Blake Lewis’ life never revolved around American Idol. In fact, he never watched the show prior to being on it and subsequently taking second place and according to Lewis’ publicist, he hasn’t watched the show since. Lewis, 26, says he’s doing the same thing now that he was doing before American Idol, which is simply making the music that he loves.
Lewis remembers that he first really got into making music in the late 1990’s. He had seen an A capella group, which happened to feature a beat boxer. “I began doing it subconsciously,” notes Lewis. Already into hip-hop, Lewis simply began to incorporate it into the music he loved like many of the artists that influenced him. In 2001 Lewis began construction on his own in-home studio, which he completed for around $30,000. By the time his chance came on American Idol, Lewis was no foreigner to the music world.
The Idol experience is obviously something Lewis doesn’t like to speak a whole lot about, not because he took second, but because he simply wants the focus to be on his accomplishments and creativity, not necessarily the limelight that Idol gave him. “I knew what I was getting myself into,” explains Lewis. “I never watched the show before. For me, I love creating; I loved every aspect of it. I talked to the lighting guy, I talked to the sound guy, talked to the stage director; I kind of made it my own show. I just went in there and tried to make it the Blake show. I didn’t really talk to the producers that much because they can be a little manipulative and evil sometimes so they left me alone. They let me do what I wanted to do, which was amazing.” In the end, as soon as he heard the song he would be singing during the finale show, Lewis knew his run was over. “I knew I was getting second place after they played me the song,” he explains. “I was like, ‘cool, you just gave me second place,’ and then I walked out.” In the end, it was only his final song that Lewis did not have complete autonomy over. He recreated every song he sang, which probably accounts for his success on the show.
Lewis cannot really put his finger on what he learned from being on Idol, other than it was fun, new experience for him. “To me, I just see it as another gig,” says Lewis. ”I’ve probably played a thousand shows. It wasn’t really any different except that it was on camera.”
After Idol, Lewis began putting together his debut record called Audio Day Dream. Contrary to popular belief, Day Dream was a culmination of four years of writing, concepts and goals. After all was said and done, Lewis achieved what he set out to do with Day Dream. “I wanted to make my pop record. I wanted to make my Michael Jackson Bad record,” he explains. Lewis worked with seven different producers on the record and had some great collaborations as well. “I was trying to make it a compilation of everything that influences me,” says Lewis. Lewis’ A&R guy introduced him to One Republic vocalist Ryan Tedder, with whom Lewis became instant friends with. Lewis notes that he and Tedder hit it off so well because they come from the same place. They have the same musical tastes, they are both producers and it was like they were brothers. “I just had dinner with him in L.A.,” says Lewis with excitement. “He has a single on every record coming out soon,” Lewis boasts. Tedder and Lewis collaborated on eight songs on Audio Day Dream, one of which was Lewis’ first single, “Break Anotha.”
Among inspirations that Lewis has been able to work with is his biggest inspiration BT. Wikipedia calls BT “a pioneering artist in the trance genre.” BT has worked with the likes of Tori Amos, Nsync, The Roots and even David Bowie just to name a few. “BT is one of my main inspirations,” says Lewis. “He’s my favorite producer of all time. He’s like the godfather of trance music.” Lewis notes that he had known BT prior to American Idol also. “It was really cool [working with BT] because I’ve looked up to him.”
Other producers included Mile Elizondo who has worked with Maroon 5 and Eminem, S.A.M. & Sluggo, and J.R. Rotem who has been credited with his work on Rhianna’s “SOS.”
Even though Lewis was happy with the end result of Audio Day Dream he considers it to only be about 80 percent complete. In listening to the album it’s obvious that there is not very much beat boxing on the record. The reason for its absence was because Lewis got sick during the last three weeks of recording. He was literally bleeding from his throat. “I couldn’t sing or talk,” says Lewis. The label pushed to get the record done, but Lewis wanted another month. Obviously, the label won the timeframe war.
Lewis is currently promoting the How Many Words Remixes, which features the song “How Many Words” remixed seven different times by three different producers. “It’s three different interpretations of my music,” says Lewis humbly. Among the producers who remixed “How Many Words” was DJ Dan, who Lewis describes as a staple to the Seattle scene and the number one house D.J. in the world.
Lewis is currently working on his follow up to Audio Day Dream on which he promises will be more beat boxing. In fact he notes that there will be some competitive beat boxing among some of the best in the scene. Lewis hopes the record will be available by Christmas. “We’re working on as much as we can,” says Lewis, who hopes to find a sponsor to get him on tour or even land a slot opening for a big name soon.
According to Lewis, his live show is meant to make people move and the energy simply depends on the night and show. Lewis says that if he has his band with him they will do an Electronic song and go right into a pop song. If it’s a singer / songwriter set, it’s just him with guitars, drums and loop pedals. “It’s a very visual thing. CDs don’t do it justice,” he says in regard to his live show.
In talking with Lewis it becomes obvious that he is a human encyclopedia when it comes to electronic and dance music. “Electronic music is really the only punk music left in the world,” says Lewis. “Punk went pop.” In the end, Lewis simply hopes to keep making the music he loves and hopes the fans will stick around to see his progression. “I’m the biggest sponge of sound, he says. “I don’t like being defined.”
By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor / Founder
Download the "How Many Words" Remixes on
