WATCH PART 1 OF BLAKE LEWIS'S INTERVIEW HERE

In the second installment of my two-part interview with Blake Lewis--as a buildup to the October 6 release of his shockingly awesome sophomore album, Heartbreak On Vinyl--the season 6 American Idol runner-up discusses his reputation as the "rebel Idol," how he tried to bring "sex" to the normally G-rated show, how he managed to get his way despite ticking off people like Jon Bon Jovi and Nigel Lythgoe, and what's next for him as he embarks on an indie career with new label Tommy Boy Records.

Watch and enjoy:

People who are only casual viewers of American Idol dismissively think the show is a moldy-cheesy affair, an endlessly ear-splitting parade of chest-beating, Celine-wannabe blowhards over-singing maudlin AC radio staples like "Wing Beneath My Wings" and "You Raise Me Up." But sometimes an original talent comes out of the show, someone who actually changes the public perception of what Idol is all about and even makes Idol seem COOL.

Season 6 first runner-up Blake Lewis is one of those original talents. In retrospect, a beatboxer with roots in rave and a tendency to tick off heartland-rock icons like Jon Bon Jovi had little chance of winning a mainstream show like American Idol, particularly in a season dominated by divas. But his pop-techno mashup style was actually most relevant to what was going on in modern music at the time, and the fact that he was able to beat out more typical powerhouse types like Melinda Doolittle and LaKisha Jones and make the finale, and the fact that he gave

Season 6 American Idol runner-up Blake Lewis, one of my favorite all-time Idols and certainly one of the series' all-time edgiest contestants (hence why he's one of my favorites, duh), stopped by the Yahoo! Music office today to play Heatrbreak On Vinyl in its entirety. It's his sophomore album, and his first release for new label Tommy Boy...and happily, I managed to convince him to let me keep the disc. Because even though HoV isn't officially out until October 6, it is already MY official new summer jamz album. I'll definitely be cranking it in my car all September long, and well into fall and beyond.

Seriously people, Heartbreak On Vinyl is so infectiously technotronic, it's almost hard to believe it's the product of someone who once had to sing a song on a mainstream TV talent show's Bon Jovi Night. But then again, we all know how awesome "You Give Love A Bad Name" turned out when Blake had his twisted way with it, and well, just multiply that awesomeness and twistedness by about

My final X Factor blog of the day centers on Jamie Afro, a London pub singer with big dreams and an even bigger head of Sweathog-esque hair. (Although I'm not sure that Welcome Back Kotter was ever even broadcast in Britain, where The X Factor airs, so feel to insert a more U.K.-appropriate big-hair pop culture reference in the previous sentence.)

Anyway, this 33-year-old Afro'd Anglo has been working the English pub circuit for years now, which might explain while he seems so at home onstage--even a stage about 50 times larger than what he's accustomed to. He certainly got the live X Factor audience all riled up this past Saturday night...even PERSUADING SIMON COWELL TO SING ALONG to his energetic cover of Kings Of Leon's "Sex On Fire":

So, will Jamie's hair-raising performance have him soon morphing from bar singer to star singer? All I know is right now, he is on fire in Britain, already dubbed "Hairy Angel II" in honor of another Simon-championed U.K. reality star, Susan Boyle.