Michael Becker / FOX.We know it sounds strange, but American Idol's cool and collected Lee Dewyze is finally in it to win it—he was even a Twitter trending topic last night!
Not to say he hasn't wanted to take home the title since day one, but you've gotta admit that behind those baby blues has been a serious lack of passion in Lee's Idol game. Maybe his newfound pal Simon Cowell has upped his street cred just a bit...
"Simon is someone that's seen a lot of things in the music industry, and he noticed that [I'm a good musician] and that's what I care about," Lee told us backstage after his stellar performance Tuesday night. "It's really cool to know that he digs me. I got to chill with him for a minute while we picked the songs, and it was really surreal because he's different than what you see on camera. He's a really cool dude."
OK, all in favor of dubbing Lee as king of all Idol bromances, say aye?
"Going back to Hollywood week, he ripped me apart. I took everything he said into consideration as time went by," he explained. "I'm glad he sees a genuine person in me." Awww.
As a matter of fact, this entire Idol experience is not lost on Lee, or on any of the remaining kids. "Idol has opened my eyes to a totally different world that I wasn't in," he said, a little emotional. "I was at my store mixing paint the same way Casey [James] was at home doing construction and Crystal was the one being a mom and just trying to bust her butt to do what she's gotta do. None of us at that time thought, 'OK, a year from now we're going to on national TV trying to win American Idol season nine.' It really opened my eyes to a lot of things. The things that used to bother me are so small..."
Wise beyond his years, that Lee Dewyze.
So who's heading home tonight? Will it be Lee, Casey or Miss Crystal Bowersox? Your call, America!
—Reporting by Jenna Mullins
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