Blake Lewis does not want to win American Idol and American Idol does not want Blake Lewis to win American Idol. Are we clear?
There has been much talk of late regarding the ramifications of a Blake Lewis victory come tomorrow night on American Idol. The issue has nothing to do with Jordin Sparks, so we’ll leave her out of this for now. There are, then, two issues to discuss. One, the reasons Blake Lewis doesn’t want to win and, two, evidence that Blake Lewis is not trying to win.
The truth is, Blake Lewis would benefit from coming in second. He would have more creative freedom on the album he decides to make. As witnessed at his Seattle concert (or any of his outside-of-Idol concerts), Blake has a repertoire of original songs that he’d love to record. However, they aren’t exactly mainstream fare. How much dance music do you see on TRL? American Idol will attempt to steer Blake into more of a Justin Timberlake direction if he ends up winning. I really don’t see the Idol executives signing off on an album that features 7-minute, loop-centric dance songs.
During tonight’s episode, the first thing that might clue you in to Blake’s mindset was his decision to perform first after he won the coin flip (AND after asking Jordin whether she wanted to go first). It’s always beneficial to perform last, in terms of making a lasting impression on the Idol voters (this may not be scientifically proven, but it sure seems to be the case). Blake’s lack of nervousness is another red flag. He does not seem at all invested in the competition and looks as if he only really cares about going out there and having a good time. If he really wanted to win American Idol, we’d probably sense at least a little stress out of him.
Thankfully, it is impossible to accuse Blake of trying to “throw” the competition at any point. It’s obvious that he’s doing the best that he can out there and that he has a lot of pride in what he does A moment that stood out during last week’s results show was Blake’s reaction after it was announced that Melinda was eliminated. He looked embarrassed, even a little upset. That’s not the way a person reacts if they are in it to win it.
Blake’s already going to have the opportunity to record a high-profile album. Creative freedom is more important than the bragging rights of being an Idol champion. Jordin Sparks is much more Idol’s type: young, marketable, malleable.
Come tomorrow, when Seacrest tells the world that Jordin Sparks has won American Idol, everyone will walk away happy. Well, maybe except for all you Blake fans. But, Blake himself will be just fine.
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of RealityTV Magazine)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
