Lee DeWyze

Taking home top honors on American Idol may not be as special as it used to be—quick, try to name more than two recent winners—but that hasn’t stopped the unwashed masses from lining up year after year and getting their glorified karaoke on. Ninth-season champ Lee DeWyze certainly isn’t the splashiest Idol alum, and his choice of U2’s “Beautiful Day” for his “coronation song” says all you need to know about his musical sensibilities. The Illinois native released two independent albums before hitting the bigs, and his post-Idol, major label debut, 2010’s Live It Up, is chock full of agreeable, radio-friendly pop/rock that gets the job done with little fuss. 

Updated 06/15/2011