No Surprise : Lee DeWyze Fails to Crack Billboard Top Ten

It's not a surprise. American Idol winner Lee DeWyze, the ah-shucks, shy paint salesman who won Season 9, failed to crack the Billboard Top Ten with his weak cover of U2's, "Beautiful Day." DeWyze even failed to make it into the top twenty. Although it was the highest debuting single of the week, it only came in at a rather dismal 24th position. If the single fails to climb the charts by next week, it will be the lowest chart start for any Idol winner ever.

If his fans have been less than enthusiastic about the debut single, DeWyze sounds as if even he isn't a fan of his own choice. "It's not really my genre," he told USA Today. "There were songs on the table and I went with the one I thought represented me the best." If he thought that the U2 song represented him the best, it gives one pause to think what the other choices were: Susan Boyle's, "I Dreamed a Dream," Lady Gaga's, "Bad Romance," or Justin Beber's,"Baby?"

He admitted that he wasn't part of the song selection process, except for the final song. "I don't know the reasoning behind the songs you get to pick. I don't know the ups and downs of the behind the scenes stuff." It seems that a real artist would find out how the process works and how he could fit his artistic philosophy into it. But Lee is not an artist, at least not yet. He has barely passed the" gee-whiz how did I get here phase."

In April, former top three Idol finalist Danny Gokey released his LP, My Best Days, and entered the album charts at #4. which gave him the best first week for a new country artist since Miley's dad, Billy Ray Cyrus dropped his "Achy Breaky" bombshell in 1992.

If DeWyze is failing to generate much heat, it's probably because this past season of Idol was pretty dull, especially in comparison with last year. Red-hot Adam Lambert made Season 8 exciting and injected some much needed charisma, talent and unpredictability into what is becoming a stale and increasingly lifeless television staple. The finale in May attracted only 24.2 million viewers, down 9% from last year. What started out as a legitimate talent competition has degenerated into a pre-teen popularity contest. If the last two years has proved anything, it's that the best singer doesn't necessarily have the best chance of winning.

Adam Lambert was robbed last year because homophobic sponsor AT&T provided special phones to groups in Arkansas to help them "power vote" native son, Kris Allen over the top. This time Lee DeWyze was basically crowned over the much superior Crystal Bowersox because tweener girls find him cute and nonthreatening and Simon Cowell promoted his first-place finish before the finale.

If viewers are feeling manipulated, it's with good reason. Maybe this will prove to the producers of American Idol that their one- size- fits- all philosophy appeals to fewer and fewer fans. Boring is as boring does. And for two years in a row, mediocre pre-selected winners are failing to produce much enthusiasm with the music buying public.

Sources: USA Today
BBC News
www.billboard.com
www.unreality.tv.com