Leon James "
Lee"
DeWyze, Jr. (born April 2, 1986) is an
American singer-songwriter from
Mount Prospect, Illinois, and the winner of the
ninth season of
American Idol. Prior to
Idol, DeWyze had a solo career and formed the
Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called
So I'm Told in 2007 and
Slumberland in 2010, both on WuLi Records. His first post-
Idol album
Live It Up was released on November 16, 2010, through
RCA Records. WuLi Records, citing demand from DeWyze's fan base, released a third album of pre-
Idol recordings,
What Once Was, on February 14, 2012. His fifth studio album
Frames was released on August 20, 2013, and his upcoming sixth album
Oil & Water will be released on February 12, 2016.