Lee DeWyze

Overview

Lee DeWyze launched the pivotal stage of what was already a high-profile musical career with his Vanguard Records debut – Frames, in the summer of 2013. What followed was a high-caliber list of praise from the LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Yahoo Music, Rolling Stone, and dozens upon dozens more. “I hunkered down and wrote an album,” the Chicago native explains. “I wanted to take it back to what I’m really about, which is writing emotionally charged, meaningful songs. It wasn’t like I wanted to find a label and then decide what kind of album to make. I knew what kind of album I wanted to make and knew I could make. It’s going back to the kind of music I’ve always loved. I grew up listening to Cat Stevens, Simon & Garfunkel—folk-based acoustic music. Don’t get me wrong—my experience on the show was great. But for someone like me and the kind of music I make, that only takes you so far. It feels really good to get back to the grass roots of what I’m about. The way I see it, everything that’s happened throughout my career has happened so that I can make this record.” The show DeWyze is referring to is American Idol, which he won in 2010. DeWyze played guitar, piano, mandolin, banjo and drums during the recording sessions, during which he collaborated with renowned producer/songwriters Toby Gad, Drew Pearson, Matthew Wilder and Phil Allen, as well as mixer extraordinaire Jim Scott. “I’ve never felt a connection with my music, more than I do right now,” DeWyze says, making no effort to hide his excitement. “It’s a very real thing, and it feels right.” Frames garnered many licenses and syncs and proved that DeWyze was not only a great singer, but an extremely talented song-writer. Shows like Nashville, Reign, and Hart of Dixie all used his music, as did ESPN, and several independent films. Blue Cross Blue Shield recently used the song ‘Don’t Be Afraid” as part of their national 2014/2015 campaign. However, the door really kicked open when Lee penned the song ‘Blackbird Song’ for The Walking Dead in March of 2014. An original song that he wrote specifically for the show itself. Blackbird Song has accumulated over 50k single unit sales, 2M collective youTube views, and is approaching 1M Spotify streams. (as of 11/24/14). The song is considered one of the top 10 syncs of the 2014 by the Music Guild Association. In 2015, DeWyze will release an onslaught of music and video content, and continue his relentless touring here in the US and overseas. Lee has a #1 song in Ireland called Lullaby that was recorded and performed by Ronan Keating. He also has a #3 song in Italy called Magnetic Heart recorded and performed by Marco Mengoni. “I’m finally in the lane I belong in, and I feel like I can just go.” DeWyze says in anticipation of what he’s preparing to unleash in 2015.