Lee DeWyze

With his rocker growl and disarming modesty, Lee DeWyze won over millions of viewers who voted him the season nine winner of "American Idol" (Fox, 2002-16), one of the world's most influential singing competitions. Leon James DeWyze was born on April 2, 1986 in Mount Prospect, IL. He had a difficult time in school, and was kicked out during his senior year at Prospect High School for allegedly fighting with another student. He later attended Forest View Alternative School in Arlington Heights, IL. To cope with his personal issues, DeWyze taught himself to play guitar and drums, and began performing in public when he was 16. The following year, a local talent scout for the independent music label, WuLi Records, saw DeWyze singing and playing guitar at a Chicago house party, and signed him on the spot. Shortly after, he formed the Lee DeWyze Band, which played at many local gigs and even released an album, So I'm Told, in 2007. While DeWyze and his band were considered local celebrities, he was far from national superstardom. To make ends meet, he worked as a paint store clerk before his life would change forever.

In 2009, DeWyze tried out for the ninth season of the reality competition series "American Idol" and landed a spot in the Top 24 that made it to the semi-finals round in Hollywood. DeWyze stood out among the fame-hungry contestants due to his booming alt-rock growl and easy Midwestern charm. But as the season progressed, he steadily gained more confidence, shed his shyness, and attracted more fans. DeWyze even managed to outperform the season's frontrunner, the folksy, raspy-voiced Crystal Bowersox, with his riveting renditions of Frank Sinatra's "That's Life" (1966) and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" (1984). After an emotional finale, a visibly stunned DeWyze was declared the winner of the competition. Following his win, he headlined the 2010 American Idols LIVE! Tour, a summer concert that featured the show's Top 10 contestants. In November 2010, he released his first major-label album, Live It Up, which sold only 39,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the least successful record debuts for any "American Idol" finalist.