Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Disappointing Reviews/Sales for Lee DeWyze's Album

"American Idol Winner" was how Lee DeWyze wanted to be known. But that mantle has proven to be as much an albatross as a gold medal for those on the receiving end. While some winners have had great success as recording artists, most notably Carrie Underwood, others have seen winning the television show as the one and only high point of their musical careers.

It’s too early to say whether DeWyze, winner of Season 9, will be another Taylor Hicks, turning to Broadway to stay in the game, or whether he will have the long-term mainstream music success of Kelly Clarkson. But initial reaction to his post-Idol debut CD, Live it Up, does not bode well.

According to HeadlinePlanetNews, preliminary estimates show his CD as selling around 45,000 units its first week, the worst sales numbers for any American Idol winner. According to an article in Zap2It, following the release last year of Kris Allen’s first CD, Season 8 was the first year that the winner sold fewer that 100,000 units.  But as poor as Allen’s anemic 85,000 units sold seemed last year, DeWyze’s numbers are far worse.   Here are the rankings for first post-Idol album sales by each of the winners:

1. Ruben Studdard, "Souful," 400,000+
2. Carrie Underwood, "Some Hearts," 315,000
3. Taylor Hicks, "Taylor Hicks," 298,000
4. Kelly Clarkson, "Thankful," 297,000
5. David Cook, "David Cook," 279,000
6. Fantasia Barrino, "Free Yourself," 240,000
7. Jordin Sparks, "Jordin Sparks," 119,000
8. Kris Allen, "Kris Allen," 85,000
9. Lee DeWyze, "Live it Up," 45,000

And it is not just sales that are disappointing. The reviews for "Live it Up" far have also been underwhelming, with reviewers wondering if the album was rushed to capitalize on DeWyze’s win and suggesting it has been homogenized and watered down in an effort to offend no one.  Of course, the reviews haven't been universally negative.  Newsday liked the album, saying DeWyze "crafted the best post-"Idol" debut since Carrie Underwood."  IGN Music said the album does a nice job of balancing grit and warmth.  And while Hitfix mostly panned the album, the reviewer praised Beautiful Like You, interestingly, the only song DeWyze didn’t co-write.

Crystal Bowersox cheerleader Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly not surprisingly gave the record a “C” and called it generic. USMagazine gave it 1 ½ stars and, riffing off of the frequent description of DeWyze as a “paint salesman” (despite his two previous records), called it “as exciting as, well, watching paint dry.” The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online said “it tacks toward the safe and bland.” Even his hometown paper the Chicago Sun Times was pretty mean-spirited in their review, giving the album one star and saying, “Live It Up"? Curling up on the couch and flipping between PBS and C-SPAN would be more exciting." While their competitor, the Chicago Tribune, found the album something they could agree on, giving it just 2 out of 4 stars, saying it “sounds like it was created in a laboratory; it’s designed to be inoffensive, clinically precise, airless.” Blast.com called it “a musical form of Ikea.” 

In fairness to DeWyze, it has become cool to malign American Idol and its contestants recently and many reviewers would not be caught dead praising an Idol contestants record out of fear of losing their street cred.  Plus, the type of album usually  put out by the winner is often safe and inoffensively mainstream as the target audience is American Idol viewers, not necessarily music fans.  Despite DeWyze's comments before its release about writing every song on the album and having so much input, the bottom line is that every song was written by committee and the product released was meant not to inspire and excite, but to put at ease.

The good news for DeWyze is that he has fans and they have come out in support of him, posting positive comments on Amazon.com where his album has been reviewed 26 times and is rated 4.5 stars. Not being in possession of a review copy, I’m relegated to listening to the sample clips on Amazon and that is not enough on which to base a review.  I did hear all of Sweet Serendipity and gave it a generally positive review, which you can read here.



From what little I've heard on the rest of the tracks, however, I am a little surprised by the sound of his voice. On Idol, while DeWyze consistently struggled to stay on key, the tone of his voice was decent and nicely Daughtry-esque. But what I’ve heard so far is not that rough-around-the-edges sound, but a more inconsistent and unappealing John Mayer with a bad head cold sound. And the songs, with the exception of Beautiful Like You, all have a Jason Mraz-like inoffensive/pop quality that is pretty forgettable.

American Idol Season 9 runner-up Crystal Bowersox will have her first post-Idol album released next month.  There was some early grumbling, from Bowersox, that the first single (Hold On, co-written by Kara Dioguardi) was not what she wanted.  But recent news appears to indicate that she is getting her way and that her original, pre-Idol song Farmer's Daughter will be the album' first single.  I hope for her sake that the album was not subject to the same amount of white washing as DeWyze's apparently was and her talent is allowed to shine through.  I'll go on record, however, that Hold On was a good song and probably would have sold well.  It'll be interesting to see if the less radio-friendly, more folky Farmer's Daughter is a commercial success.  It's already been a favorite among her fans.

44 comments:

  1. that's really too bad.hate to say it,but i would have gone with professional song writers.at least with this 1st album.maybe he needs to thimk about his management are they getting him out their.I did see him on Regis
    and Kelly yesterday.poor thing they just had to ask him about that paint store he once worked at.I felt bed for him

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  2. thanks again for another great article. I do feel bad for him, I would for anyone. I wished him well, but he just never touched my heart with his singing. I wish him well in all he does none the less, but hopefuly he can get some good writers or whatever he needs to help him be successful.

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  3. Boring...I think the tracks I 've heard from Lee Dewyze's "Live it Up" album are very lame,sorry.I do like "Sweet Serendipity",though.I won't buy an album for only one song,however.Hubby and I watched Lee perform on Leno,hubby got up&left the room.Not a good solid performer.

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  4. I've never been a Lee fan, but I kind of like "Sweet Serendipity." I feel sorry for him right now...his numbers are very low compared to other idol winners. I can honestly say I won't be buying his CD, but I do wish him luck. :)

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  5. Blast.com didn't have to go and offend IKEA. Pfft.

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  6. in my opinion casey james is the only hopeful one in this group from season 9.i've listened to tim urbans song on utube i actually liked it
    better than lees'song.but if i were a gambler
    i'd put my money on casey.he just seems to know all the right things to do.he's not rushing his album.can't wait to hear how crystal will do.

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  7. has anyone even bothered to think the cd just came out on Tuesday and wasn't very well publicized? give him a break would you. I don't love every song on the album, but there are a couple really great ones. Did Carrie Underwood write any of teh songs on her first cd or were they written for her??

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  8. "He didn't touch my heart." That's an interesting summary statement, and unfortunately so true for so many. Personally, other than Casey, whom I have faith in to put out a good album, the one I think has been consistently underrated is Katie Stevens. She's young but showed a sound and a look during the tour that I believe could be nurtured and guided ~ if the right people believed in her. I'd compare her to Taylor Swift whose music ~ particularly the lyrics ~ garners an amazing connection with her followers. Taylor has he ability to "touch hearts." Katie would have a long way to go to do that, but I don't think it'd be impossible.

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  9. I bought the album and I really like 5 of the songs.

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  10. Too bad for Lee. Maybe things will pick up. BTW being compared to John Mayer and Jason Mraz, as many reviewers have done, is not a bad thing. The album is OK and maybe it will grow on me after a while. Lee seems like such a nice guy, you want good things for him. I say it was mismanagement by 19/RCA. They should have gone for some covers rather than mediocre original songs. Lee did some good stuff on American Idol.

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  11. LOVE THE NEW ALBUM. DON'T KNOW WHAT EVERYONE ELSE IS TALKING ABOUT....

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  12. I wish Lee well and generally like "Sweet Serendipity", but agree that the tone of his voice was surprising on the clips I've heard... I do not care for the breathier swallowing-of-the-words sound. On the plus side, he is doing a better job of hitting the right notes in his live performances and I doubt auto-tune is the principal reason. Hopefully, he can inject a little more of his personality and grit into the live performances.

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  13. I bought Lee's CD..It is horrible. Almost every song says essentially the same thing, I lost you and now I want you back, don't you want me back, too? You know what, Lee..MAYBE NOT! The lyrics could have been written by lovesick sixteen year old girls (or younger). Lee's voice veers offkey and is flat as always. The songs are boring and Sweet Serendipity is over produced and sung like he is out of breath and in a hurry to finish it, not a particularly bad idea by the way. Sorry, dude, it's not a good cd.

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  14. Have you ever listened to a Jason Mraz album? Stop the comparisons. It's insulting. And Wrong!

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  15. i thought he always sounded out of breath when he was on A.I.he really needs a complete makeover.he looks so much older than 24yrs old.
    i missed him today on Ellen,when he sang on Regis and Kelly he slowed the song down alittle so it did sound better.Lee if you read this,get professional song writers.you can't write songs for a whole album in 2months time,unless your Chris Daughtry.after his millons are made he could easily write for some up and coming musician.said before and i'll say it again,thank goodness Casey is taking his time and using professionals.

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  16. hey..Idol is in bad shape period..it is better to not win the show...being the winner seems to hurt more than help..at least Kris Allen got a big hit, LLWD, off his album in spite of bad sales...19/RCA better hope Lee gets a million selling single or at least gold...Funny thing is that Simon Cowell is owning all, Susan Boyle and that 10 year old are completely embarassing and owning Lee...you can see why Sony left Idol and stuck with Simon...Simon has the blockbuster acts on Syco...I'm glad Adam Lambert, not a winner and a success, used industry writers for his first album because he had to have a song or songs on the radio to combat resistance to him..thank God for Max Martin and Pink...you can bet Max Martin has already written Adam's first single for album no. 2...and Adam gets it, radio play is the life line of an artist...it's nice to have artistic integrity, but you need hit songs to stay relevant...most second albums by Idol alums flop, Archuleta tried to be a singer-songwriter--flop...Adam cannot afford a flop first single for album no. 2...that song has to be a WWFM sized hit and in the BB top 10 when album comes out...we'll see what happens...Leona Lewis learned the hard way with Echo, Happy flopped..meaning, as much as I like Ryan Tedder, Adam needs a Max Martin hit as his first single...Max Martin has been radio gold for Adam worldwide...any way, wish Lee luck but dude does not stand out..

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  17. I never cared for Lee's voice, but I did like some of his earlier, pre-Idol music. I think he's actually a better songwriter than singer, not that the stuff on this album would suggest that.

    That being said, I do think the single is catchy. The video is cute, but I hate when music videos completely undermine the lyrics of a song! He says he "ain't got no car," and then drives off in one, LOL! Or maybe that double negative was intentional? ;-)

    Lee also has zero sex appeal IMHO. I don't think you can underestimate the importance of that in pop music. Dude is not cute and looks kinda schlubby. That works fine in the rock or folk worlds, but not pop.

    And the producers may have been going for a Jason Mraz sound, but Jason Mraz is an amazing singer and musician, and the lyrics to a lot of his songs are quite clever. Lee is no Jason Mraz, and he's certainly no John Mayer, who is a fantastic guitarist.

    Peace,
    BootStar

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  18. lee just don't have a personality too put out a good album. sorry. but you have too put yourself in a album. not just what the producers wnatyou.

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  19. thats what i've been saying about Casey,he's so smart he knows better than to write his own music,even though alot of people brag about his songs he's been doin,let the professionals help.alot of times you only get one chance at
    this so you gotta do the best you can do.

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  20. Looks like it's still on the AOL listening party so that you can hear the whole CD online. I was there to listen to Keith Urban's and saw that Lee's was there and played it. It's OK, but not something that is my taste.

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  21. Thanks, Pamrichva, I'm going to give it a listen.

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  22. I'm sure Lee is a nice guy, but his music on the album just doesn't cut it for me...sorry, Lee.

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  23. AI has done poor Lee no favors by engineering a career for him...I predict that Lee will wish that at least he could've been a one hit wonder one day while at his day job mixing multiply cans of paint for a lady in need of a room redo...I can see him now as he waits for the can to finish in the mixer...thinking back 'ah those were the days on AI when Simon had me make my entrance in all my glory singing Hallelujah' and everyone told me I was amazing!!!!! And for a moment I was while poor Casey had to sing that 'Daughter's' song. Oh wait, maybe I should have sang that song. Wake up I'm no Casey James!! Back to reality...'The paint color chips are on the next aisle ma'am.'

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  24. Already nervous for Casey's album to be released. The critics are sharks ready to tear it apart no matter how good it is. Hope he can get past that "Idol" label & make them see he is a true artist. We will be ready to support & promote Mr. James next spring.

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  25. I can't wait to support Casey and his music...never cared for Lee on the show or on tour when I saw him. To me he just doesn't shout STAR! He does seem like a nice enough guy, though...

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  26. I think Lee won't ever have to go back to paint sales. I wouldn't be surprised if RCA drops him- the sales really are abysmal. But he's got enough of a name, enough of a fan base, that I bet he'll be able to make a nice living doing small shows and releasing indie records.

    Has anyone listened to (I think) the final cut of Crystal's "Farmer's Daughter"? I must say - I was very impressed. I always knew this girl could sing. But she is also a powerful songwriter. I'm actually thinking of buying her album. Which surprises me. My only concern for Crystal is... what radio station is going to pick this up? Maybe country would - but she's not being marketed that way. I have to admit, I think after a year, Jive will also drop Crystal and she will go indie also. Which is really where she's meant to be.

    It remains to be seen what happens to Mr. James. I still have high hopes.

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  27. i did listen to one of crystals songs and it was pretty good,but like you said what radio
    staion is gonna play it.all you really have
    is country and pop.she's neither.i hope that when caseys album comes out his fans will give
    their honest opinion of it,and not just rave
    over it,i noticed lee's fans are doing that.
    just be honest i'm sure casey would apperciate
    his fans to be honest.i know i will,no since giving false hopes to the guy.i just feel like he's taking his time and putting alot of thought into it.so that's what i think will make him a success.he definetely has the talent.

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  28. i really dont think it is as bad as everyone is saying, i do feel like it wasnt advertised very much all and that is the reason for why sales are so so low. the other winners on american idol got a lot more advertising in than Lee is got with his CD.

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  29. I agree Jake, we are goin to support Casey, we are grownups, not tweens off to the next big thing, so we won't forget about him by next year. We were not swayed by what the AI machine was pushing. We know lasting talent when we here and see it.
    As for Lee it's not just he's management imo. Why would you think that you could make a successful cd while on that tour? Those guys were beat up and worn out. That was a gruelling tour schedule. How could good decisions be made at that time? During the tour Casey spent his time building up his fanbase and taking it one step at a time. I'm sure that he won over many of Lee fans during this time also. Not that you can't be both. Just that the talent level and that something something factor just simply do not compare. As for Lee going back to paint sales that was just my wit thinkin out loud. I promise not to quit my day job. LOL Most of the idol finalists do go on to some kind of other career and make more than the average person I'm sure, but in the business are not looked upon as necessarily successful. If they get to do what they love then they should consider themselves successful and that's all that matters. IMO Lee just does not have 'it'.

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  30. Casey is far more talented than Lee and a whole lot better looking than the last three boring winners. Casey is a real guitar player and does not just use it as a prop like Kris Allen. Casey had a problem with the two minute time limit for songs on American Idol. When Casey was given more time on tour he shined far brighter than the rest. The last three Idol winners will soon be forgotten. Real talent like Adam Lambert and Casey will be around for a while.

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  31. You guys make me absolutely sick by starting your artist comparisons with who's better looking. I mean wtf? Someone even went as far as saying Lee is chubby and has no sex appeal, which I definitely don't think is true in the slightest but aren't we supposed to be talking about the mans music here? Lets get it straight, the media has been dissing idol contestant albums for years now which is definitely a contributing factor in the decreased sales every year. I listened to the album and I've heard all previous contestants albums as well, it really is not bad but I am not saying its great. They really took out too much of Lee's gritty rasp and covered it with way too many instruments that I'm not a fan of. Some of the songs however REALLY shine like me and my jealousy, beautiful like you, and brooklyn bridge. Please give those and the whole album for that matter an honest listen and stop judging the guy by the way he looks and what others are saying. Also, check out his live performances, thats where he stands out as an artist. Particularly check out beautiful like you at Walmart's sound check, it was incredible!

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  32. Btw Casey James has absolutely no vocal range whatsoever, he's a back up singer and a serious guitar player who definitely has talent but he's no John Mayer. If he has any solo career his following will consist of all you shallow people on this forum commenting on his looks, the SAME exact reason he was let on idol in the first place. Were praising Simon Cowell and his knowledge right? Well he said no to Casey in the first place and the other judges over rid his decision, I think he was absolutely right.

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  33. unfortunately sex appeal and personality does play a big part of how well the persons music
    sells.just look at Kesha and lady gaga neither
    one are great beauties look what they have to resort to,costumes.madonna did it as well.but
    lee doesn't have that option being a guy.they have to stand out in some way.he'll probably
    get more attention being a bad guy.anyway i do wish him luck with the next album.

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  34. Anonymous 9:42 and 9:46,

    I agree that discussions of anyone's looks or sex appeal or schlubbiness are not relevant. What matters is the music and what I love about music is that there is an audience for everyone and we each have our own idea about what is good or what we like. Not long ago, I posted my favorite lesser-known REM songs. A friend and reader posted a detailed response in which she conveyed how she (mostly) did not share my love and passion for their music. That is fine. She explained what there was she liked and what she didn't. We agree to disagree.

    When I went about doing my own review of Lee's album, I listened and reacted to each song. A few I liked, one I hated, and the rest left me feeling "meh." I did not judge him based on looks (he would have done better, actually, since I like schlubby) but on my opinion of what I heard. I'm not right or wrong, it's just my opinion. Many reviewers have felt the same, many fans vehemently disagree.

    But please, try to avoid getting hostile with the commenters. Saying they make you sick or calling them shallow comes close to crossing the line. I love having robust debate, I don't like name calling or being hurtful. I apologize if any comments appeared to attack Lee, no one wants to do that and I think we all wish him well.

    Let's just say that no musical artist should be judged by their looks (even though we, sadly, know that happens every day) and that we each hear things uniquely.

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  35. So someones comment on an album review blog that starts out with how much better looking another artist may be, is not shallow then? I don't condone name calling either but I do call it like I see it and what I see wreaks of shallowness. The discussions should be about music, it drives me nuts to see someone dissing an artist's music and listing their looks as a basis for it so I felt compelled to call them out on it. Sorry if it offended anyone.

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  36. Anon, I only see two mentions of looks and there are some thirty comments -- most are about the music. I know that any reference to looks may seem like too many, but almost all of the comments here have related to Lee's singing and/or the songs on the record. But, in fairness, when it comes to selling records, looks are, and I say again unfortunately, part of it (remember the story of the C&C Music Factory?).

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  37. Wow. So much hostility!

    But gee, I guess I'll go ahead and cop to being shallow. I guess I was shallow when I drooled over Springstein - and loved his music too, BTW. I guess I was shallow when I sat in the audience watching the Eagles and panted after Don Henley. And Oh! Loved and bought their music too BTW. And man oh man, I never realized I was shallow when I thought Prince, Kurt Cobain, Usher, Tim McGraw... well, all of them are waaaayyy good looking and have charisma. And...um...I occasionally drooled over all of them at one time or another.

    And golly, I guess I was shallow when I noticed Mr. James and thought... wowza.. he's got that 'somethin' somethin' going on. The 'somethin' somethin' a singer/actor/celebrity can't buy or learn. It's there or it isn't.

    Okay. Sue me for saying IMHO Mr. DeWyze does not have that 'somethin somethin'. I don't like watching him sing. Plain and simple. I don't mind some of his songs, and if they came on the radio, I wouldn't turn them off, but his lack of charisma will play a part in my decision not to go to his concert. And yeah, I probably won't buy his music either - 'cause there isn't any song I've heard that make me think WOW! gotta have that record. And his lack in the charisma dept gives him another thumbs down in my book.

    And frankly, I think that having that charisma thing is important if you are going to be successful in the music industry. To say it's all about the music.... well, for me, for my favorites, for the artists I will go to concert for and buy their records and follow their careers for decades... Ah, well, the somethin somethin connection is just that. Another connection (along with their music)that keeps me engaged as a consumer. If that offends your purist heart, so be it.

    As far as Mr. James' range... I always laugh at this comment. If I want voice range, I'll go to the opera (which I do). I don't remember Bob Dylan having much of a range, or Stevie Ray or Eddie Veder. They all seemed to do fairly well in the music industry.

    Anon, we get it. You love your Lee. Maybe you think he's got that "somethin somethin" that I don't see. GREAT! God bless. I wish Lee all the best. I really do. Lee and Casey are no longer competing. That's all over. Thank GOD! If either of them are successful or not - well, it has NOTHING to do with what the other achieves.

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  38. Look, I wish nobody cared what an artist looked like or how he presented himself when it comes to judging his music, but the reality is IN THE POP WORLD, these things do matter. If Lee had Patrick Stump's voice, perhaps he could get away with his "everyman" looks. But he doesn't.

    Like it or not, much of the music-buying public listens to the "it" artist of the moment, regardless of how great a singer that person is or isn't. And it's the "packaging" as much as the music that creates that buzz. How else do you explain Justin Bieber and Kesha?

    It's not that Lee is ugly; he most definitely is not. But he looks like he rolled out of bed and has very little charisma or sex appeal. I do think those things matter for a pop artist. I think you're kidding yourself if you think they don't.

    BootStar

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  39. It's not sex appeal but the boring homogeneity of the album. With few exceptions, the songs sound alike, and the total effect is of listening to one slow, safe, utterly boring sound. The sales show this to be the case. According to HDD Lee sold 39,500 his first week, and they overestimate.

    Not a good album. I'm very surprised RCA released it.

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  40. I bought the Lee DeWyze CD and Taylor Swifts CD and love both of them. I think Lee has an incredible voice and I think the song lyrics are above the fold. I especially loved "Me and My Jealousy" and "Brooklyn Bridge" I have to admit "Dear Isabelle" was catchy too and did remind me a tad of the Plain White T's "Hey There, Delilah" which is a song I love. I think what you have here is Casey James Fans and Adam Lambert Fans posting their views on Lee DeWyze's music (and looks) and just human nature I suppose but some still seem to post like the American Idol competition is still going on. It isn't and I believe there is room in the world for all the different music and styles. I wish all of them the best! BurnThis, you may want to moderate your comments a bit though. Sorry guys but commenting on physical looks and comparing say Casey James to Lee DeWyze is not cool nor is it intent of the article or the feedback this writer is wanting. Just my two cents anyway.

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  41. BTW the previous post mention the HDD for LIVE IT UP as being down? Folks, pay no attention to those charts, remember if you go by charts then Clay Aiken outsold Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood his first week and he didn't even win AI. In fact he outsold Rueben Studdard who did win and I think we can all agree Carrie and Kelly have both had much more happening careers than Aiken or Studdard. Just saying be careful paying attention to that stuff. It's very deceiving. And honestly the general music buying public doesn't track or care.

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  42. Keep in mind these are first week sales. I'm not saying Lee will do well, but Kelly and Carrie both did better with their debut albums than Ruben, Taylor, etc overall.

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  43. the point is that Lee is not Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood...this cd is done and Sony needs to move on...promo dollars wasted on Lee right now...dude has too small a fanbase and nobody cares and not enough emotionally invested people in Lee the artist. RCA needs to gear up for David Cook and Kelly Clarkson's albums anyway...39000 is pathetic and embarassing...period

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  44. Lee's pre idol release Slumberland is a better judge of Lee as an artist.It is a little slower but has soul, which his RCA release does not.Maybe he should have worked the the producers from Slumberland on his RCA release.They seem to have tapped into Lee's raw talent.

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