Blake Lewis answered YOUR questions!

So Blake Lewis and I chatted for about 15 minutes Tuesday afternoon for a story I'll be writing for the May 30th edition of "Enjoy!" which is the Poughkeepsie Journal's weekly entertainment supplement.

Probably half of our conversation centered around his fans, dozens of whom e-mailed me questions to pose to him during our interview.

Coming from as close as Long Island and Pennsylvania to Seattle, Canada and even Singapore, Blake's fans sent me questions spanning just about every topic imaginable.

Of the several dozen I received, I was able to fit a few into my interview, so here they are accompanied by Blake's answers...

Nikki from Brownsville, Texas: What made you pick Seal’s “Crazy” as your audition song on “American Idol?”
Blake Lewis: I was preparing to play a gig at a piano bar, and I never do covers. But I was working with my loop pedals I came up with this version. I had just done that two weeks before. I don’t rehearse; I didn’t know what I was going to sing. I didn’t want to beatbox for them. They made me beat; they were like, "We want you to.” I mean, this is a vocal audition. Every friend of mine was like, "Don’t do it."

Kasia from Pennsylvania: Which songs of Sting and Bono influenced you most as a musician?
Blake Lewis: I got to meet Bono, and that was amazing. "War" was a very influential album for me. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was a huge song for me growing up.

Lisa from Windsor, Ontario: What has been the craziest thing a fan has said, done or given you?
Blake Lewis: There hasn't been a lot of craziness. I’ve got the greatest fans; they've been really respectful. I wish I could really do more for them. People are fans of my stuff on TV, and there are fans who are fans of my music, and that’s great. When we were still on the show, I had one girl who attacked me at a Cheesecake Factory. She was there with her friends. I was like, "You're totally embarrassing yourself, and your friends are never going to let you live it down."

So there you go. Of course, I couldn't have asked all the questions I received from "Sean's Space" readers, but of the ones I was able to pose to Blake, I thought he answered them pretty thoughtfully.

Thanks again to everyone who participated, and be on the lookout for the full story with Blake in the May 30th edition of the Poughkeepsie Journal!