He also worked as a trading floor clerk at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 2007 and 2008 before returning to work at the Mount Prospect paint store until he auditioned for “American Idol” and made it through to the Hollywood rounds of the show. The store continued to support him during his “American Idol” run by selling tee shirts encouraging fans to vote for Lee. Prior to Idol, DeWyze had a solo career and formed the Lee DeWyze Band. He had also released two independent albums called So I’m Told" in 2007 and “Slumberland” in 2010. His first post-Idol album “Live It Up” was released on November 16, 2010, His most recent album “Frames” was released on August 20, 2013.