Blake Lewis was able to make a CD because he was on American Idol. This CD is representative of what someone gets to do because of a small bit of fame. Prior Idols like Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry and Elliot Yamin had the talent that Lewis does not; however, as Daughtry broke the rock boundary of Idol, Lewis has broken another boundary with a hip-hop, pop, dance, beatbox style that doesn’t present much freshness, but does join the genre of hip-hop/pop that is out there right now.
The beatboxing is sprinkled throughout and works as an additive rather than a main focus. This CD is large in production value to cover Lewis’ average voice and create full songs that don’t count on his voice. For those songs like "Without You" that focus on a Lewis melody, they quickly fall short into average boredom.
Some songs are overproduced like "Whatcha Got 2 Love" and "She’s Makin Me Lose It" which supply way too much beatbox and other sounds to make a song that provides aural interest. However, "B Shorty Grabs the Mic" is appropriate as it gives the listener a sampling of all out beatboxing, which if that’s what he is best at, you better showcase it somewhere. It actually reminds of early DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince CD’s (or cassettes as they may have been at that time).
Overall, Lewis’ debut provides a somewhat new sound but fits into the usual current hip hop and will be forgotten soon. If there is a sophomore CD, Audio Day Dream gives you no reason to go buy the follow up. I give Audio Day Dream a 5 (out of 10).
Suggested listening: "How Many Words," "Surrender," "1000 Miles" and "I Got U"
By: Josh Wheeler - Contributing Writer
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