It’s all about giving a smile and getting one back, according to Blake Lewis.
The Bothell singer, musician and songwriter who graduated from Inglemoor High generated a roughly 3,000-person-strong smile fest May 11, 2007, while performing at the Park at Bothell Landing during his “American Idol” heyday. He finished second to Jordin Sparks, but solidified his spot on the modern music scene.
Lewis, now 28, is still rocking his “indie-pop dance” tunes and will release his second album, “Heartbreak on Vinyl,” Oct. 6 on Tommy Boy Entertainment.
“I finally got it done — I’m stoked. I spent a lot of time doing the whole thing. I did it on my own … It’s like a piece of me,” Lewis said last week.
“As much as it’s a fun record, it’s personal, as well. It was a catharsis … I gave all my passion and everything comes out differently on every song,” he continued, noting that his breakup with a girlfriend while living in California crept into a couple of songs. (He’s currently residing in Lynnwood and most of his band members live in Bothell.)
He’s also saddened by the closure of many indie record stores he frequented in the Seattle area in the past. That was the inspiration for the new album’s title, and he said that it will be released in a double-red-vinyl format in addition to CD and digitally.
Following another breakup, with former label Arista Records, Lewis feels he’s a stronger man and musician heading into the next phase of his life.
“With (debut album) ‘A.D.D.,’ I was sewn into the machine,” he said of “Audio Day Dream,” which moved 350,000 units and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart. “I’ve learned so much the last two years, it’s ridiculous,” adding that musicians often tend to get jaded or led astray by music-business bigwigs.
While Lewis jokes that he’s still “the same nerdy kid making noises with his mouth,” he’s taken his beat-boxing skills to new heights on “Idol” all the way to a “huge gig” last April at the 2009 Congressional Clubs’ First Lady’s Luncheon to Honor Michelle Obama.
“Sad Song” is the first single off “Heartbreak” and Lewis is excited to see how fans will react to this new set of tunes. He grew up with music in his home and mom Dinah’s singing talent rubbed off on Blake, he noted.
And that early exposure to music has turned into a career for Lewis.
“We make music, we sell it — there’s nothing else that we do,” said Lewis, who also puts his time into supporting cancer research at Children’s Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle. “Maybe my songs can reach someone in Saudi Arabia and they’ll want me to come out and play there.
“I’m lucky, I (found) the dream job — I love it,” he continued. “I want to have fun on tour and see the country, and communicate with audiences all around the world. Get people to dance, lose their inhibitions. It’s freeing.”
