Blake Lewis Loves His New Record – Idol Chatter Interview

This is why I am getting scared for Adams album. In one sense I trust that Adam is smart enough to know best, and on the other hand worried about how the other Idols have been controlled and put out not so good stuff. I wish there was a song.

I was listening to my local radio station this morning and one the DJ’s was talking about when Blake came into town one day and he and another DJ sat in a room with Blake and listened to this new album. He said that the album is one of the worst albums he has heard in a long time and he even said on-air that people should not buy it. I was loling so hard.

And also, I never believed Adam has all the control he says he has. The thing with Blake only proves it further.

the other Idols have been controlled and put out not so good stuff.

Sometimes Idols put out stuff that’s not so good because they aren’t good enough to do any better and/or because they don’t have the faintest idea what they want to do musically.

Actually I think Blake and Adam were in different positions. I think Adam has enough pull and is enough of a darling of the powers that be that he would be given much more control, whereas Blake was sort of a ‘black sheep’ that Clive apparently expressly disliked his style of music and I doubt the powers that be were willing to trust him to do his own thing. I think that’s reflected in this new album, which is actually kind of awesome, whereas his debut was kind of… not very good.

I dug this interview, it was a pretty good one. I haven’t been a huge Blake fan in the past (though his ‘You Give Love a Bad Name’ is iconically epically awesome), but more and more I’m becoming a fan.

I never believed Adam has all the control he says he has. The thing with Blake only proves it further.

I completely disagree. Adam has said many times that he has been given the freedom to make the album he wants. He’s been given the best writers and producers to work with. There’s no reason to believe he’s not being truthful.

There’s no reason to believe he’s not being truthful.

I’m not saying he’s lying, but the majority of the Idols say that…when they get out of their contracts, their stories change.

ETA: It’s a proven trend. But it doesn’t really matter, whether or not they have 100% freedom isn’t necessarily the deciding factor in how good the CD is.

YAY! Matt Giraud is one one of his favorites of season 8!!! Blake has good taste in musicians. : )

I have a feeling Adam’s negotiating skills are another one of his many talents. He’s an intelligent guy that has proved over and over that he’s capable of making things happen that other Idols before him have not. He seems to have a way of persuading those around him to get on board with his ideas…..smiling all the way, I’m sure. He’ll be fine. We’ll all be much better as soon as something is released!!

As for Blake’s album…I’ll definately be checking it out and I hope he has great success.

I truly think that I might need a time out. The fact that Blake thinks he could be compared to Adam in ANY way makes me feel ill. Ark.

I completely disagree. Adam has said many times that he has been given the freedom to make the album he wants. He’s been given the best writers and producers to work with. There’s no reason to believe he’s not being truthful.

Did you not read the article? LOL. Blake was saying the same shit. And now his story is different. There’s no way we can know for sure. I’m just saying I wouldn’t be surprised if Adam doesn’t have as much control as he is leading us all to believe.

Maybe with Adam (and Kris) it will be different. Maybe not.

After seeing what happens when an Idol goes against the labels’ wishes (Exhibit A: Kelly Clarkson), I don’t blame them for towing the party line when in reality there was tons of compromising. They have to play the game if they want support and the second album.

Granted they are less moldable if they have a strong identity, but there’s lots of give and take. Blake had an incredible identity and yet he had to submit to Clive.

We can hope for the best.

Just out of curiosity, is it not possible that Blake did have a decent amount of (though certainly not total ) creative control–and is partly blaming Clive for the fact that his album didn’t do well? But if he claimed that he had total creative control, than I’m sure he wasn’t telling the truth.

I hope/believe that Adam and Kris have a decent amount of creative input, though no artist, and certainly no major label, first-album artist, is going to have anything like complete control. But hopefully they have enough input to make the album something they genuinely like. Adam’s excitement doesn’t seem fake at all, and while Kris’s first single isn’t exactly what I would have expected from him, it is tons better than any other winner’s single I’ve heard, so hopefully those are all good signs.

Also, wasn’t Clive supposed to suck? And isn’t it Fuller who’s in charge of things now (whose level of suck is yet to be ascertained)? Or have I got that totally wrong (very possible)?

“Blake’s turnabout illustrates nicely why I bust out the salt lick when an Idol claims, in pre-album release interviews, that he/she has control, loves the label, loves the album, etc.”

Just had to say, that memory was screaming out to me when I read the interview. And I remember being frustrated that Clive chose Break Anotha as the first single even though it was the only? one of the only? songs Blake didn’t have a hand in writing. And when it didn’t take off Blake’s comments started changing. People gave him a hard time for backpedaling but what could he do.

I don’t know how much of Blake’s original optimism was just that and how much was to appease his masters, but I do hope he’s happy with this album. I know I am and I wish him well.

I only hope that Adam will have a better fate, perhaps because he’s more seemingly popular. I’m still reeling from what they did to Allison so far, but won’t comment on Kris because I’m barely a fan.

Ugh, the machine.

Dear Blake,

Please stay the fuck away from Adam’s album. Thank you in advance.

Sincerely,

A Concerned Adam Fan

ps. your self-proclaimed “rebelliousness and flamboyancy” were not even in the same ballpark.

No offense to Blake – but I sometimes am in awe that ANY of the other idol finalists would compare themselves or their situation to ADAM. There IS NO comparison, and the AI top guns have forgotten all about the Blakes of the past after and since Adam appeared on the scene and catapulted himself into a competitive industry. And, I HATED the “beat boxin’” crap – so NOT music. I hope Adam gets away from these overproduced electro-types.

I love electronic music, but Blake’s style was pretty underground (compared to Adam’s pre-Idol stuff, like Pop Goes the Camera, which is very electropop), which is why I was amazed he made it so far on Idol. I’m not surprised Clive Davis wouldn’t let him go as electronic as he wanted, especially since electropop wasn’t even that big in the US when his album was released (unlike now where you have not only Lady GaGa doing that style, but you have established acts like Black Eyed Peas, Shakira and Britney more electrobased).

Blake’s strength (for me) was his mixing, not his voice or persona, so when they took that away it probably didn’t help. I actually quite like what I heard from his new album, especially the title track, but it’s more dance than pop and that sort of scene suits Blake a lot more than the pop world, in my opinion.

And not to bring it back to Adam but since it went there… Adam himself is much more pop scene than Blake and a collaborator, so if Adam is more commercial than Blake I don’t think that is because they forced him to be — I think Adam is more commercial than Blake overall (still, Adam’s sound will be formed by his producers and the label and that isn’t an Idol debut thing–that’s a major label debut thing since they are trying to launch an artist and establish them foremost). Plus, his strengths and appeal are very different from Blake, even if they are both into electronic scenes. Electronic music is pretty diverse too.

DNW Blake close to Adam. And doesn’t matter what he says now, his first album (the one he did BEFORE American Idol) sucked even harder. It was THAT terrible. The guy can’t sing, can’t produce and even his “beat boxing” isn’t even close to good.

And no, they don’t have any freedom. Even Christina Aguilera doesn’t have total freedom, you really believe an idol would have? For his first cd? Suuuure.

I just hope they don’t mess too much with his vocals and don’t overproduce everything else. That’s my only hope for now.

I truly think that I might need a time out. The fact that Blake thinks he could be compared to Adam in ANY way makes me feel ill.

This^^ ITA!!

Blake made the comparison because he was asked by the interviewer and he and Adam were both runners up with strong personalities, I don’t think he’s comparing their talent/musical avenue. I have a feeling Blake’s probably a great producer, whether you like his act or not, he knows a lot about music. One song with his influence on Adam’s CD isn’t the end of the world…if whatever they worked on even makes the cut.

I am not a fan of Adam’s music at all (but at least he’s not arrogant), and I’m even less a fan of Blake (who is very arrogant and has judged other contestants who I happen to feel were much better singers than he ever could be)! I’m sure Blake is not easy to work with and probably was not well liked by TPTB, whereas Adam probably has definite ideas of what he wants but is also well liked by TPTB, as we have all seen during Season 8. Tho I don’t like either one’s music, there is a HUGE difference between the two, both musically and in likability! And this, of course, is only my opinion.

One song with his influence on Adam’s CD isn’t the end of the world

Have you LISTENED to Blake’s tracks? If u have, then you would see, yes, it would be the end of the world. And the waste of a good track.

Actually, I have, and they aren’t all crap. I don’t even like dance music that much. “How Many Words” in particular is a favorite of mine.

I did not follow Blake’s season closely. All I remember of him on AI was constant “beat boxing” and being annoyed by it. I think he also appeared on Season 7 as a guest and did beat boxing again?

The other day, I saw MJ’s enthusiastic post with the link to the AOL CD for listening, so I decided to take a quick listen. Ended up playing the whole CD several times. Enjoyed every song but one and will buy at least two copies.

Want the actual CD, went to Target and the store did not have it today, despite the Target ad on BlakeLewisOfficial. (Copies of Brooke White’s CD were there, though).

Blake’s CD is refreshing and fun. It’s a great workout CD! Glad I read this blog and checked it out. Thanks MJ!

I hope his album does very well, he is very talented and I like his voice and his music and I ´m happy he was allowed this time to make the cd that he wanted, I really like the new one.

This really isn’t hard to understand. No matter how much these kids may fancy themselves as “artists” (laughing my ass off at most of them for thinking that), they signed up for a reality TV show karaoke contest. If they are lucky, they get to lay down vocal tracks on one of the following major label albums:

a) teen pop top 40 pablum
b) pop rock top 40 pablum
c) R&B pop top 40 pablum
d) country pop top 40 pablum

If they are not happy to do that, then they sigined up for the wrong TV reality show and should try Big Brother or something. The quality of their first album will depend entirely on their ability to personalize the product and deliver winning vocals. They all get the same shit from the same producers and the same tired old writers. The only difference between a good album and a bad album is what the Idol brings to the table.

So, they should suck it up, stop whining about Clive Davis, and deliver the goods if they want an album that they can be proud of. There are lots of great albums of pop pablum lifted to a higher level by the sheer talent of the singer.

I’ve listened to the new album as well and would have no problem with him working with Adam. And at no point did he seem to compare his ability and Adam’s, merely their reputations as being the odd man out in their respective seasons, even if for differing reasons.

Whatever, though. Everyone has different tastes. Personally I can’t stand country, gospel, or rap; yet, there is no denying many do.

“I truly think that I might need a time out. The fact that Blake thinks he could be compared to Adam in ANY way makes me feel ill. Ark.”

Umm….
Both offered a new sound to most Idol viewers
Both “did their own thing” and let the viewers decide
Both have an electronic, dance musical background
Both came in second because they were “too different”
Both were professionals in music before Idol

I was pulling hard for Blake in Season 6 and am really glad he has finally gotten the chance show put out a really good album that showcases what he is capable of.

I truly think that I might need a time out. The fact that Blake thinks he could be compared to Adam in ANY way makes me feel ill. Ark.

Seriously. I totally agree. I heard Muse’s “Feeling Good” which got me in the mood to listen to all of my Adam itunes downloads. I’m sitting here being blown away once again by Adam. He is just uncomparable. He’s so amazing.

Both came in second because they were ‘too different’ 

I would say that Blake was not as good as Jordin Sparks. That’s why he didn’t win.

The top 8 most played songs on my iPod are all Adam Lambert studio versions. You don’t have to dislike Blake to be an Adam fan. Blake Lewis is still very talented and his recent album is really good. Adam and Blake both have a lot of talent and a good musical sense of electronic dance music.

The top 8 most played songs on my iPod are all Adam Lambert studio versions. You don’t have to dislike Blake to be an Adam fan. Blake Lewis is still very talented and his recent album is really good. Adam and Blake both have a lot of talent and a good musical sense of electronic dance music.

ITA- Adam is more versitle, but Blake is talented in what he likes to do.

Blake made the comparison because he was asked by the interviewer and he and Adam were both runners up with strong personalities, I don’t think he’s comparing their talent/musical avenue. I have a feeling Blake’s probably a great producer, whether you like his act or not, he knows a lot about music. One song with his influence on Adam’s CD isn’t the end of the world’ ¦if whatever they worked on even makes the cut.

THANK YOU. Good God. I was starting to think I’d hopped onto the wrong blog for a second and was reading an entry about some mass murderer or something.

ITA- Adam is more versitle, but Blake is talented in what he likes to do.

Yep. I like Blake. He is very good.

Clive Davis is a music industry legend with a string of successes so long it would take a million hacks like Blake Lewis a million years to even come close.

Period.

Love Blake’s new album and I hope to love Adam’s album. I sure love Adam’s voice.

Clive Davis has a formula and, like most formulas, it only works if the ingredients are right.

Clive Davis has a formula and, like most formulas, it only works if the ingredients are right.

Exactly. I was horrified with the formula he gave to Bo Bice, after promising “a very special record” they would make together.

The top 8 most played songs on my iPod are all Adam Lambert studio versions. You don’t have to dislike Blake to be an Adam fan. Blake Lewis is still very talented and his recent album is really good. Adam and Blake both have a lot of talent and a good musical sense of electronic dance music.

Yep, totally agree. I like Blake (though I like Adam more). And Blake didn’t lose b/c Jordin is more talented, Blake lost b/c the viewers voted for her more times (plus she could kind of sing the craptastic This Is My Now and he looked like a deer in headlights singing it). NoBo is the best song ever written compared to TIMN, IMO. And Melinda could sing their way around all of them, but she didn’t have the “it” factor, I guess (she was my second favorite after Blake).

If Bo Bice wasn’t enthusiastic about recording pop pablum, he should have tried out for Survivor instead of American Idol. Did he seriously think that American Idol was a stepping stone to recording albums that sound like Lynyrd Skynard?

If you aren’t truly excited about making a commercial pop record, then Idol is simply the wrong TV reality show.

Well, Adam has a better profile than Blake. lol. Look at the pic.

If you aren’t truly excited about making a commercial pop record, then Idol is simply the wrong TV reality show.

Not really. I think these kids think they can change pop music. Or, at least have their names out there. Exposure. They don’t have to go back to their day jobs even if they don’t make commercial pop records.

Take Taylor Hicks. He’s touring with Grease. He’ll never have to have to borrow money from his gram or have fans buy him a sofa again!

Bottom line: the show uses the kids. They make more money off the commercials than they ever will off them as recording artists.

The kids use the show to get their name out there and see where the chips fall. It makes a more interesting show to have different artists on stage, so that’s why they let southern rockers and beatboxers into the mix.

I have every faith in Adam. If what he’s recording now is similar to those he collaborated pre-Idol (Crawl Thru Fire, Pop Goes The Camera), then we are in for a treat. Couple these with some ballads and I’ll seriously be in music heaven!!!!

Since wiser minds than me have already commented on the music and industry perspective of it, I’ll just add that I really like Blake’s album cover design. Very striking and visually pleasing.

THANK YOU. Good God. I was starting to think I’d hopped onto the wrong blog for a second and was reading an entry about some mass murderer or something

Hahahaha…. I know what you mean!

DNW Blake close to Adam. And doesn’t matter what he says now, his first album (the one he did BEFORE American Idol) sucked even harder.

Can you tell me the name of the album Blake had BEFORE American Idol?
To my knowledge Audio Daydream was his first album ever.

Since wiser minds than me have already commented on the music and industry perspective of it, I’ll just add that I really like Blake’s album cover design. Very striking and visually pleasing.

The album cover was designed by Blake’s good friend, Ethan Newbury.

Take Taylor Hicks. He’s touring with Grease. He’ll never have to have to borrow money from his gram or have fans buy him a sofa again!

I don’t recall that he ever bitched about being locked in a dungeon and forced to record his first album like all the Idols who want to blame Clive Davis for their falures.

I don’t recall that he ever bitched about being locked in a dungeon and forced to record his first album like all the Idols who want to blame Clive Davis for their falures.

Errr. I was responding to the idea that they should all be prepared to be commercially viable on pop radio or they were trying out for the wrong show. My bad.

The album cover was designed by Blake’s good friend, Ethan Newbury.

Thanks! I’ll look at some of Ethan’s other stuff. Huh, Blake seems to have a lot of connections with industry people.

Him and Adam were both runner-up being kind of different but for me both musically and in likability, they are so different. Balke was coming across a tad arrogant for me. That season I was very disappointed to not see Melinda in the final 2.
I listened to Blake first track and it’s not my cup of tea but I wish him much success.

Damn Blake have you peed in folks Cheerios? I guess he broke an idol commandment or two. Thou shalt not compare yourself to other popular runners up, or thou shalt not blame Clive for helping fuck up your first cd….(even if there could be a bit of truth to it), especially after you talked about having creative control, which in idolland is a myth, sorta like unicorns and elves….

i think blake comes across as needing a bit of an attitude adjustment here. he should have enough sense of himself in the cosmic universe of music not to blame clive; — and at this moment in particular, not to state that people have compared adam lambert to him. is he tone deaf or something (meaning that figuratively here, but one never knows!).

What season did Clive step down? I got the impression much changed when he left?

“i think blake comes across as needing a bit of an attitude adjustment here. he should have enough sense of himself in the cosmic universe of music not to blame clive; ‘” and at this moment in particular, not to state that people have compared adam lambert to him. is he tone deaf or something (meaning that figuratively here, but one never knows!).”

I don’t think it’s just an excuse game, I might have believed that before this 2nd album came out but seriously Heartbreak on Vinyl is quite good and Audio Day Dream… just not. There must be some explanation why the first album was so underwhelming if Blake is talented enough to put out something as good as this 2nd album is. I don’t know if it’s just Clive’s fault, but I do think Blake was likely not given as much creative/artistic control on the 1st album. I also believe that the choices a label makes as far as single releases can muzzle an album (I’m still waiting for ‘Lie’ to be released as a single for David Cook, RCA).

I have no problem believing Blake was not very well backed by the powers that be, just based off what I can hear on the two albums. It may be a bit of an excuse to blame Clive, but seriously Clive is good at what he does but he is absolutely the *wrong* guy to know how to market someone like Blake, and if he had control over the first album then Clive actually *does* legitimately deserve some of the blame.

As far as him mentioning that Adam Lambert has been compared to him, well that was in direct response to a question about Adam, and I’m also sure it’s true. I do think Blake is the closest previous Idol to the kind of thing Adam does, the comparison is a fair one. Actually listening to this record I think that while Adam has the far superior range and control of voice, I believe that Blake may have more talent (in song arrangements) and certainly has more sense of when to use the ‘less is more’ approach.

Blake’s new album is good, and he deserves to be proud of it. Just my opinion, but then again my opinion is the only one that matters… to me

I only heard of Blake this year when someone told me about his performance of You Give Love a Bad Name. That was an AWESOME performance. Also I listened to his new album and loved most of it. And the cover is awesome! Good job Blake

If you aren’t truly excited about making a commercial pop record, then Idol is simply the wrong TV reality show.

Yep, but it’s the only tv reality show you’ve got, lol. Rockstar — short run then belly up; Get On the Bus, or whatever Missy’s was called — even shorter run then belly up. America’s Got Talent — maybe, but something other than musical talent tends to advance!

It’s tough out there for singers looking for tv exposure!

Okay, just a bit of realism here. The comparisions? They both came off Idol describing their music the same way — electro/pop/rock fusion. Now, I know that is vague and runs the gamut. But when Adam said that, well, it did ring some bells of another 2nd place finisher who described his music in much the same way. If ya don’t like the comparison, don’t blame Blake. Sheesh.

Personally, I liked much of ADD, but like the second effort way better.

Adam’s voice is an advantage to him, if they use it to its potential. I’m sure Adam won’t be able to resist.

Blake has a nice voice (for me, for you), and, more importantly, he understands its limits.

I disliked Blake long before I ever heard of Adam. He just struck me as an arrogant prick. And his beats are pretty fucking lame if you spent much time in the House/Rave scene. The Readers Digest version of Beats

Idols all tend to change their tune post contract days. I’d say a lot of it is for due cause and a lot of it is sour grapes.

The only thing Blake loves more than his album is himself. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

I’m with PJ, Blake knows what his vocal strengths are and plays to that. Also, both were runners-up. It’s a closer comparison for Adam/Blake than, say, Adam/Clay. Also, Miles Siggins, the AI stylist, said Blake branded himself, that he knew how he wanted to present himself visually. His Bon Jovi cover, at the time, was one of the more exciting performances from a flaccid Season 6. Blake played with image, as he dyed his hair from blonde to black mid-show. He also had a visible tattoo that he added to during the show and rearranged his music. Blake described his album in a similar way as Adam. He’s influenced by British music. Blake always said he had no filter. Blake’s ADD cover was just awful. Adam’s Michelan Man “cover” is WTF.

The interview was good, he does say he likes ADD – it would be really stupid if he said he hated it. He had great producers like Mike Elizondo and Sam and Sluggo and he co-wrote and co-produced a lot of it. But the second album is a lot better so I’ll download from MJ’s itunes link when I get a chance.

What surprised me is that Blake was such an Adam fan. Blake never struck me as a huge fan of big voices but maybe it was Adam’s showmanship that made him a fan. In any case, I get the douche comments because Blake said some not cool stuff about Sanjaya that had peeps’ knickers in a twist and he wasn’t so kind about Kris, though later said he rocked on tour. So *shrug*

Some of these surface comparisons made me think Adam would never win AI.
People complained Blake beatboxed all the time, and that Adam screeched all the time. Both were polarizing. But I think TPTB were more on Adam’s side in S8 than ever in Blake’s corner.

Sorry for the long post. Interesting to see Blake talk about beatboxing as a gimmick. Any beatboxing site pretty much says Blake is siiick when it comes to vocal scratching, so he’s pretty self-aware. Or maybe now better with press.

I like Blake Lewis. I like Blake more than Adam Lambert. I know Adam has a much bigger range than Blake. And yet I love Blake’s voice (voice, not beat boxing.) and am kinda “meh” about Adam’s. I don’t hate Adam; that’s just my opinion.

I don’t see anything wrong with comparing the two. He didn’t say he was even nearly as good as Adam vocally. I can see lots of reasons how the two are similar. (which people have already pointed out)

I’m not going to make any assumptions on Adam’s album until I hear it. Adam is not God, and just because he says he has control doesn’t mean he actually has much. Of course, I do want Adam to have a very successful album.

I do believe that Blake had less control on his first album because his first album sucked (IMO) and his second album is amazing. To be honest, I don’t really care for his pre-idol stuff, but then again, I hate Adam’s pre-idol stuff too.

Blake and Adam seem to be good friends, and I’m sure they both think each other is very talented.

Blake’s album is great. And I totally get why he and Adam like each other’s music. In fact, call me crazy, but I think Blake is a really good songwriter and I would love to hear him write something for Adam . . think Adam singing Binary Love. That would be really cool. And for those who criticize Blake’s attitude or comparing him to Adam, remember how Jon Bon Jovi reacted at first to Blake’s idea of You Give Love . . . .kind of similar to Randy Travis’ initial reaction to Adam’s ring of Fire. Blake was INCREDIBLY creative. Only difference is Jon Bon Jovi correctly got Blake and I don’t think Randy got Adam. But I get the similarities in terms of their risk taking.