Artist | Lee DeWyze
Grade | D
What Matt Liasse thinks:
Of all the winners from “American Idol,” season nine winner Lee DeWyze is the most lackluster.
The only thing his debut album “Live It Up” does right is it represents the sinking ship that was the ninth season well.
DeWyze’s album is bland and uninspired. None of the 11 songs are worthy of being played on pop radio, and all of them end up sounding exactly the same.
For anyone who watched the last season, this shouldn’t come to anyone as a surprise. DeWyze’s performances from week to week were boring, and it seemed that he would rather be anywhere else but the “American Idol” stage.
The same attitude seems to have tagged along with his career as a solo career.
DeWyze’s vocals seem lazy and without emotion, sometimes even leaving the listener annoyed.
Very few songs work. One, for instance, is “Me And My Jealousy.” An U2 influence is evident in the song’s big chorus and DeWyze’s vocals, but again, the song loses appeal when it lacks any type of real emotion.
“Stay Here” is the closest to a catchy, fun song the album can come to. It’s the album’s only feel-good tune that offers the listener any kind of fun.
The album’s opener, “Live It Up,” is a desperate attempt of a bluesy love song, while “It’s Gotta Be Love” is a ukulele-led tune with juvenile lyrics.
Of all of the American Idols that came before him and the one that will come next, DeWyze’s album’s success will be comparable to second-season winner Ruben Studdard’s debut album.
