DeWyze delivers 'Letter' to all but Simon

Lee DeWyze convinced all the judges except one.

Having his pick from Billboard No. 1 songs, the Mount Prospect native chose "The Letter" by the Box Tops to sing on Tuesday's "American Idol." DeWyze went first and jazzed up the 1967 version by adding two trumpets, a trombone and two saxophones. Three female background singers also joined DeWyze on stage.

Three of the four judges loved DeWyze's rendition.

"You raised the bar for yourself," said Kara DioGuardi. "I've never heard you sound better or look more comfortable. You're finally owning the stage. Believe you're good."

DeWyze received some criticism last week for not having enough stage presence. Simon Cowell was the only judge who said he still didn't on Tuesday.

"I'm really surprised you choose that song, to me it wasn't a recording performance," Cowell said. "That was doing something quite corny... You missed the point I was saying last week, about having a moment. That doesn't define you as competent recording artist."

DeWyze seemed a little crestfallen after Cowell's criticism.

"I was trying not to think at all about it," DeWyze told host Ryan Seacrest. "I just wanted to get out here and be less stiff and nervous, to kind of let loose a little bit. Hopefully I did."

However if DeWyze thought Cowell was too harsh on him, he probably felt a little better after hearing the judges critique the two singers who followed him, who had some of the worst performances of the season so far.

The judges slammed Paige Miles's take on "Against All Odds," and Tim Urban's rendition of "Crazy Little Thing Called Love."

"It sounded like bad karaoke," said Ellen DeGeneres about Urban's performance.

DeWyze, 23, is one of the final 11 American Idol contestants. One will be voted off the show tonight, which airs at 8 p.m. on Fox.

The top 10 automatically make this summer's "American Idol" tour.