Lee Dewyze on American Idol - Lee's Swagger and Phrasing Reminiscent of Frank Sinatra

Lee Dewyze was reminiscent of "a blue collar" guy who is singing about life's lessons, kind of like Bruce Springsteen, kind of like Frank Sinatra, which is a tall order on both accounts.

I couldn't believe some of the performances on Idol tonight. I grew up listening to Frank Sinatra and I just thought, maybe these kids had never heard Frank singing until this week. Phrasing and powering out phrases rather than "words" is what Sinatra knew.

The arrangements were good but I was thinking everyone but Aaron was missing their musical props until Lee took the stage. We've seen Lee come out of his shell over the last few months and tonight we saw fireworks.

The other 4 of tonight's American Idol performances paled in comparison, and it was rather dull until Lee took the stage. Not only was Frank Sinatra a master at phrasing, he was also a master of the stage. He took control and all eyes were on him.

Lee has a great smile and viewers got to see it when he was mentored by Harry Connick Jr. but I still think he doesn't share it quite enough.

Dewyze started his performance hanging out at the organ with Harry Connick Jr. with the rest of the band a bit behind them, and right away with the first few notes, he reminded me of Frank. He was singing a sentence, or a phrase, not individual words and that was what we were looking for - that's what the other contestants were missing.

Lee delivered a star's performance tonight singing "That's Life", one of the more familiar of Frank Sinatra's songs. He had his sneakers on, but he was dressed in a sports coat, with a tie, and a bit more casual than the other idols.

The judges comments, particularly Randy's said, "Dude I could hear the guitar" referring to the fact that even though they did Frank Sinatra's songs he still was true to himself with more of a rock theme. Not ala Adam Lambert - totally change up the song with a huge flair, but more like Lee Dewyze - Danny Gokey, Frank Sinatra, just sing the song and make a statement with the phrases - not the words, not the notes, but the message.

Lee was a reckoning force this week on Idol. Tomorrow night, Lady Gaga will be on the set. Don't forget to vote for your favorite American Idol.

Source:

Fox Television, American Idol, 5/24/2010