Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Lee DeWyze called it “amazing.” He said “there are no words to describe this.”

He’d just been named the season nine winner of American Idol, and he didn’t seem to be expecting it.

“I’ve never been happier in my life,” he told Ryan Seacrest before launching into U2’s “Beautiful Day,” which will be released as his first post-Idol single.

After a whirlwind round of victory interviews, he can also look forward to headlining the summer American Idol tour and to the recording contract that inevitably follows an Idol victory.

Not bad for a 24-year-old from Mount Prospect, Ill., who was a paint store clerk prior to Idol.

Not that DeWyze was exactly a novice at the music business. He had compiled two CDs that are still available for download. The latest, “Slumberland,” was released in 2009.

As for Idol runner-up Crystal Bowersox, she hardly seemed surprised by the outcome, even though she received most of the judges’ praise on the final performance show Tuesday night.

“I knew Lee was going to win. People seemed surprised by that, but I just had a feeling. I couldn’t be happier for him. He deserves every minute of this,” she told the Associated Press.

She said viewed the outcome as “winner and non-winner,” not winner and loser.

“Both of us are going to have very successful careers and we’re going to be friends for a long time,” she said of DeWyze.

For the full Associated Press story on the American Idol finale, go here.

Meanwhile, here are photos from the show, courtesy of FOX.