First things first, a big thanks to everyone who entered the contest. A whopping 713 entries far exceeded my expectations -- and it's excellent that so many weighed in with genuinely thoughtful comments regarding Huey Lewis' modern day equivalent.
And so, three winners were to be chosen. The first two were selected with a random number script that chose two numbers between 1 and 713. And the lucky winnders are:
Congrats! Now, the third winner was to be selected by me, based on the comment's content: attempting to answer the question, "Who is the present-day equivalent to Huey Lewis?". This was a tough one. I did my best to keep up with the flow of comments, skimming the arguments that best answered that incredibly important inquiry.
My friend said it best, when he mentioned "the concept of working-class rock has fallen out of favor". And that's just it -- Huey Lewis embodied the working-class rock star, along with the likes of Bryan Adams, Loverboy, The Outfield, Bruce Springsteen, Joan Jett, Boston (perhaps), etc. The average guy who isn't so average by being incredibly popular -- and at the top of their game.
So, those that chimed in with anyone who isn't extremely popular right now might have missed the mark. If I had asked the same question 5 or so years ago, Hootie and the Blowfish might have been the closest.
Getting back to the "working-class rock" thing, I'm awarding the third prize to #46 Kris, who aptly argued that:
Huey Lewis was the quintessential average Joe who wrote average rock songs about average subjects. And yet he was popular. That he transcended his absolute mediocrity is what made him special.
Ah yes -- that is exactly what I was getting at with my question, and for that, you've earned yourself the third prize.
Thanks again to everyone for playing, and if you are a winner, kindly contact me with your address and prize preferences. We'll have to do this again. And for the record, I think Huey Lewis is an anomaly (and that's a very good thing).