SELINSGROVE - American Idol 2010 winner Lee DeWyze has been where many young musicians can only dream of going.
By the age of 26, the singer/guitar player from Illinois beat out thousands of singers to win a season of the popular competition show, and followed that with the release of "Live It Up," which spent 10 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200.
DeWyze's advice to aspiring musicians is to perform in public as much as possible. His philosophy was evident Friday afternoon when he played several songs at Stay Sweet Cupcakery on Market Street. The appearance came hours before he performed a private concert for Bucknell University students in Lewisburg.
"Just play out as frequent as possible, be it a coffee shop or a large stage," he said. "People seeing you is important. Get on as many stages as you can."
Fans at the shop were introduced to a live performance of "Who Would Have Known," a track written for his wife that will appear in his upcoming second major-label album. The yet untitled album will be released in the next few months, he said.
"Before (American Idol) there were so many closed doors," he said. "Before and after Idol were equally challenging in different ways. After Idol, you're always trying to make the right decision."
DeWyze plans a tour to promote the album. Fans can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
