Blake Lewis

Blake Lewis (aka Bshorty), runner-up on the sixth season of American Idol, is a singer/songwriter/beatboxer that is currently signed with Tommy Boy Records after parting with his label, Arista Records, in June 2008. His first album, titled Audio Daydream (A.D.D.) was released December 4, 2007 to favorable reviews. The first single, "Break Anotha", was released October 30, 2007. Lewis was born in Redmond, WA on July 21, 1981 and started singing around the age of 5. In junior high, he began singing in the Columbia Boys Choir and toured Europe with them. He also participated in choir at Kenmore Junior High and Inglemoor High School. In addition, he was in several plays and musicals in high school. During his senior year of high school he was turned onto beat boxing and has been hooked ever since, winning several local beat boxing competitions. Lewis says he's been "making noise [his] whole life." After high school, Lewis began performing all around the Pacific Northwest, looping his own beats and singing over them while playing guitar. He also plays keyboard and drums. He spent several years as a member of Kickshaw, an acapella group. Lewis was often complimented on American Idol for his creativity and canny song selections. Songs he performed on the show include: "Somewhere Only We Know" (Keane), "Virtual Insanity" (Jamiroquai), "All Mixed Up" (311), "Time of the Season" (The Zombies), "Love Song" (The Cure), "Imagine" (John Lennon), "You Give Love A Bad Name" (Bon Jovi), "This Is Where I Came In" (The Bee Gees), "Roxanne" (The Police), "This Love" (Maroon 5), "When I Get You Alone" (Robin Thicke), "She Will Be Loved" (Maroon 5) and "The Show" (with Doug E Fresh). Speaking about A.D.D., Lewis told Entertainment Weekly: "I like to call it the two-thousand-'80s, because all my musical influences have come from the '80s, like new wave, Michael Jackson, Prince, Sting, U2, New Order — all this great electro-pop. I'm heavily influenced by electronic music because I've been listening to it from about '93 to now." Collaborators/producers on his debut album include [Lewis's best friend and fellow Idol finalist] Chris Richardson, BT, S*A*M (Sam Hollander) & Sluggo (Dave Katz), J.R. Rotem, Steph Jones, Mike Elizondo, David Hodges, Sean Hurley and OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder.