I finally listened to Blake Lewis’ album ADD and was impressed with his style, rhythm and raw talent. I was extremely impressed, actually. I have always been impressed with Blake ever since he appeared on American Idol. On American Idol he was by far the most interesting performer and what made him the most interesting was that he was also the most creative and unique. He made songs his own, he rarely, if ever performed songs as they were originally arranged.
But, the most important question concerning Blake Lewis is:
Does he have ADD?
Blake’s album is titled ADD and he had the title abbreviation and music ready to go before he even entered the American Idol fray. Yes, the unabbreviated title of his album is Audio Day Dream, but he only recently came up with the words to go with those letters. I find that interesting. He says that people have been saying he has ADD most of his life, but he contends that he does not because he has been able to focus all of his life. This is interesting and I am going to talk about that and the very remarkable phrase, or play on words, he used in the title he finally chose.
Here is the quote from his website:
“I was an only child and I’ve been entertaining for as long as I can remember, annoying people, making noises, doing voices all the time,” Lewis recalls. “Everyone has thought I had ADD my whole life, but I don’t. I’m always focused.”
Blake, I am not going to say you have ADD. I don’t know that you have ADD and it would be ridiculous of me to diagnose you; however, I tip my hat to you. Maybe you do have ADD and you would like to salute that aspect of yourself and yet, not say or admit you have it. I don’t know, but this is the impression I am getting from you and I imagine it is the impression others are getting. How sublime, how brilliant, such a positive ADD quality, if you don’t mind me saying so.
It seems to me that Blake does not really know if he has ADD or not. Maybe he does know, maybe he doesn’t, but one thing is certain to me—he relates to the basic traits of ADD.
He says he does not have ADD because he is always focused. But, what is he always focused on? His music? His creativity? His style? His impressions? And what does he actually mean by being focused? Adder’s can focus, Hyper-focus. He had the album just about ready to go and hasn’t wasted a single moment since finishing American Idol. So, does he mean that he can focus on anything at any given time or does he mean that he can Hyper-focus. Yes, if he has ADD he can probably focus on his interests better than the average person, because Hyper-focusing, a very common trait of ADD, gives us an ability to get involved very deeply in our interests, sometimes to the point of obsession. When listening to Blake’s album I can literally feel his heart and soul in his music, it has a quality beyond a studio compilation.
Something else Blake has said makes my eyebrows rise—makes me go “hrmmm”. He says that he is happy that he did not win the American Idol due to contractual reasons. To be subjected to specific structure and rules is something any ADDer tries to avoid and would actually be relieved not to be put in such a situation.
In
my humble opinion Blake is the most memorable performer from American Idol’s past season featuring him. When I think back on the season it is his performances which stand out and capture the attention. Yes, I believe the eventual winner, Jordin Sparks, was a better vocalist and I was also deeply impressed with her, but to me she didn’t have that exclusive quality that sets her apart from other performers elsewhere doing the same thing. Blake has that ‘something’ which sets him apart, which makes him unique, which makes him memorable. Do you agree?
Audio Day Dream or let’s call it ADD for short is the name of his album. Having named his future album ADD long ago, he wanted to come up with the right words for those letters and, realizing it or not, he stayed true to the traits of ADD, he chose Audio Day Dream. Many ADDers, including yours truly, me, are known to be daydreamers and it just so happens that Blake is an “Audio” daydreamer. Daydreaming is an extremely common ADD trait.
Okay, let’s be clear here, I am not saying that Blake Lewis has ADD, but what I am saying is that he has some wonderfully fantastic qualities which can be compared to ADD and he knows this. His album is exquisite and a delight to listen to and he has made me a fan! If he has ADD he can become a positive role model for millions—scratch that—he already is a positive role model for millions of people everywhere!
You go Blake, keep it up!
So, what do you think about Blake and ADD?
~Bryan
