The American Idol juggernaut boasts the ability to find the best untapped talent in the nation, yet year after year we meet the same contestants over and over again. There are the resident rockers and country singers, the black female powerhouses, and the excruciatingly boring power-ballad singers. When Blake Lewis entered the top 12 last season it was clear that the judges had finally found a dose of freshness. Lewis set himself apart from past contestants, beat-boxing his way into the finals, scoring major cool points for remixing classic songs like Bon Jovi's "You Give Love a Bad Name," and ushering in the contemporary era of Idol. But after listening to Lewis' new album, Audio Day Dream, you will find yourself utterly confused. How is it that someone who brought American Idol into the 21st century could sound so … old?
The introductory track of Audio Day Dream is entitled "Silence is Golden…" It sets up the techno feel of the album, using random synthesizers and snippets of Lewis moaning a series of unintelligible words. The record transitions into Lewis' first single, "Break Anotha," employing a driving guitar riff that sadly dies after the first 10 seconds in favor of a driving synthesizer beat. The track turns into a knockoff of Britney Spears' comeback single, simply replacing the repetition of the words "Gimme More" for "Break Anotha." Throughout the album, Lewis tries too hard to follow in Justin Timberlake's footsteps, as well as into modern pop in general. The most shocking example of this is his sparse use of beat-boxing, the talent that got him into the Idol finale. Instead, he relies solely on his vocals, a poor decision given their mediocrity.
There were good aspects of the album that should not be overlooked. One of the main producers and writers for the album was One Republic frontman Ryan Tedder, who penned the salient hit "Apologize." But none of the tracks reach the frankness of "Apologize," instead quipping about Lewis' ability to pick up a girl in a club. The effort should still be applauded, though. Two tracks did save the record from total oblivion: the catchy "Gots to Get Her," which uses the melody of the Irving Berlin classic "Puttin' on the Ritz," and the dreamlike "How Many Words." Unlike the other songs, Blake lets the music come naturally, skillfully utilizing contemporary elements to showcase his best assets. Despite these two tracks, Audio Day Dream will probably be left dusty and untouched on the shelves of Best Buy, next to those of predecessors Justin Guarini and Clay Aiken. B-
2008 Woodie Awards
