“American Idol” season 9 winner Lee DeWyze is looking for a new label.
Following a recent restructuring, RCA Records has decided not to extend DeWyze’s contract and has dropped the singer.
His post-“Idol” release, “Live It Up,” was somewhat of a commercial disappointment for RCA, selling around 20,000 units in its debut week to land at No. 19 on the Billboard 200. Though it has sold roughly 168,000 copies since its release, “Live It Up” remains the worst-selling debut by an “A.I.” winner.
Before “Idol,” DeWyze had released two independent albums that failed to garner much acclaim.
A similar fate befell season 7 runner-up David Archuleta, who split from his contract with Jive Records earlier this year.
Jive and RCA both fall under the Sony banner, after the companies partnered in July. Other “Idol” alumni are staying in the the RCA family (for now), including season 8’s Kris Allen, season 7’s David Cook, Season 6’s Jordin Sparks, season 4’s Carrie Underwood and season 1’s O.G. idol Kelly Clarkson. The latter two have found the most success converting their “Idol” fame into mainstream success.
Another “A.I.” vet, Scott McCreery, just released his Mercury Nashville debut “Clear as Day,” and it looks to be headed to the No. 1 position, indicating that there’s clearly still a market for “Idol” winners.
As for DeWyze, his singing career may have to wait until after his marriage to model-actress Jonna Walsh.