LEE COMES HOME TO CHICAGO!
About 14 months ago, an unknown singer from Mount Prospect almost skipped his "American Idol" audition at the United Center because it was too hot and the line to try out was too long.
On Saturday, Lee DeWyze returned to the United Center. This time he was center stage.
"When I was pulling up today, everything was running through my head and I thought 'What happened?'" DeWyze said. "It's been crazy this past year, but a good crazy."
The "American Idol" tour concert on Saturday featured the top 10 Idol finishers. Each Idol sang two or three mostly cover songs for the crowd that filled up about three-quarters of the center.
But make no mistake, the night belonged to Lee - with his parents watching him for the first time since he won "Idol" back in May and neon "Vote 4 Lee" T-shirts everywhere.
DeWyze, 24, was the final performer of the three-hour concert. His set included "Hallelujah" and "Treat Her Like a Lady," songs that won his fans over when he performed them on Idol.
"So many familiar faces," said DeWyze who played the guitar with "I 'Heart' Chicago" written on one hand and "Thank you" on the other. "All I can say is thank you, thank you guys so much. I love you guys."
Before the show, the United Center hallways were full of perfume and teenage girls' screams of excitement.
Mackenzie Morris of Mount Prospect, Ashley Packard of Buffalo Grove, and Dhara Parekh of Buffalo Grove, arrived at the United Center at 11 a.m. - more than eight hours before the concert's start. All three wore Lee DeWyze T-shirts and by the time the show started, they could barely talk.
"He hugged me, it was totally worth it," Morris said.
"His voice, his looks, everything," said Packard explaining her Lee DeWyze enthusiasm. "I'm so excited, we're in the second row."
Susan Maratea and her daughter Lauren also made the trip in from Mount Prospect, listening to Lee DeWyze music the whole way into Chicago.
"He's cute obviously, but he's also talented," said Lauren, who doesn't think he's changed much from his days in Mount Prospect based on his Twitter feed, which she follows religiously.
Outside the United Center about 25 members of the "Lee DeWyze Army" gathered an hour before the show to compare posters. Krystle Grafton, of Maryland, started the Twitter group which has about 2,400 followers, she said.
"From the very first time he sang, I knew he was something special," she said.
About 10 members of Grafton's group will drive to Toledo today to catch another "Idol" concert.
The "Idol" tour was originally scheduled to end Sept. 16 in Portland, Maine. But eight shows were cut so now it wraps up Aug. 31 in Indianapolis.
DeWyze will probably tour the country again this fall or winter to promote his album, scheduled to be released Nov. 16 by 19 Recordings/RCA records.
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