There’s nothing wrong with “Sweet Serendipity,” the bouncy debut single from American Idol season 9 champ Lee DeWyze. Rhythmically, it skips along like a smooth stone across a placid pond. Melodically, it could serve as the baby greens on a satisfactory lite-rock sandwich. But at the risk of overtaxing those ridiculous/disparate similes, it’s hard to imagine “Sweet Serendipity” creating a lot of waves, or becoming anybody’s favorite new flavor at radio. It’s a vaguely inspirational, vaguely catchy affair, tailor made for the middle third of a Katherine Heigl or Kate Hudson rom-com trailer. You know, the part where they show a couple of sun-drenched urban vistas and quick-cut shots of our working-girl heroine learning to let loose, be free, and put a little love in her heart. Which isn’t the worst thing in the world, really. And though the song itself is a little generic, Lee’s gruff growl of a voice manages to not get sandpapered into submission by the major-label production; 15 seconds in, you know exactly who’s singing it. A couple other thoughts:
* Much like “Live Like We’re Dying,” the debut single from season 8 champ Kris Allen, “Sweet Serendipity” packs words into its chorus more aggressively than an overstuffed New York-style deli sandwich: “And I’m doing just fine/ I’m always landing on my feet/ In the nick of time/ And by the skin of my teeth/ I ain’t gonna stress/ ‘Cause the worst ain’t happened yet/ Something’s watching over me/ Like sweet serendipity.” Even with all the studio wizardry in the world, that “’cause the worst ain’t happened yet” line sounds like marbles in a paper bag. This isn’t going to be an easy one to perform live.
* To continue the “Live Like We’re Dying” comparison (because I can, and because they are not dissimilar ditties) I wish “Sweet Serendipity” contained some of the former song’s coiled energy. The tense guitar line of Kris’s track — combined with the drawn-out strain he delivered on “liiiiive like we’re dying” (not to mention the background “whoa-oh-oh-oh, whoa-oh-oh, oh-oh-ohs“) gave that single an intensity — a demand that you drop what you’re doing and pay attention, or at least sing along — that “Sweet Serendipity” lacks. Lee’s song is also missing the hummability factor of, say, Jason Castro’s “Let’s Just Fall in Love Again.” And if that one couldn’t get much traction at radio, how will “Sweet Serendipity” fare?
* From a thematic standpoint, Lee gets the slightly dubious distinction of hitting radio with a song that — thematically speaking — strikes the kind of fuzzily inspirational chord of an Idol victory anthem. “Set sail without a destination/ See where the wind will take you“? Uff da. Though I do kinda dig that worn-out denim metaphor in the first verse.
Listen below, then tell me: What do you think of “Sweet Serendipity”? Will it find a home in your music collection? Will it be a “Jesus Take the Wheel”-style smash, or will it go the way of “Over It”? Sound off below! And for all my Idol-related musings, follow me on Twitter @EWMichaelSlezak; while you’re at it, get hip to EW’s Music Mix blog @EWMusicMix!
I pretty much agree with you, Slezak. It’s not a bad song per se, just not very good or memorable. And Lee’s voice isn’t unique enough to make a generic song like this stand out.
Plus, there’s a ridiculous amount of autotune involved.
Obviously you wouldn’t know auto-tune if it bit you in the ass!
Classy! <3
And correct.
Slezak, please: No more “uff da”. Retire that one immediately. It shows up in nearly everything you write. Uff da.
Are you hearing impaired? This song is autotuned-up-the-wazoo.
The song is ok I guess — but definitely auto-tuned
Hey! I spent time living in the upper Midwest, and I love seeing things that remind me of it…like the word “hotdish” and the always appropriate “uff da”.
i agree completely with @bubbles
where are u people hearing auto-tune?????
Apparently you need a new pair of ears.
Lee liked doing Rock music! Why is this his song? Good song but-it just sounds so Pop. Sorry but…just want him to be happy.
I don’t think Lee’s voice is unique at all. Immediately I thought the guy from Counting Crows was singing. This song isn’t bad and if I heard it on the radio I wouldn’t change the station, but I don’t think people would remember it enough to buy it. Who knows though. Best of luck to Lee.
LOL… I thought of John Mayer.
i thought train
Yes! he totally sounds like Counting Crow dude.
What is so surprising is that if you ever heard sing live (I have) he has a very unique vocie, as raspy one. What this label company managed to do is to make him sound like everyone else. It does not even sound like him on AI. He sang a new song at a recent concert in Chicago area by the name Only dreaming (on youtube) you can see how fantasrtic his sound is. I hope that his other songs will sound more like him and not like a teen hearthrobe singer (we have enough of those). I was anticipating a sound like his slumberlan CD (AMAZING) but maybe this is what happends when Hollywood takes over!!
Ah, thank you Slezak! Love, love, love you speaking Idolese again… Funny description of the song as a rom com soundtrack! I’m definitely pulling for Lee, but I hope his lyrics smarten up. He is still hanging on to that ‘Aw Shucks’ Midwest thing. As a songwriter he seems content to string together schmaltzy platitudes and clichés (going by his last CD and now with this first song.) Hopefully the rest of the songs on his new CD “live it up” (wretched, just wretched)… ahem, I mean, live up to his potential.
lee and kris are the wallflowers [and no i dont mean the jacob dylan band] of the music world. the only reason they won idol in the first place is because american idol voters see themselves in lee and kris. totally unspectacular and borderline talented and AI voters saw themselves in that.
You’re right, I certainly don’t see myself “in” Adam Lambert; although he would like me to since he’s gay and all.
Yeah, not a good song. it doesn’t sound new or distinctive…pity.
Agree 100+%!!!!
definite autotuning – it’s unmistakeable. Ugh, this is worse than I thought. Slezak, you’ve lost your edge. You’re being waaaaay too soft on this schlock.
I am still shocked that ANYBODY with decent musical ears could possibly think for one second that this guy can really SING.
I like it! A LOT!
Me too. I also like it. It’s an uptempo song that shows the cheerful and lighter side of Lee instead of some of the darker songs he sang on Idol, such as The Boxer, Hallelujah, Everybody Hurts, etc. I’ll take this song over anything Katy Perry has sung this past summer. I look forward to hearing the rest of Lee’s album.
Doesn’t assault my ears but don’t predict it will go anywhere.
It will go somewhere… directly to the bargain bin! Simply bland and forgettable.
your comment is bland & forgettable.
I love this song-it’s addictive!It has a lot more energy than the typical idol coronation song you speak of. Lee sounds fantastic!
I really like the song. I really do not like Michael Slezak’s predictable reviews.
It’s not a terrible song…but come on, that chorus really is ROUGH. Especially the one line Slezak pointed out. Yikes.
Barf.
I totally agree. This song is a total yawn-fest and makes me wanna barf – at least then SOMETHING would be happening. He was a BORE on the show and he’s a BORE on this song.
I LOVE this song. Upbeat, good vocals. Yup, Will definitely buy it. Thanks so much for posting it.
Frankly, I’ve given up trying to predict what radio will do after they totally passed over all three AMAZING singles from Allison Iraheta (right?). Maybe it’s just bland enough to be a smash? I can’t say I really care enough about Lee one way or the other to invest in how this single does. If it does well, good for him. And if not…meh? One question, though: Do you know if Lee co-wrote this or not?
Orihara, I know nothing about you but am completely in love with you because of your Allison comment!!
I totally concur… Jive must have the same geniuses who created the economic collapse of 2008 now making their business decisions… it is the only way to explain such stupidity.
Why bothering posting here then if you don’t care about Lee? BTW Didn’t Allison just get booted by Jive!
you are confused by the whole message board concept, aren’t you?
Orihara your are so correct. Maybe Jive should have made Robot Love a single.
I think that Lee Co-wrote every song on this album, from what he said. AND I believe all the songs are different, some poppy some folky.
Yes, he co-wrote the whole album.
well, i was dreading this review for obvious reasons. Just gonna say I LOVE the song. Lee said that his album is a mix of folk/rock/pop & this only shows one of many sides to his album. I believe it has great radio potential & a great choice as the first single. I do agree with this- “Lee’s gruff growl of a voice manages to not get sandpapered into submission by the major-label production”.
Let’s point out the reasons. Slezak is a drooling Crystal Bowersox fanboy. Considering Slezak gives Lee DeWyze some, albeit faint, praise is a miracle!
lol
Yes, those reasons exactly!
It’s just ok. It ain’t going anywhere. Poor Lee! He seems like a nice guy. 2 years in a row Idol has crowned the loser the winner. Adam is eating their lunch for them.
I think Kris is doing just fine since his first single outsold Adam’s. But Adam did better in album sales so I’d say both are doing ok for themselves.
Kris’s first single outsold Adam’s first single in the US. Than Adam’s second single did as well in the US, and kicked Kris’ single anywhere outside the US. And Adam’s latest single went gold in the US, and Kris’ last single did even worse than Adam’s first single did in the US. But I like both men, and hope Kris’ latest single does gangbusters in sales.
Oh God! Here we go again with the Adam/Kris is better crap! Can we at least get through one page of commentary on ANY Idol topic without spiraling into this?
Yeah, Kris and Adam are so different it’s lame to compare them. They are each doing well in their own way. I think Lee and Crystal are different enough that this won’t be a problem for them either.
According to Soundscan data, WWFM has outsold LLWD.
You are not even joking. Adam’s sold-out summer tour (with the very talented Allison Iraheta) spoke to their star power. I feel for Kris & Lee, but they don’t stand out in the crowd. The whole bunch this past season were completely bland. Can’t help but think that Idol has gone past it’s sell-by date.
Kris doesn’t need to stand out. He has an amazing beautiful tone to his voice, and I could sit and listen to him all day. He needs no wardrobe changes either. A simple white or black t is all he needs. Or no shirt at all…whatever!
Yep! Good ole Adam seems to make more “raunchy news” than all Idols put together! You can totally have him!
While I’ll admit to being in the S9 of Idol was one of the worst ever, I always really liked Lee’s raspy David Cook voice. I think he needed to strengthen it to have better consistency, which I am sure he has been working on. Having said all of that I think this song, while “good” it falls into the “overproduced pop category” that plagues the music industry these days. I would much prefer to hear him sing something “darker” that would match his voice. In my opinion, Lee AND Kris will be much better in Album #2 when they have their own freedom to make each song the way they choose.
I love Lee’s voice but I’m not in love with his first single. I agree with you..”overproduced”. I’m not a Kris fan and this sounds like something he would sing. Lee, you’re better than this song.
I’s obvious you’re not a Kris fan if you think he’d sing anything like this. He has no bubble gum songs with catchphrases like ‘sweet serendipity” on his album, and he wouldn’t.
Lee’s voice and David Cook’s voice sound NOTHING alike. Tonally, Lee sounds more like the Counting Crows guy, as someone else said. David Cook has a much darker tone, with a big range.
Back to the song, meh. It’s a pleasant enough song, but much like Live Like We’re Dying, it works on the premise that any breezy upbeat song with a lot of words is Mraz-ish and therefore the next I’m Yours. Thing is, Mraz’s rapid fire lyrics are witty. He’s a brilliant lyricist. These lyrics are awful. Live Like We’re Dying at least was more melodic.
Thank you for saying what I was thinking. I don’t think Lee and David are comparable at ALL! I think David has such an incredible range and has just got an overall better tone to his voice.
Lee is not a bad singer, but I don’t think he’s great either. But if he had the right material to work with he could be very successful. Unfortunately, this song is bland and boring. I hope his second single has a bit more depth to it.
Uh, no. Lee’s voice is complete rasp. David Cook had just the right amount of raspiness to make his sound perfect…and he has great range. Not that range is all that important, but I don’t think you can compare Lee and DC.
Do you peeps realize that Lee D and David C hang out all the time, and are buds? Both sound different from each other, on about every level, and neither is better or worse at singing then the other. In my opinion its like comparing apples to oranges, just saying…
David Cook is a dramatic tenor – a pretty rare voice. Lee’s voice is nothing special. He is the worst Idol winner ever. Taylor H even had a lot more charisma than LD! Just b/c he and DC are buds doesn’t mean they are even CLOSE in talent!!! David had all those “moments”… plus soaring, spinning, beautifully vibrating high notes. The comparison is ridiculous and uneducated; sorry. I am a vocal coach and this is what I am paid to do. Lee could not even stay in tune for one entire song! I am sure he is a nice guy but I am afraid he was really sub-par.
Love it! Modern, current and catchy. If it couldn’t be a full on rock song, then I’m so glad it wasn’t a folky song.
Lee isn’t ever going to be able to perform this live with any panache. The song is the furthest thing from his lazy manner and his hound dog expression.
*giggle* I keep envisioning Droopy Dog lumbering around on the stage. And let me tell you, as someone who actually went to the Idol concert this year, that description is a pretty accurate one for Lee.
*snort* For Lee’s sake his management might be better off if they don’t let him try and sing this song live.
It’s alright, but it’s kind of boring. The lyrics are a little lame. The phrase, “sweet serendipity” sounds like it is trying too hard.
Complete and utter crap! Though I expect a couple of grannies here to like it.
Katie FTW!
LMAO!!
what a boring song!! zzz
what’s the matter, huh? can’t handle the song? think it’s only for grannies, huh? whatever. you are such a loser. LMAO
Why do people assume grannies like crappy music? What an ageist comment!
Granny, here. We had Pink Floyd, the Who, Black Sabbath, CSNY. I’ll still listen to them over someone like DeWyze any day.