Blake Lewis

Originating from Bothell, Washington, Blake Lewis first drew widespread attention as the beatboxing competitor on the sixth season of American Idol. Growing up in a musical household, he began singing at five after his mother—who once performed in a rock band and still sings and plays guitar—influenced his early interest. At the Seattle auditions his beatboxing and take on Seal's "Crazy" caught the notice of Randy Jackson, Simon Cowell, and Paula Abdul, and he further impressed them during Hollywood week by performing alongside Rudy Cardenas and Chris Sligh. Numbers such as Keane's "Somewhere Only We Know" and Jamiroquai's "Virtual Insanity" revealed his forward-leaning tastes, which also include Björk, Imogen Heap, 311, and Gnarls Barkley. That singular approach quickly built grassroots backing, notably from supporters known as "the Blaker Girls," and he finished the season as runner-up.

While traveling with the subsequent American Idol tour that summer, Lewis devoted most nights to shaping his first full-length studio album, co-writing twelve of its thirteen tracks with producers that included OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder. Audio Day Dream arrived in December 2007, fronted by the single "Break Anotha." The release found only modest traction, and Lewis exited Arista by summer 2008. A little more than a year later Tommy Boy Records issued Heartbreak on Vinyl, which climbed to number 135 on the Billboard 200 before Lewis again found himself without a label for several years. He reemerged in 2013 on Republic Records with the spring set Portrait of a Chameleon, whose lead track "Your Touch" appeared in Microsoft Internet Explorer 10 advertising.