Lee DeWyze Tells New 'Idol' Judges Not to Be Copycats

By Steve Baltin Posted Dec 2nd 2010 02:11PM

Barring any surprises, Lee DeWyze will always have the honor in 'American Idol' history of being the winner on Simon Cowell's final season. With Cowell gone, and Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler taking over as judges this upcoming season, it will be a different 'Idol,' but DeWyze believes J. lo and the Aerosmith frontman will be up to the challenge -- as long as they meet one criteria.

"The judges are gonna do a good job as long as they're their own personalities and don't try to copy past seasons," he tells Popeater. DeWyze will be watching, as he doesn't plan on turning his back on the show that made him a star. "I really had a good time on the show and I'm not the type to ever sit there and be like, 'I'm done with 'American Idol,'' he says. "It's like it was a step in my life I'm very happy I did and I'm grateful and blessed to be in the situation I'm in."

He is, however, ready to move on to the next step with his just-released solo album, 'Live It Up,' and he promises fans are in for a treat when they see his live show. "No one has seen me in my element doing my music yet, so that's a really huge thing for me. I love playing live. Before 'Idol,' I was playing live," he says. "I love being on that stage and I can get into it. On the show, I was a little more timid and a little more focused on what I had to do there. But now that that's all over, I've got an album out, I'm gonna have fun with it, just doing my thing."

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