American Idol winner Lee DeWyze: Meh, probably a fail

Don't get me wrong. I actually enjoy the voice on Lee DeWyze. He reminds me a little of Brent Smith from Shinedown... and I love Shinedown.

But here's the thing... I've been watching Idol since the very first season with Kelly Clarkson. This is the only season where I actually lost interest  at about the top 12 and stopped watching. Why? Because no one seemed that good. So anytime the judges were like "that was an amazing performance," I was turned off because it felt like they were lying to up their viewers.

But I've been saying all along, interestingly enough, that the only two contestants that really stood a chance were the two that were in the finals, Lee and Crystal Bowersox. By all measures, Crystal is a better singer AND performer. She's more comfortable on stage, more reliable with pitch, and chose better songs for herself on average.

Still, going into the final show (which I did watch because when I found out my two were in the final four I started watching the last few episodes...) I knew Crystal wouldn't win. She wouldn't win for the same reason that Adam Lambert and Bo Bice didn't win. Their primary markets just don't watch idol. So when push comes to shove, they just aren't going to stack up 1v1 in the voting. Sure, anyone could recognize her talent and want her to stick around until the end, but when it comes down to it they want to be buying the pop rock album in the end. They know they'll get that from Lee. He's basically going to be another Daughtry or David Cook.

Frankly, Crystal is better off. When idols win and they don't fit the mold... they fall off the face of the market. Look at Taylor Hicks. Remember the Silver Fox? Yeah, I barely remember him too... because even though he was a stronger singer than Katharine McPhee and ended up winning, the audience wasn't the right market for him. He ended up turning to Broadway (where he did very well) and Katharine took his momentum for herself.

Meanwhile, Adam Lambert is doing just fine and was probably able to negotiate a better contract for himself.

So congrats to Lee. Condolences to Crystal. Hopefully now she'll be able to find the right contract, the right album, and the right marketing team to treat her music like it should be treated.... and if so, we haven't seen the last of MamaSox.

Posted via email from Pass Fail Meter