'American Idol': DeWyze wins, but Bowersox has more intriguing future
Crystal Bowersox and Lee DeWyze (Courtesy of Fox). View more pictures of Mt. Prospect's Lee DeWyze HERE.
Now the real contest begins: Which of the “American Idol” finalists is best suited for the musical long haul?
Lee DeWyze won the “American Idol” voting Wednesday in what host Ryan Seacrest described as a tight race over Crystal Bowersox. But it shouldn’t have been close. DeWyze is an affable, impossible-to-dislike underdog. But Bowersox is this year’s most intriguing “Idol” talent, the singer with the most potential to blossom into a career artist.Bowersox projects as a head-strong singer-songwriter with a gritty voice and an innate toughness that could translate into a Melissa Etheridge-style career that straddles rock and folk, with a touch of soul.
DeWyze has further to go in terms of establishing himself as a genuine artist once untethered from the “Idol” machine. When he needed to project a bigger, more assertive personality in Tuesday’s final performances, he instead shrunk from the challenge.
The suburban Mt. Prospect native didn’t do himself any favors by wrestling with R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” and performing a version of Paul Simon’s “The Boxer” just respectful enough to be dull. Even on U2’s “Beautiful Day,” he never quite got swept up in the song as strings swirled around him and drums tried to coax out his inner Bono. DeWyze didn’t seem nearly as excited about this performance as his growing fan base has been about him.
He appeared more relaxed Wednesday, joining Chicago on a medley of the band’s hits, but still projected as more of a sidekick than a commanding front man. The positives: his serviceable, blue-eyed-soul voice, and a demeanor more personable than the no-nonsense Bowersox.
“You’re a nice guy,” judge Simon Cowell told him this week, which is how the prom queen dismisses a milquetoast suitor just before she shuts the door in his face.
When it counted most, Bowersox did a much better job with Patty Griffin’s gospel-tinged “Up to the Mountain,” a song that was covered by inaugural “Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson, among others (then there’s the Solomon Burke version, which vanquishes all, but that’s another category altogether). Against that standard, Bowersox hung tough. When she feels a song, she makes it her story, as with Kris Kristofferson’s “Me and Bobby McGee.” She brought a dignity and gravity to “Up to the Mountain” that DeWyze, at this point in his career, isn’t capable of delivering. Unlike her rival, she proved adept at shutting out the pressure of the moment and climbing inside the song.
Not everything clicked. She looked awkward when singing “Black Velvet” in a dress and heels, and she tried to compensate with an over-the-top near-scream final note. Let’s hope it doesn’t presage a music-industry makeover. Bowersox should never, ever do the glamour trip.
She also needs to work on being less remote. She’ll have to figure out how to entertain if she wants to scale the commercial heights of “Idol” winners such as Clarkson and Carrie Underwood.
But her prickliness is also one of her finest assets. She’ll need plenty of that don’t-mess-with-me attitude as she fights to assert her post-“Idol” individuality.
(Read my colleague Maureen Ryan's take on the two-hour finale HERE.)
greg@gregkot.com
View complete "American Idol" Season 9 coverage, including more photos and Lee and Crystal profiles.