Lee DeWyze and the American Idol Top 10 sing "It’s My Life" and "My Life Would Suck Without You"

American Idol Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze and the American Idol Top 10 sing Bon Jovi's "It’s My Life" and Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" on the Idols Live Tour.

MTV Review: Lee Dewyze, Crystal Bowersox & the Top 10 ~ Good Morning America Concert

'American Idol' Top 10 Begin 'Beautiful Day' With 'Good Morning America'
Lee DeWyze, Crystal Bowersox and company strummed and belted through the rain in Central Park on Friday.

By Christopher MacAllister, MTV

With their signs and banners eagerly clutched in their hands, fans marched into Central Park to see "American Idol" season-nine winner Lee DeWyze and runner-up Crystal Bowersox chat with Robin Roberts and George Stephanopoulos about "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" before two 12-year-old girls competed and a guy who looked like Santa's older brother competed in an "Idol" trivia quiz. And also to see all of the top 10 Idols perform for the "Good Morning America" Summer Concert Series on Friday (July 9).

Crystal was the first one to perform, singing Janis Joplin's "Piece of My Heart" while strumming her guitar, of course. She did the song justice despite the slight spray of rain.

Next up was Lee, again with a guitar, awaiting his time to shine amid the continuing showers. The crowd shouted their love for him, as he responded to their makeshift banners, wishing happy birthdays and anniversaries.

Asked about the life-changing experience of winning "Idol," he said it was "important to remember where you came from" and managed to plug the October release of his upcoming album. He then performed "Treat Her Like a Lady" by the Cornelius Brothers, to which the audience reacted with more enthusiasm and excitement.

Then all of the top 10 took the stage and the band began the riff for Bon Jovi's "It's My Life." The guys gave their best for the rousing anthem, before the girls took over with "My Life Would Suck Without You" by Kelly Clarkson. The rain seemed to bring down the energy of some, Lee in particular, who almost seemed bored at times. But as all 10 sang the song as an ensemble, they gave it a powerful finish.

Before the last song, Lee, Andrew Garcia and Michael Lynche began to beat box and rap for the slightly drenched crowd. But instead of capping off the set with another group performance, Lee went solo for his single, U2's "Beautiful Day" — and fans didn't seem to mind the irony of the bad weather.

Actually, as one fan told MTV News, there's more than one reason to consider it a beautiful day. "It was great to see the American Idols on stage together, and the rain was nice, as it has been so hot!"

Idol Winner Lee DeWyze's "Beautiful Day" Hits #1 on the Charts!

The American Idol Finale Impacts Billboard Charts

Millions tuned in for the Season 9 finale and they liked what they heard. Soon after Lee DeWyze was crowned the American Idol, his version of U2’s “Beautiful Day” went to #1 on the Billboard Rock Digital Chart. This is the new champ’s first Billboard #1.

Season 4’s American Idol, Carrie Underwood, performed her latest single, “Undo It,” on the May 26th finale. The song, which is co-written by Idol judge Kara DioGuardi, took the #1 spot on Billboard’s Country Digital Chart.

With Lee’s and Carrie’s additions to the charts, the American Idol contestants have now accumulated 272 #1s to date.

Kelly Clarkson – 56
Carrie Underwood – 46
Chris Daughtry (Daughtry) – 35
Fantasia – 21
Ruben Studdard – 16
Jennifer Hudson – 13
Clay Aiken – 11
Mandisa – 10
Kimberley Locke – 8
Josh Gracin – 7
Jordin Sparks – 7
David Cook – 6
David Archuleta – 4
Kellie Pickler – 4
Elliott Yamin – 4
Taylor Hicks – 3
Adam Lambert – 3
Kris Allen – 2
American Idol Finalists – 2
Bo Bice – 2
Bucky Covington – 2
Blake Lewis – 2
Chris Sligh – 2
Paris Bennett – 1
Jason Castro – 1
Diana DeGarmo - 1
Lee DeWyze – 1
Tamyra Gray – 1
William Hung – 1
source:American Idol News

American Idol Season 9 winner Lee DeWyze is tearing up two other Billboard Charts as well! Just 3 weeks ago, Lee's pre-Idol album "Slumberland" debuted on Billboard's Heatseekers Albums Chart at #32. In it's second week on the chart, this second release (after "So I'm Told") from Chicago's WuLi Records had jumped to #17...the largest move by any album on that chart. Now in it's 3rd week on the Heatseekers Chart, "Slumberland" has jumped to #7! "Slumberland" debuted at #39 on the Independent Albums Chart, which tracks the week's top-selling albums across all genres, sold via independent distribution channels.

Come on FANS...let's make our American Idol Lee DeWyze #1!

Toronto Star's 10 most important works of the decade: No. 4, American Idol

We asked our critics and our readers to vote for the 10 most important works of the decade. We count down to No. 1 as we approach Dec. 31.

Kris Allen, the 2009 American Idol, on why people like the show so much.

"I think the beauty about American Idol is that it takes people that they can relate to, that maybe acts like a friend of theirs, or has the same job or something like that, and makes them into rock stars or country stars or pop stars," said the 24-year-old from Conway, Ark.

The man's bang on. The rags-to-riches story, after all, is a persistent cultural cliché. But instead of commoners rising to royalty, we have a farm girl from Oklahoma becoming a country mega-star (Carrie Underwood), or the girl from a small Texas town who used to sing in bars and now sells millions of pop records (Kelly Clarkson), or the Arkansas church music director who got to play on the same New York stage The Beatles once rocked (Allen).

You don't even have to win the reality singing competition to become famous: think Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson, rocker Chris Daughtry, Broadway lead Constantine Maroulis or glam pop-rock sensation Adam Lambert.

Idol contestants come in all shapes, sizes, races, sexual orientations, ages (from 16 to 30), abilities (contestant Scott MacIntyre was blind); they're from small towns and big cities; they're a little bit country or a little bit rock 'n' roll, and everything in between.

Of course, the same could be said of plenty of U.S. reality shows that don't pull anywhere near Idol's viewership.

Its ratings are down, as are most network TV shows', but Idol still beats the competition every Tuesday and Wednesday that it airs. Just under 29 million watched Allen win over Lambert on the May finale.

But Idol's not just about numbers. It has become part of the zeitgeist since it debuted in June 2002 as a spinoff of the British show Pop Idol.

Idol's genius, in an era in which we simultaneously adulate and denigrate our celebrities, lies in combining the mythology of the American dream with a healthy dose of schadenfreude.

It starts with the audition shows, when just enough delusional, tone-deaf applicants are mixed in with the true talents to give the viewers something to laugh at.

As some are knocked down, others get built up.

By the time contestants have made it through the pressure cooker of Hollywood Week, when a couple of hundred wannabes are cut to 36 semi-finalists or less, viewers are finding their favorites: the people they'll cheer on and vote for.

And therein lies one of Idol's main attractions: viewers' ability not only to watch stars being born but to take an active part in the transition.

Throw renditions of hit songs into the mix, and the interplay between contestants, judges and host Ryan Seacrest, and you've got a hit.

Challenges lie ahead, however. The show has already lost popular judge Paula Abdul although replacement Ellen DeGeneres should maintain viewers' interest.

But will it survive the reputed departure of the most popular judge, bitingly honest Brit Simon Cowell?