Lee DeWyze Sings "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel

On American Idol's theme for the April 20^th, 2010 show was "Songs of Inspiration". Lee DeWyze chose to sing "The Boxer" by Simon and Garfunkel. Lee said that song is what encouraged him to play the guitar so I would say it was definitely his song of inspiration.

American Idol Mentor: Advice from Alicia Keys to Lee DeWyze

Alicia Keys was the mentor this week on American Idol. Since this week is Idol Gives Back week Alicia was the perfect fit for the "Songs of Inspiration Theme". Alicia Keys has been a champion for HIV/AIDS victims in Africa.

Alicia had Lee speak the words to her. I don't know if she didn't know the words or she had a difficult time understanding him as he sang but once he spoke them she said they were beautiful. Alicia's advice to Lee was he should not lose sight of what the song is about and keep it emotional

Lee DeWyze's "The Boxer" Performance

Lee DeWyze was on stage with his guitar, a piano, and a string orchestra. He had the confidence that has been growing for the past few weeks.

Lee performed an emotional and soulful version of "The Boxer". You could hear the feeling in his voice and the passion in his guitar.

What the Judges said about Lee DeWyze's "The Boxer" Performance

Randy Jackson: Randy said that Lee is a great artist ready to make great music and he will have a great career.

Ellen DeGeneres: Thought it was a beautiful song choice and Lee sang it with soul and depth. Ellen added that it was Lee's best performance.

Kara DioGuardi: Said that Lee just had "his moment". He really connected with the song and he will do fine as long as he keeps picking the songs that he's connected to.

Simon Cowell: Said the song was sincere, emotional, and inspirational. He said that Lee made the song sound like it was written a week ago and his performance was absolutely brilliant.

That is quite a compliment from Simon Cowell. I don't think I've heard the American Idol judge use the words sincere, emotional, and inspirational in the same sentence when he's talking about a contestant.

"The Boxer" was originally written in 1968 by Paul Simon. It made it to #7 on the U.S. charts. Could Lee DeWyze top that with his American Idol version of the song? When Lee DeWyze makes his first professional recordings I hope his version of "The Boxer" will be on it.