'American Idol' winner Lee DeWyze dropped by RCA Records

Season 9 champ follows in the footsteps of David Archuleta

By HItFix Staff Thursday, Oct 6, 2011 1:08 PM

Lee DeWyze

Credit: AP Photo

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"American Idol" season 9 winner Lee DeWyze is looking for a new label.

Following a recent restructuring, RCA Records has decided not to extend DeWyze's contract and has dropped the singer.

His post-"Idol" release, "Live It Up," was somewhat of a commercial disappointment for RCA, selling around 20,000 units in its debut week to land at No. 19 on the Billboard 200. Though it has sold roughly 168,000 copies since its release, "Live It Up" remains the worst-selling debut by an "A.I." winner.

Before "Idol," DeWyze had released two independent albums that failed to garner much acclaim.

A similar fate befell season 7 runner-up David Archuleta, who split from his contract with Jive Records earlier this year.

Jive and RCA both fall under the Sony banner, after the companies partnered in July. Other "Idol" alumni are staying in the the RCA family (for now), including season 8's Kris Allen, season 7's David Cook, Season 6's Jordin Sparks, season 4's Carrie Underwood and season 1's O.G. idol Kelly Clarkson. The latter two have found the most success converting their "Idol" fame into mainstream success.

Another "A.I." vet, Scott McCreery, just released his Mercury Nashville debut "Clear as Day," and it looks to be headed to the No. 1 position, indicating that there's clearly still a market for "Idol" winners.

As for DeWyze, his singing career may have to wait until after his marriage to model-actress Jonna Walsh.

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Glitterbomb

Archuleta was Season 7 not Season 8. It was his decision to leave the label. Jive made him an offer to stay. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/blogs/idol-worship/david-archuleta-explains-break-jive-160218
October 6, 2011 at 2:28PM EST Reply to Comment
HLane

Unlike Lee Dewyze, David Archuleta was offered a contract by Jive, but the inside scoop said Jive was about to close out the business financially, so David Archuleta decided to end the business. Any labels would love to keep artists who still draw thousands of fans at concerts. He just finished the successful solo Asia tour and prepares for upcoming Christmas tour in December.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CDOwYODCaaQ
October 6, 2011 at 8:50PM EST Reply to Comment
Soothe

Yes, Archuleta's split with Jive was voluntary (contrary to what's was reported at the time) and is a big star overseas.

A lot of this stuff comes down to politics, too. Ask Ciara and her fans about her label, also Jive, telling the radio stations not to play her singles and CDs... WHY would a label do that?? We rarely know the backroom reasons, but it's not unusual... And DeWyze was cut awfully fast for such a recent IDOL winner -- but then, didn't he have a public spat with the producers this Spring?
October 7, 2011 at 11:03AM EST Reply to Comment
Anna

I can't believe that no one has commented on the concept that Lee simply was not nearly as talented as Crystal, and that this has, in a sense, been proven by this move. Wish him well, of course, and in his marriage particularly.
October 12, 2011 at 6:33AM EST Reply to Comment

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'American Idol' winner Lee DeWyze dropped by RCA Records