Blake Colin Lewis (born July 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer and actor who was the runner-up on the sixth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. His major label debut album '' A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'' was released on December 4, 2007, through 19 Recordings and

Arista Records Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...

. On October 30, 2007, his first single " Break Anotha" was released. The album landed on number ten on the U.S. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' 200 as its highest peak position with 97,500 copies sold in its debut, and has sold over 350,000 copies. After the release of his second single " How Many Words", which peaked at number eight on the U.S. ''

'' Dance/Club Play Songs, Lewis was dropped by Arista Records. Lewis eventually signed with

Tommy Boy Records Tommy Boy Records is an American independent record label and multimedia brand founded in 1981 by Tom Silverman. The label is credited with helping and launching the music careers of Queen Latifah, Amber, Afrika Bambaataa, Stetsasonic, Digita ...

. His second album, '' Heartbreak on Vinyl'', was released on October 6, 2009. The first single " Sad Song" was released on July 21, 2009. The album charted at number 135 on the U.S. ''

'' ''Billboard'' 200, number twenty on the ''

Independent Albums The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by '' Billboard'' mag ...

, and number seven on the ''

Dance/Electronic Albums Top Dance Albums (formerly Top Electronic Albums and Top Dance/Electronic Albums) is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine which ranks the top-selling dance music albums in the United States based on sales compiled by Nielsen ...

with over 4,000 copies sold in the first week. His third album, '' Portrait of a Chameleon'', was released on May 20, 2014. This was his first independent record and includes the single " Your Touch". His fourth album, ''Wanderlust Unknown,'' was released in February 2020.

Biography

Early years

Lewis was born in

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. The city h ...

to Dallas and Dinah Lewis. Dinah is a former rocker who still sings and plays guitar. He is an only child and is of Welsh, Swiss, German and Irish descent. He attended Kenmore Junior High and later Inglemoor High School in Kenmore, Washington. In high school, Lewis participated in many high school state competitions . He also took part in numerous musicals, as well as comedy and rap videos with his friends. In many of these videos, he portrayed his

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

, Jimmie Walker Blue, the character he introduced during the semi-final round of ''American Idol''. Lewis started

beatboxing Beatboxing (also, and sometimes, called beat boxing) is a form of vocal percussion primarily involving the art of mimicking drum machines (usually a Roland TR-808, TR-808), using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice.a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group M-Pact, of which fellow ''American Idol'' semi-finalist Rudy Cárdenas was a member. Aside from singing and beatboxing, Lewis plays the guitar, keyboard, drums and has written many songs such as "She Loves the Way", "Emotional Waterfalls", "Dumpty Humpty" and "Jealousy". He describes himself as an improv musician and often uses devices such as loop pedals and the Kaoss Pad to layer beatboxing, instruments, vocals and effects to create a song live on stage. Being a member of the a cappella group Kickshaw for four years after graduating from high school in 1999, Lewis worked with the group on a 10-track album titled ''Put It in the Microphone'', but he quit the group in 2002 to become a solo musician going by the stage name Bshorty, which was basically inspired by the nicknames of the members of 311 and "aggressive inline-skate videos during the 1990s", "doing

drum and bass Drum and bass (commonly abbreviated as DnB, D&B, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterised by fast Break (music)#Breakbeat (element of music), breakbeats (typically 165–185 Tempo, beats per minute) with heavy Bass (music) ...

shows, and conscious

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

shows, singer-songwriter stuff, and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

and hip hop". He made connections with various musicians by performing regularly in many venues in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

such as Nectar Lounge in Fremont, SeaMonster Lounge, Lo-Fi Performance Gallery, Jet Deck in Everett (now in Mill Creek) and hosted shows like The Digital Lounge shows at ToST. Before ''Idol'', he was working on a

solo album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track or cassette), or digital. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century ...

with a number of tracks finished.

''American Idol''

Overview

Though he initially found ''American Idol'' unappealing, Lewis auditioned for it in Seattle with "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

" by

Seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, also called "true seal" ** Fur seal ** Eared seal * Seal ( ...

and an off-screen rendition of " Sunday Morning" by

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, d ...

. Introducing himself as the local beatboxing champion in the audition, Lewis beatboxed along with his teammates, including

Chris Sligh Charles Christopher Sligh (; born April 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and pastor who was a finalist on the sixth season of '' American Idol'', finishing in tenth place. He has released 14 albums since 2001 as a solo artist, ...

, Rudy Cárdenas and Tom Lowe, to " How Deep Is Your Love" by

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

in the Hollywood's Week. The memorable performance received a

standing ovation A standing ovation is a form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding, often after extraordinary performances of particularly high acclaim. Standing ovations are considered to be a special honor. Often they are ...

from the audience and Paula Abdul, who commented "that brought down the house". In an early episode of the United Kingdom edition of ''American Idol'', Lewis recalled his first solo performance in the Hollywood's Week was "

Papa Was a Rollin' Stone "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" is a song originally performed by Motown recording act the Undisputed Truth in 1972, though it became much better known after a Grammy-award winning cover by the Temptations was issued later the same year. This la ...

" by

The Temptations The Temptations is an American vocal group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1961 as The Elgins, known for their string of successful singles and albums with Motown from the 1960s to the mid-1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield ...

. When later he sang it in front of the other finalists, Phil Stacey felt that it was the best performance he has seen from Lewis. Lewis ended up the last male contestant standing, despite Simon's first impression that the singer was a bit "over the top" adding "I don't know if you're as good as you think you are". But soon afterward, the judges began predicting Lewis' "front runner" status. In an exclusive interview with X17Online on March 4, 2007,

Simon Cowell Simon Phillip Cowell (; born 7 October 1959) is an English television personality and businessman. He has judged on the British television talent competition shows ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003), ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor UK ...

foresaw Lewis' chance to take the crown. After Lewis' performance of " Lovesong" by

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

/ 311 on March 27,

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

said that she would love to see him in the finale. Cowell further confirmed that Lewis was the front runner of male contestants on ''American Idol''. Lewis, upon entering the top 2 on May 16, 2007, he thus became the first ever contestant from the Northwestern United States (specifically,

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

) to compete in the finale. Lewis' beatboxing and

scat singing Originating in vocal jazz, scat singing or scatting is vocal Musical improvisation, improvisation with Non-lexical vocables in music, wordless vocables, Pseudoword#Nonsense syllables, nonsense syllables or without words at all. In scat singing, t ...

skills had been featured occasionally throughout the competition, notably in the performances such as " Virtual Insanity", " All Mixed Up", " Time of the Season", " You Give Love a Bad Name", "

You Should Be Dancing "You Should Be Dancing" is a song by the Bee Gees, from the album '' Children of the World'', released in 1976. It hit No. 1 for one week on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100, No. 1 for seven weeks on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, and in ...

", "

This Is Where I Came In ''This Is Where I Came In'' is the twenty-second and final studio album by the Bee Gees. It was released on 2 April 2001 by Polydor Records, Polydor in the UK and Universal Records, Universal in the US, less than two years before Maurice Gibb d ...

" and " This Love". He had also rearranged songs including "

You Keep Me Hangin' On "You Keep Me Hangin' On" is a song written and composed by Holland–Dozier–Holland. It was first recorded in 1966 by American Motown group the Supremes, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song has since been interpreted ...

" and "You Give Love a Bad Name". Although Lewis' first performance in the semi-final weeks, " Somewhere Only We Know", was pure singing and inspired judges to make comments about his contemporary vibe, his signature performance on the show was probably "You Give Love a Bad Name" by

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

. Lewis incorporated a substantial beatboxing component, making the song sound significantly different from its original version.

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...

, the lead singer of the band who also coached the contestants that week, noted that Lewis' rendition was "rolling the dice". All three judges acknowledged the huge risk of Lewis' arrangement, but also praised him for his originality including beatboxing.

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive, television presenter and musician, best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing b ...

believed that it was the most original performance ever on the show. Cowell even predicted that 50% of the audience "would absolutely hate it" but another half would love it. The groundbreaking performance was later ranked number six in top 20 all-time greatest ''American Idol'' performances on

AOL AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc. The service traces its history to an online ...

.com. Several original versions of songs Lewis performed re-entered ''

Hot Digital Songs The Digital Song Sales (previously named Digital Songs and Hot Digital Songs) ranks the best-selling digital songs in the United States, as compiled by Luminate and published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Although it originally started tracking so ...

chart shortly after the show. Lewis' first performance on-stage, "Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane, re-entered the chart at number 26 (number 19 on Hot Digital Tracks chart); "Time of the Season", a

The Zombies The Zombies are an English Rock music, rock band formed in St Albans in 1961. Led by keyboardist/vocalist Rod Argent and lead vocalist Colin Blunstone, the group had their first British and American hit in 1964 with "She's Not There". In the U ...

' hit in 1968, reached number 67;

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American Rock music, rock and Country music, country singer-songwriter. He has released 30 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams left Whiskeytown and released ...

's " When the Stars Go Blue" hit number 39 (number 37 on Hot Digital Tracks chart); Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name" shot up to number 29; "This Love" and " She Will Be Loved" by

jumped to number 41 and number 45 respectively. Maroon 5's album '' Songs About Jane'' had re-entered the

Top Pop Catalog Albums Catalog Albums, previously Top Pop Catalog Albums, is a 50-position weekly albums chart produced by ''Billboard'' magazine which ranks the best-selling catalog albums in the United States, regardless of genre. ''Billboard'' defines a catalog titl ...

chart at number five on June 2, 2007, as well. On May 11, 2007, Lewis visited his hometown,

, Washington for the traditional ''Idol'' Top 3 hometown visits. He made numerous appearances at radio stations and then played a concert in Seattle at Westlake Center, including a performance of " Baby Got Back" with

Sir Mix-a-Lot Anthony L. Ray (born August 12, 1963), better known by his stage name Sir Mix-a-Lot or his CB handle Prime Minista, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 1992 hit song " Baby Got Back", which peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' ...

. He also visited the top of the

Space Needle The Space Needle is an observation tower in Seattle, Washington, United States. Considered to be an icon of the city, it has been designated a List of Seattle landmarks, Seattle landmark. Located in the Lower Queen Anne, Seattle, Lower Queen An ...

. Fans followed him to Bothell for a parade and concert at the Sammamish River Park. Afterwards, he proceeded to Safeco Field to sing the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

, "

The Star-Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

", for the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

's Game. Lewis claimed 311 as his all-time favorite band after his performance of "All Mixed Up". Responding to a viewer question on March 13, 2007, he had also confessed his love of "

underground hip hop Underground hip hop (also known as underground rap or simply underground) traditionally refers to hip hop music that is outside the general mainstream canon or counter-cultural in nature, usually with a heavy emphasis on emotion, lyricism, and/or ...

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

" such as

Common Market A single market, sometimes called common market or internal market, is a type of trade bloc in which most trade barriers have been removed (for goods) with some common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of ...

and Panda Conspiracy, with an addition of The Mob Law, which in Lewis' opinion, "should be signed to a major label". While being the last two contestants waiting for the results on May 2, Lewis and

Chris Richardson Christopher Michael Richardson (born February 19, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter who was the fifth-place finalist on the sixth season of ''American Idol''. Personal life Richardson was born in Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe ...

answered

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

's question about their close relationship, saying that they are best friends. Lewis has "

, Rudy Cárdenas", contestants from the sixth season of ''American Idol'', listed as his own "American idols" on his profile on ''American Idol'' official website, while Sligh and Cárdenas also have Lewis on their lists. Furthermore, Lewis claimed in an interview with The Blaker Girls that besides Richardson, Cárdenas and Sligh, his best friends on the show were Brandon Rogers, Jordin Sparks and Gina Glocksen. In the episode of '' The View'' on June 14, 2007, Lewis said that there were "a lot of writers on the show", including Richardson, Sligh and himself. Jimmie Walker Blue, his alter ego was introduced in the middle of the Idol.

Performances and results

* Lewis was saved first from elimination. * Due to the

Idol Gives Back ''Idol Gives Back'' was a charitable campaign that spanned two episodes of ''American Idol'' during its sixth season. A second ''Idol Gives Back'' concert and fundraiser occurred on April 9, 2008, during the seventh season of the show. ''Idol ...

performance, the Top 6 remained intact for another week.

Post-''Idol''

Lewis's songs from ''American Idol'' have been on sale at the iTunes Store and the ''American Idol'' official website as '' Blake Lewis - EP'' (called a "bundle" on ''Idol'' official website) shortly after the finale of ''Idol'', along with other songs that did not make the EP's cut that are being sold as individual singles. Figures from SoundScan which were posted on ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' indicated that Lewis' " You Give Love a Bad Name" was "the biggest-selling download of the season", with 192,000 copies sold. After the finale of ''Idol'', Blake Lewis has made several appearances on television shows. He performed

's " She Will Be Loved" on '' The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet'' (combined with a snippet of U2's "

With or Without You "With or Without You" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It is the third track on their fifth studio album, ''The Joshua Tree'' (1987), and was released as the album's lead single on 16 March 1987. The song was the group's most succes ...

"), ''

The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'') is an American morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was the first of its genre on American television ...

'', ''

Live with Regis and Kelly ''Live with Kelly and Mark'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American Broadcast syndication, syndicated breakfast television, morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Mark Consuelos. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show ...

'' and ''

The Early Show ''The Early Show'' is an American morning television show that aired on CBS from November 1, 1999, to January 7, 2012, replacing the original incarnation of '' CBS This Morning'', and the ninth attempt at a morning news-talk program by the n ...

''. In the episode of '' The View'' on June 14, 2007, he sang " Somewhere Only We Know" by Keane. Lewis had also appeared on ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...

'', ''The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet'' with the winner of ''Idol'', Jordin Sparks and ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

'' with contestants who made into the top ten of ''American Idol''. On July 4, 2007, Lewis performed "

God Bless America "God Bless America" is an American patriotic song written by Irving Berlin during World War I in 1918 and revised by him in the run-up to World War II in 1938. The later version was recorded by Kate Smith, becoming her signature song. "Go ...

" and "

America the Beautiful "America the Beautiful" is an American patriotic song. Its lyrics were written by Katharine Lee Bates and its music was composed by church organist and choirmaster Samuel A. Ward at Grace Church (Newark), Grace Episcopal Church in Newark, New ...

" on '' Macy's Fourth of July Fireworks Spectacular'' with Sparks and Melinda Doolittle. Lewis took part in the " American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007" from July 6 – September 23, 2007, along with other contestants in the top ten. He revealed on '' The View'' on June 14, 2007, that all the male contestants on the show would be playing musical instruments on the tour (for the first time ever), "doing like a folk band," and that he would bring along his loop pedals for his beatboxing. Before several shows, Lewis improvised, got dressed up as a

janitor A cleaner, cleanser or cleaning operative is a type of Industry (economics), industrial or domestic worker who is tasked with cleaning a space. A janitor (Scotland, United States and Canada), also known as a custodian, Facility Operator, porter ...

character named Bob Bobberson and sometimes as a Pop-Tart. He performed "She Loves the Way" on the last show, becoming the first ''Idol'' who sang their pre-''Idol'' original materials on the tour. He and

have "started working on a little documentary" on the tour and it will be published at their

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

profiles. Lewis was named number five in the list of the ten sexiest ''Idol'' contestants ever on the website during the running of the sixth season of ''American Idol'' and was ranked number 21 in the list of music's 21 sexiest single men on June 11, 2007, on AOL.com. Later in the issue of ''People'' magazine on June 15, 2007, the brand-new runner-up of ''Idol'' appeared on its list of "Hottest Bachelors of 2007". He has also made a cut on the list of 50 hottest guys on ''

Elle Girl ''Elle Girl'' was the largest older-teen fashion and beauty magazine brand in the world with twelve editions. Launched in August 2001, it was the younger sister version of ''Elle'' magazine, and similarly focused on beauty, health, entertainm ...

''.

Career

2007–2008: ''A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)''

On March 6, 2008, he performed "How Many Words", from his album '' A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'', on the ''American Idol'' result show. On the release of his second single, Blake Lewis spent much of his time promoting the single "How Many Words" at various radio stations. While Blake Lewis parted with his label,

, in June 2008, he will begin his national tour starting on the East Coast at the end of September with the help of 19 Recordings and will be playing songs from ''A.D.D.'' as well as new songs. Details about the tour can be found at Blake Lewis's Myspace page or the website of his official street team, the Blake Lewis Army. Upon his record deal with

19 Recordings 19 Recordings Inc. (registered in the United Kingdom as 19 Recordings Ltd.) is a New York–based record label owned by 19 Entertainment. Founded in London by British entrepreneur Simon Fuller in 1999 as the music division of 19 Entertainment, th ...

which was announced officially on August 24, 2007, '' A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream)'', Lewis' " electro-

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

-pop" first studio album, was released on December 4, 2007. In fact, the singer has been recording his album in the studio "for all night long" since June 18. " Break Anotha", the first single from ''A.D.D.'', was released to radio on October 30, 2007, and on iTunes Store on November 13. Blake's second single, " How Many Words" was released on March 10, 2008. ''A.D.D.'' has been made available at iTunes and includes his music video for his first single "Break Anotha". On June 25, 2008 ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' officially announced that Lewis was dropped by his label, Arista, but will remain on ''Idol'' creator Simon Fuller's 19 Recordings roster. Lewis has said he's already written four songs for his second album, which he's working on with his band's drummer, KJ "Quantize" Sawka. The pair will be co-producing the effort, which Lewis describes as "Massive Attack meets Zero 7 – drum-and-bass with a little pop influence." Lewis said he may release the disc through his own label, which he's in the process of getting off the ground. "I'm super-passionate about this record," he said. "Who knows what's in store? Half the year's over, and it's only going to keep going." According to MTV News, the album is expected to have the

genre like the first album, and "he is experimenting with his own music" by implementing blue-eyed soul, pop music, rock,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

emo Emo () is a genre of rock music characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of hardcore punk and from the Washington, D.C., hardcore scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore. The bands ...

, indie and some

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

genre. It was also reported on

KIIS-FM KIIS-FM (102.7 FM broadcasting, FM, "102.7 KIIS FM") is a commercial radio station licensed to Los Angeles, California, United States, and broadcasts to the Greater Los Angeles area. The station airs a contemporary hit radio format. Owned by i ...

that Lewis will collaborate with

, KJ Sawka and Ryan "Alias" Tedder. As of August 2008, the artist has added one song to his sophomore LP, which may be out on the last quarter of 2008 or first quarter of 2009. Lewis told the interviewers that he is very excited to premiere his new songs, and he has learned some lessons from his "A.D.D." era. On an interview, he said, "Where to start… Orchestral Drive-By: KJ and I are about 5 songs deep now. Can't wait for you all to hear this. I haven't been this excited in a while. I haven't been able to produce in a year and half, besides a couple songs on 'A.D.D.' and from what I have learned in the last year, it sure has paid off. STOKED!!!" It was reported that Lewis has collaborated with his friends on the band, Project Lionheart at a track called "My Eyes" and "Hell Yeah". Aside from that, he also collaborated with Common Market's "Trouble Is", where he contributed backing vocals. Blake says who is currently producing his record with his drummer, KJ Sawka. Blake also recorded a track at 311 frontman Nick Hexum's house for the next album. Blake finished a charity song called "Selfless" with Darude for Dance4Life. In September, Blake was featured on a song for BT's album, which he says is a "throwback to Flock of Seagulls.". Blake has also been in Darude's song "I Ran" which hit the charts and is on local radio stations constantly.

2009–2012: ''Heartbreak on Vinyl''

On April 30, 2009, Lewis performed at the 2009 Congressional Clubs' First Lady's Luncheon to Honor Michelle Obama. He performed three songs including a beatbox version of "America the Beautiful". His second album, '' Heartbreak on Vinyl,'' was distributed under Tommy Boy Records – a dance/hip hop/electronic label whose catalog includes albums by Africa Bambaataa, Biz Markie and De La Soul. He signed a deal on Tommy Boy Entertainment to record an electronica album. The first single from the album, " Sad Song", was released on July 21, 2009. The album was released on October 6, 2009.

2013–2015: ''Portrait of a Chameleon''

On February 25, 2013, it was announced that Lewis has signed with

Republic Records Republic Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). Based in New York City, it was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially ...

. He was going to release his third studio album '' Portrait of a Chameleon'' in spring 2013 and the first single " Your Touch" premiered on February 26, 2013, on a commercial for

Internet Explorer 10 Internet Explorer 10 (IE10) is the tenth version of the Internet Explorer web browser and the successor to Internet Explorer 9, released by Microsoft on September 4, 2012. It is the default browser on Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, and wa ...

. The song was released to iTunes on March 4, 2013. On February 17, 2014, Blake Lewis officially announced that his new album would be released May 20, 2014, on his own record label, Audio Day Dream Records.

2016–present: ''Strings, Spit, & Serenades'', ''Our Fragile Heart: Remixes & Rarities'' and ''Wanderlust Unknown''

In 2017, Lewis released ''Strings, Spit, & Serenades,'' a live album that included live versions of music from previous albums and a live version of "7 Nation Army Dreams" featuring Chris Poage. In 2018, Lewis released a remix album featuring unreleased tracks and new remixes of former releases. The album includes mixes from KJ Sawka and Alex Greggs. Lewis released his fourth studio album, ''Wanderlust Unknown'', on January 24, 2020, featuring lead singles "Pot of Gold" and "Trouble". The album featured collaborations with fellow ''American Idol'' alum

Elliott Yamin Ephraim Elliott Yamin (born July 20, 1978) is an American singer known for his hit single " Wait for You" and for placing third on the fifth season of ''American Idol''. His self-titled album, released March 20, 2007, debuted at number one on ...

and new recording artist Olivia Kuper Harris. Blake also served as co-writer and producer for Olivia Kuper Harris' ''Juicy,'' and for Olivia Ryan's "New Warriors."

Voice acting

Lewis made his voice acting debut in the English dub of the

anime is a Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, , in Japan and in Ja ...

series '' Durarara!!'', in which he voiced Kasuka Heiwajima; however, he was replaced by

Vic Mignogna Victor Joseph Mignogna ( ; born August 27, 1962)Birthday tweet: * is an American voice actor and musician known for his work in the English dubs of Japanese anime shows, such as Edward Elric from the ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' series, which earne ...

in the show's second season. Lewis had also voiced a character named Thump on one episode of ''

Generator Rex ''Generator Rex'' is an American animated superhero television series created by Man of Action for Cartoon Network, with John Fang of Cartoon Network Studios as supervising producer. It is based on the comic '' M. Rex'', created by Aaron Sowd, ...

''.

Philanthropy

Lewis has been supporting

cancer research Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure. Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate ...

at Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle by donating 50% of the proceeds from the merchandise of The Blaker Girls. He chose to put his support behind this organization after a best friend of his as well as his friend's girlfriend were diagnosed with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

. In 2010 Lewis competed on ''

Don't Forget the Lyrics ''Don't Forget the Lyrics!'' is an international music game show. The original American show aired on Fox from July 11, 2007, to June 19, 2009, and after a year off the air, a third overall season, and first as a syndicated show, began on June ...

'' to raise money for the Seattle Children's Hospital, a charity that he has worked with for over ten years.

Discography

Albums

Extended plays

Notes: *¹ Since ''Blake Lewis'' was available exclusively through the iTunes Store, it was not eligible to chart on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Singles

As featured artist

Postmodern Jukebox

Notes: *¹ While Jordin Sparks, the winner of the sixth season of ''American Idol'', had " This Is My Now" as her official single, Lewis did not announce his choice of single officially, despite the fact that "You Give Love a Bad Name" was the highest-charting track among his "bundle" of songs available for downloading. "You Give Love a Bad Name" entered a number of charts. *² Unlike the debut songs of previous winners and runners-up of ''American Idol'', all five songs that appeared on ''Blake Lewis (EP)'' were released digitally only, not physically. *³ While not being announced as a single, " Time of the Season", the song Lewis performed in the

British Invasion The British Invasion was a cultural phenomenon of the mid-1960s, when Rock music, rock and pop music acts from the United Kingdom and other aspects of Culture of the United Kingdom, British culture became popular in the United States with sign ...

week on ''American Idol'', has debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 99, the Pop 100 chart at number 74 and the Hot Digital Songs chart at number 70 in the issue of the charts on June 9, 2007. Several tracks by Lewis have made appearances that week on the ''Billboard''

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

chart and the Pop 100 chart as well, including " This Love" (number 2; number 80), " When the Stars Go Blue" (number 10; number 92) and " I Need to Know" (number nineteen on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart).

Unreleased original works

*"Closer to Reason" *"Emotional Waterfalls" *"Give It to Me" (duet with Laura Blue) *"My

" (featuring The Sampler) *"She Loves the Way" (produced by BT) – he performed the song on American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007 *"Drivin' Me Crazy"

Guest vocals

*2003: Unexpected Arrival, "Julie" (featuring Blake Lewis); "Take Control" (featuring Blake Lewis) Both chorus's written by Blake *2007: Caleb Cunningham and K-Tone, "My Eyes" (featuring Blake Lewis) *2007: KJ Sawka, "Brotherhood of the Drum" (featuring Blake Lewis); "Move On" (featuring Blake Lewis); "WTO" (featuring Blake Lewis) (from the album ''Cyclonic Steel'') *2008: Darude, "Selfless" (featuring Blake Lewis); "I Ran (So Far Away) (featuring Blake Lewis) *2009: DJ Dan, "Operator" (featuring Blake Lewis)

Cameos

*2006: The Sampler, "The Chuck Norris Rap, The Harry Potter Rap, Snakes on a Plane Rap" (music video) *2007:

Jordin Sparks Jordin Sparks (born December 22, 1989) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the American Idol (season 6), sixth season of ''American Idol'' at age 17, becoming the youngest winner in the series' history. He ...

, "

Tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

" (music video) *2018: Blair St. Clair, " Irresistible" (music video)

References

External links

*
Blake Lewis
on

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

Musicbox Network *
Blake Lewis
on AOL.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Blake 1981 births Living people American beatboxers American Idol participants American male drummers American male guitarists American male singer-songwriters American male pianists American people of German descent American people of Irish descent American people of Welsh descent American soul singers American tenors Guitarists from Washington (state) People from Bothell, Washington People from Redmond, Washington Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) 19 Recordings artists 21st-century American drummers 21st-century American guitarists 21st-century American pianists 21st-century American singer-songwriters 21st-century American male singers Drummers from Washington (state)