to the wedding.
“Whether it be your wife or your best friend or your parents or your sisters, your brothers, the people closest to you that you love the most are the people that are on your mind the most,” said DeWyze. “When you’re writing, those people tend to cross your mind.”
DeWyze said all the songs on the record are like his kids; he wants the best for each of them and he wants them to inspire fans.
“So many people come up to me and [they’ll] be like, ‘Oh my God, you’re song “Fight” is going to be my summer anthem.’ That’s great,” said DeWyze. “People [have] come up to me and said ‘I just lost somebody. “Don’t be Afraid” has really gotten me through that.’ That’s what I want for each of the songs.”
DeWyze said reality competition singing shows are great because they give contestants an opportunity to get the recognition they deserve.
“Let’s say John Smith down the street has a band and they’re just killing it and they’re the best. Who’s going to give them a chance? That’s not to say it never happens, but nowadays it’s very difficult.”
Being on a show like “Idol” was something he never imagined doing, but it was a rewarding experience.
“Being a singer-songwriter kind of guy, it was hard to take that step because that’s not really something I saw before in my future. I’m a songwriter. I like playing my acoustic guitar, singing. I was on ‘American Idol.”’that was just so not a part of the cards,” said DeWyze. “I auditioned for it thinking I was cheating, like I was cheating the system. I had this weird outlook on it and then I realized it was the hardest thing I was ever going to do.”
Winning “Idol” worked out well for DeWyze, although he said he doesn’t want to rely on that success for the rest of his career.
“I’m glad I did it and I’ll always be grateful and appreciative of it,” said DeWyze. “I definitely don’t want to ride that wave forever; I want to create new waves and ride those and have people really know who I am as an artist and not just an ‘American Idol’ winner.”
DeWyze still keeps in contact with a couple of his fellow competitors from “Idol” like Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia, but said everyone is doing their own thing.
“There’s like this perception that there’s this secret room we all meet in once a year, where all the winners and all the contestants get together, but, unfortunately, the truth is we all are so busy trying to continue on with what we’re doing that finding time to all get together is so hard.”
The Chicago native said he’s still adjusting to getting recognized. He said the most disturbing encounters happen at airports, when people treat him like he’s a character.
“I’ll be in the airport and someone will just grab my arm and be like ‘Oh my God, you got to come over here and take a picture.’ And I don’t think to date I’ve ever said no to taking photos with anybody. It’s not my thing — like, of course I will.”
The humble singer wants fans to never shy away from coming up to him.
“I’ll always take a photo and I encourage fans to say hi because they should.” He said. “Why not? I think it’s great.”
DeWyze jokingly said musically, he looks up to Lady Gaga. In reality, DeWyze said he grew up listening to Cat Stevens, Paul Simon and Neil Young.
“I think anyone that’s doing what they love and people can connect with it, it’s always great. Music is made for everybody.”
DeWyze said the hardest part about touring is being away from his home in Los Angeles though his wife is very supportive.
“The best part is being on the road and playing for fans and meeting new people and exposing people that may have never heard my music or people that have already heard it that get to hear the new music,” he said.
DeWyze always knew music was his passion. If he wasn’t a musician, he said he would be a firefighter or work with animals.
“I like helping people. When I was younger, I wanted to do that, or a psychologist. There were different things I wanted to do when I was a young lad.”
He said that even if he had a different career, he’d still be playing music.
“I don’t think I would ever just quit music, no matter what,” said DeWyze. “If music was never in my life, which is hard to imagine for me, that would probably be what I’d do.”
