Mount Prospect Idol contestant makes the cut
Having Simon Cowell on your side never hurts.
"American Idol" voters listened when Cowell praised Lee DeWyze's performance on Wednesday and voted the Mount Prospect resident into the next round Thursday. DeWyze was one of the few male singers Cowell thought worthy of even being on stage.
Idol host Ryan Seacrest broke the good news to DeWyze, 23, who sang "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol.
"Kara and Randy didn't love the song," Seacrest said. "Ellen thought you screamed it but Simon disagreed and called it the best performance by a mile. The nation has spoken and agrees with Simon."
And with that, a very relieved-looking DeWyze wiped his forehead and sat back down.
In total, four "American Idol" hopefuls were told to pack their microphones on Thursday. For the girls it was Ashley Rodriguez of Chelsea, Mass., and Janell Wheeler of Orlando, Fla. For the boys, it was Joe Muñoz of Huntington Park, Calif., and Tyler Grady of Nazareth, Penn.
"American Idol's" Top 20 will include two other Illinois residents. John Park from Northbrook and Jermaine Sellers from Joliet also made the cut.
DeWyze's look of relief ends on Wednesday when he will perform again before facing another elimination Thursday. Another four singers, two male and two female, will be cut for the next two weeks until the number of performers is whittled down to 12.
The winner of "American Idol" will be named in May.
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<h1>More Coverage</h1>
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<ul class="moreWeb">
<li><a href="http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season_9/lee_dewyze/">Idol's Lee Dewyze page</a></li>
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<h2>Audio</h2>
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<li><a href="/audio/LeeDeWyze1.mp3">Lee DeWyze sings 'Chasing Cars' by Snow Patrol</a></li>
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<h2>Stories</h2>
<ul class="links">
<li><a href="/story/?id=361856">Suburban 'Idol' hopeful gets Simon's vote <span class="date">[02/25/2010]</span></a></li>
<li><a href="/story/?id=359715">Mt. Prospect native makes it to top 24 on 'American Idol' <span class="date">[02/18/2010]</span></a></li>
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