3 stars (out of 4)

Though this year’s “American Idol” was widely derided as one of the least compelling seasons in the show’s history, it did produce a couple of singers who also write the majority of their own songs – no small feat in a competition dominated by voices who are often molded for mass consumption in their post-“Idol” careers by an army of producers and songwriters.

The recent major-label debut by “Idol” winner Lee DeWyze, “Live it Up,” brimmed with DeWyze song credits, albeit usually as part of a committee. Now comes runner-up Crystal Bowersox, whose “Farmer’s Daughter” (Jive) includes eight songs solely written by her as well as two cowrites – meaning she played a significant role in scripting 10 of the 12 tracks.

It may be a coincidence, but that self-direction goes a long way toward making this among the strongest debuts by an “Idol” singer ever. Bowersox came to the competition already a seasoned veteran of the folk circuit; she has been gigging steadily since her teens in Ohio, and also spent several years on Chicago’s North Side busking at train stations and performing at bars. At 25, she has a gutsy voice and feisty demeanor that even the “Idol” machine couldn’t fully dilute.

On “Farmer’s Daughter,” most of that personality pushes through. After the country-rock jauntiness of “Ridin’ with the Radio” and a bland cover of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What it’s Worth,” the album finds its stride with the title song, a brutally plainspoken and poignant portrayal of childhood abuse. “Holy Toledo” is nearly as good, more metaphorical and poetic, but equally wrenching. In both, Bowersox shows a developed sense of how to shape a narrative, moving from despair to determination, over relatively sparse backing.

The power of those two songs is undercut by the whistle-stoked “Lonely Won’t Come Around” and the melodramatic power ballad “Hold On,” the type of “Idol” machine productions that make Bowersox sound generic.

When the production and the outside songwriters stay out of her way, Bowersox expertly works the territory between folk and country. Though typecast as a Janis Joplin-like shouter in the early stages of the “Idol” competition, her best moments are far more subtle, with a touch of twang and fragility. She delivers the ballad “Mine All Mine” with a nuanced touch, brings gospel-soul plaintiveness to “Mason” in a duet with Brian Walker, and invests the do-it-yourself spirit of “Arlene” with hymn-like dignity.

greg@gregkot.com  

Rating: 2 stars (out of 4)

As Lee DeWyze discovers on his first album after winning “American Idol,” his career is no longer entirely his own. That’s the case with every would-be artist who survives the annual popularity contest. They are inevitably squeezed through a music-industry processor that weeds out all the quirks and eccentricities that once might’ve made a singer compelling. So even a potential radical such as 2009 runner-up Adam Lambert ended up sounding more like Taylor Hicks than Freddie Mercury on his “Idol”-curated major-label debut.

DeWyze, 24, grew up in a blue-collar family in Mt. Prospect, Ill., and worked as a paint salesman. Though not nearly as flamboyant as Lambert, he demonstrated on “Idol” that he has a knack for earnest folk-soul, credibly covering Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and the Cornelius Brothers’ “Treat Her Like a Lady.” Windowdressing’s not his thing. He’s best in coffeehouse mode, simple and direct.

Two locally released DeWyze albums, “So I’m Told” (2007) and “Slumberland” (2010), were nothing special. But the better tracks had a brooding, introspective quality that demonstrated a willingness to push beyond pat, pop formula. What he needed is someone to coax that out even more, to further develop the relationship between his acoustic guitar and the hint of sandpaper grit in his everyman voice.

But “Live it Up” (RCA) sounds like it was created in a laboratory; it’s designed to be inoffensive, clinically precise, airless, as if those were virtues that would entice radio programmers to buy in, and fans to prolong the “Idol” lovefest. “Live it Up” is less the national debut of an emerging artist than a cautionary tale about how an industry takes over a career and makes it conform to  successful formulas.

There’s a slice of Jack Johnson’s just-ambling-barefoot-in-the-sand mellowness, a splash of Jason Mraz’s pleading sensitivity. DeWyze’s breathy accents could’ve been lifted from the latest John Mayer ballad. The production gives the music a compressed, unnatural brightness. Though DeWyze is listed as a songwriter on most of the tracks, they’re committee efforts with lyrics that evoke Facebook-page poetry. Consider the chorus to the album’s first single, “Sweet Serendipity”: “I’m always landing on my feet/In the nick of time/By the skin of my teeth”

“Dear Isabelle” moves closer to finger-picked intimacy, but in general DeWyze never moves beyond journeyman competence. With the relentlessly bland “Live It Up,” he becomes the latest in a long line of folk-pop singers air-brushed to melt into the pack, not rise above it.

greg@gregkot.com

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.

By just about any standard, it’s been a down year for “American Idol,” with no Adam Lambert-like subplots and no readily apparent stars-in-the-making along the lines of Carrie Underwood or Kelly Clarkson. The final 10 contestants are an uninspiring lot, with a couple of exceptions. Here’s how I’d rank them in terms of musical acumen and stage presence as “Idol” winds down its season:

1. Michael Lynche, 26, of St. Petersburg, Fla.

Chops: His Maxwell-ized version of Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work” pushed him into the top tier of the “Idol” contestants, showing a rangy voice topped with falsetto delicacy. Nuanced and empathetic, Lynche is setting himself up as the next sensitive soul balladeer.

Presentation: His roly-poly frame and warm smile make him easy to root for.

Rating: 2.5 stars (out of 4)

At last, an “American Idol” finalist with a personality to match the pipes. That was the nearly universal take on Adam Lambert when he finished second last spring to the bland Kris Allen in the nationally televised popularity contest.

Now Lambert is back with his first studio album, “For Your Entertainment” (RCA). It at least looks promising, with an image of the androgynous singer peering out moodily from the album cover beneath thick eye liner.  

At the very least, the image is enough to prompt flashbacks to his “Idol” coming-out party. Watching Lambert take more chances with his look and music as the season progressed gave the fading franchise a much-needed shot of vitality. He began to dress and act the part of a diva in spandex and fingerless cat gloves, yet his powerhouse voice proved suitable not just for “Idol”-approved power ballads, but for putting a glam-tastic twist on rock songs. Visions of Queen’s Freddie Mercury, if not “Thin White Duke”-era David Bowie, danced in our heads. You may not have liked the guy at all, but he wasn’t a cipher. It felt like he was drawing a line every time he strutted into view, as if to say, “Love or hate it, but there’s no in-between.”

For those reasons, there was hope that “For Your Entertainment” would be the first post-“Idol” debut to break the mold of industry-manicured pap. Instead, it’s a series of hedged bets. It stuffs Lambert into a box of formulas that keep his musical flamboyance in check.

Rob Cavallo, Dr. Luke, Ryan Tedder, Max Martin --- among the most successful songwriters and producers of the decade, experts at manipulating the industry machine --- keep him firmly in the middle of the road. The most exciting moments arrive when he veers off, little explosions of individuality that suggest Lambert has a lot more to give than this album and his small army of handlers will allow.

Things start off with a promising stomp in platform boots. “Music Again,” written by Justin Hawkins of the U.K. glam-rock band the Darkness, blends a big Gary Glitter-sized beat with the type of guitar solo that should be accompanied by a laser show. Lambert, instantly feeling at home, just about squeals in falsetto delight.

The title song promises to “get rough with you,” and “Strut” demands a “revolution.” If it were only so. Lambert throws his hands up in the whiny “Whataya Want From Me,” a trifle from the team of Pink and Britney Spears svengali Martin.

“Soaked,” from Muse’s Matthew Bellamy, has all the requisite Muse-style orchestral bombast, and gives Lambert plenty of room to broadcast his extravagant vocal range. But it has all the empty splendor of an Andrew Lloyd Webber pop aria. Linda Perry’s “A Loaded Smile” is its polar opposite, an inert glob of downcast synthesizers masquerading as a song.

A couple of highlights suggest what might have been. “Pick U Up,” cowritten by Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, is one-dimensional, but exuberantly so. Higher and higher it goes, until resistance becomes futile. The approach suits Lambert. His voice loves mountain-climbing. At the end, he lets loose a cackle of delight. Where’s that attitude elsewhere?

“Broken Open,” one of only four songs Lambert had a hand in writing, echoes his most evocative “Idol” moment – a cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World.” The singer feels comfortable around emotional extremes, and the haunted Goth melancholy of “Broken Open” is a natural fit. Lambert’s usually stentorian voice sounds as fragile as the subject matter: a plea to a friend/lover to crack a façade of indifference.

Otherwise, this album feels anticlimactic after Lambert’s “Idol” run. Next time, the singer deserves a chance to fall flat on his face; I bet he’d find that fate far more appealing than the ho-hum reaction much of “For Your Entertainment” inspires.

greg@gregkot.com

    And then there were two. Here’s a look at the Season 8 finalists on “American Idol,” which plays out on national television Tuesday and Wednesday.

KRIS ALLEN

Who:  A 23-year-old student at the University of Central Arkansas majoring in business.

Style: A post-John Mayer, guitar-strumming troubadour with a regular-guy appeal. From the right camera angle, he could pass for a younger version of Joey from “Friends.”

Voice: Somewhat limited in range, so he doesn’t over-sing. Rather he focuses on delivering the song -- not a bad strategy if the material is up to snuff, and so far it has been. His adventurous song choices, venturing into hip-hop and soul, have helped the cause. His agile phrasing borrows as much from hip-hop as it does folk or rock. So far, he’s over-achieved.

Best performance: Cover of Kanye West’s “Heartless.”

Chances of winning: Long-shot. He’ll need a daring song and a knockout performance similar to his interpretation of “Heartless” to have a chance.

Next year he’ll be:  Doing cameo vocals on hip-hop records, ala John Mayer and Maroon 5’s Adam Levine.

ADAM LAMBERT

Who:  A 27-year-old Hollywood-based stage actor-singer who grew up in San Diego.

Style: He’s a glammed-out belter, with fingerless black gloves, sequins, spandex.

Voice: Subtlety is for losers. It’s all or nothing with this guy, and he loves to turn syllables into big, undulating waves of sound. A multi-octave powerhouse who never met a note he couldn’t pulverize. Guaranteed to over-sing, but “Idol” has always been infatuated with divas --- and Lambert is definitely a diva.

Best performance: Cover of Tears for Fears’ “Mad World”

Chances of winning: The clear front-runner and without any major mistakes should win handily.

Next year he’ll be: Over-emoting in a cat suit on Broadway, waiting for the moment when Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” gets turned into a musical.

greg@gregkot.com

        David Cook (left) bested David Archuleta to win the nationally televised finale of “American Idol” on Wednesday.

    An upset. “I was surprised,” my 12-year-old daughter announced. She had it for Archuleta weeks ago, and I had to say it looked like she had it nailed. But the record 97 million voters said otherwise.

    The tipoff came when acerbic “Idol” judge Simon Cowell offered Cook an uncharacteristic apology just before the winner was announced. Cowell had firmly called Tuesday’s Dave-off in favor of Archuleta, and it appeared that Cook’s low-key performance of Collective Soul’s “The World I Know” would sink him.

It came down to the voice (Jordin Sparks) vs. the performer (Blake Lewis). But the reason Sparks was crowned the sixth “American Idol” on Wednesday is that she beat Lewis at his own game.

Sparks’ victory was all but locked up during the final sing-off Tuesday when the most acerbic of the judges, Simon Cowell, ate a rare helping of crow. “Last week I didn’t think you were good enough to make the finals,” he told Sparks after the last of her three songs. “[But] you just wiped the floor with Blake on that song.”

Cowell and fellow judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul underlined their criterion for crowning an “Idol.”