David Cook 'American Idols' album

In the midst of a busy tour schedule, David Cook is planning to take a break, well technically a run, for a cause close to his heart on May 3rd in Washington, D.C.

Cook, whose brother Adam has been battling brain cancer for over a decade, will serve as grand marshal in the Race for Hope 5K, which benefits brain cancer research, and run the race as part of a team he set up, which has already raised more than $40,000.

"He wants nothing from us at all," says race co-chair Jeff Kolodin, who contacted People with the story. "This transcends fame and money and everything else. He just wants to help the cause."

Cook is happy to skimp on sleep to do so: Last year's American Idol winner will leave his West Palm Beach, Fla., concert May 2nd, and fly in to D.C. Then, after a day at the race, he'll hop another flight to his next tour stop.

But the sacrifice is well worth it. "The opportunity to become involved in such a worthwhile cause is paramount for me and my family. I don't run normally, but it seems a small sacrifice compared to what those who have fought cancer have endured, Cook tells People. And the fact that my fans have rallied to raise so much in donations is the biggest compliment."

American Idol winner David Cook has released his self-titled debut album on November 18th, 2008. His first single, “Light On,” produced by Grammy winning producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Kid Rock) is currently available at all digital music providers.

“Light On” was co-written by one of rock music’s most influential innovators, Chris Cornell, lead singer and songwriter for Soundgarden and Audioslave, and acclaimed producer / songwriter Brian Howes, who has worked with superstar rock bands such as Hinder and Puddle of Mudd.

David Cook biography
Millions of people around the country fell in love with rock belter David Cook while watching him make other people’s songs his own week after week on the seventh season of American Idol. Cook won the competition handily thanks to viewers connecting with his rich, unfettered voice and passionately intense performances, not to mention his down-to-earth Midwestern charm. Now, with the release of his self-titled major-label debut, this gifted 25-year-old is eager to show those fans what he can do when he’s in the driver’s seat.

“I went on Idol with a five-card hand and showed three of my cards,” Cook says. “Now it’s time to put down the other two. There’s a lot I haven’t shown the world, just as far as who I am and what I’m about. I have several layers as an artist and those layers are out there on this record. I don’t see myself ever writing an autobiography; I’m just going to let the music speak for itself.”

And it does — loud and clear. David Cook is a statement-making album, filled with bold, keenly felt songs that showcase Cook’s powerful vocal chops and considerable songwriting talent, as well as the versatility that made him a star on Idol. The first single “Light On,” with its Southern rock vibe, is light years away from the gut-wrenching ballad “Permanent,” which couldn’t be more different than the swaggering shredder “Bar-Ba-Sol.”

“I wanted to make an eclectic album that went places,” Cook says. “This is my first major-label release and that gave me some room to be a bit of a chameleon and try different things. So there’s a diversity of influences on this record. When we were going through the process, I wasn’t sure how we were going to tie everything together.” That job fell to producer Rob Cavallo, a veteran studio wiz who has helmed hit albums for Green Day, My Chemical Romance, and Kid Rock, among many others. “Rob did a great job of tuning in to who I am as a person,” Cook says. “He really made the songs fit me, as opposed to tailoring them to fit someone else’s perception of me.”

Cook also gives props to his songwriting collaborators, an illustrious list that includes former Soundgarden and Audioslave frontman Chris Cornell, Goo Goo Dolls frontman Johnny Rzeznik, Nixons singer/guitarist Zac Maloy, and Our Lady Peace frontman Raine Maida, one of Cook’s longtime idols. Cook co-wrote three songs with Maida, including “Heroes,” which he describes as an homage to his supportive family, and “Permanent,” a song addressed to his older brother Adam who is battling brain cancer.

“We recorded ‘Permanent’ in two takes and everyone in the room was crying,” Cook recalls. “I actually had to leave at one point because it was so emotional. As a musician, any time you can create something where the end result is exactly what’s in your head, well there’s a heaviness to that moment and it overwhelmed me. I’ve been writing songs for ten years and that was the first time I’d felt it. I think there’s an honesty throughout the record that culminates in that song.”

“Permanent” comes near the end of an album that is full of highlights, from the chiming opener “Declaration” (which Cook likens to “me standing on top of a building and declaring my intentions for this album”) to the arena-friendly sing-along closer “A Daily AntheM,” and everything in between, including the propulsive “Come Back To Me” and the poignant “Lie,” both of which illustrate the album’s recurring theme. “It’s the idea of love amidst separation,” Cook explains. “‘Come Back To Me’ is about loving someone you can’t be near, whereas ‘Lie’ is about being in a dysfunctional relationship that you don’t want to end because you still see the good in it.”

Then there’s “Life on the Moon” whose lyric “The life that I knew, it’s through…I’m alone in this crowded room…It’s like life on the moon” feels particularly fitting given how much Cook’s circumstances have changed since he auditioned for American Idol on a whim back in August 2007. “What I like about that song is that it represents the last year of my life without perverting the last year of my life,” he says. “It’s written so that it could be about the whole Idol journey, but it doesn’t have to be.”

Cook may have gotten his first taste of fame thanks to Simon, Paula, and Randy, but his musical ambitions began long before he appeared in front of their judging table. Born in Houston, Cook was raised in Blue Springs, Missouri. He began singing in second grade and performed in his school’s musical theater productions, but Cook found that rock and roll was more his style when he picked up a guitar at age 13. He formed his first band, Axium, at 15, though his attention was split between music and sports. “I thought I wanted to be a pro baseball player, but my fastball wasn’t fast enough and I couldn’t hit to save my life,” he says. “Performing was the only thing I ever felt I was great at.”

During his senior year of college at Central Missouri State, Cook recorded a solo CD called Analog Heart, which sold well regionally. In 2006, after obtaining a degree in graphic arts, Cook had to decide whether he wanted to be a musician or a graphic designer. “I gave myself every opportunity not to do music,” he says, “but it was always there. I couldn’t ignore it.” He moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was in the early stages of recording his second album when his younger brother Andrew asked Cook to accompany him to Omaha and lend moral support while he tried out for American Idol. Andrew didn’t make the cut, but he encouraged a very reluctant David to try out. “He threatened to beat my ass if I didn’t, so it’s entirely his fault that all this happened to me,” Cook says with a smile.

One week after being declared the winner with a record-breaking 56 percent of the nearly 100 million votes cast, Cook rewrote chart history when 11 of his songs debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart — the highest number of new entries in a single week by an artist since the Beatles in 1964. Topping the list was "The Time of My Life," which debuted at No. 3, making it the highest new entry on the Hot 100 of 2008. In July, Cook hit the road with his fellow Idol contestants for the American Idols Live! Tour, which visited more than 40 cities across the U.S. — an experience he cites as extremely valuable. “Being able to make a 16,000-seat arena feel intimate is one of the trickiest things to pull off,” he says. “If you can get the people in the nosebleed seats to feel as though they’re getting the same show as the people sitting front and center, then you're doing something amazing. That’s always going to be my goal.”

It shouldn’t be too tough given that Cook will be performing the songs on his debut album. Gutsy and epic, but grounded in the personal, the songs are tailor-made for those magical moments when music, whether it be uplifting or heart-breaking, can transport you to another place, which is exactly what Cook intended. “I want my album to be an exhausting experience, in that you listen to it and have to take a breath to collect yourself, and immediately need to listen to it all over again,” he says. “I want people to hear it and feel like they just ran a 5K marathon.”

more David Cook information - previous one
Just one week after being named the winner of the seventh season of “American Idol,” 25-year-old David Cook rewrote chart history, with a record-breaking 14 debuts on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs survey. He also had 11 songs jump onto the Hot 100, the highest number of new entries ever, and the second-highest amount of simultaneous hits since the Beatles in 1964. All that, and his single, “The Time of My Life,” instantly became the highest debuting title of 2008, entering the Hot 100 at No. 3.

When this most recent season of “American Idol” began, Cook wasn’t on anyone’s radar to win the whole thing – including his own. “I like that I ‘snuck up’ on people,” he says. “During those early shows, when there were 24 people, I knew I didn’t have to be one of the best, but I didn’t want to be one of the worst. So it was fun for me because there wasn’t a lot of pressure and I could find my own footing.”

Cook won fans with his unique renditions of songs like Lionel Richie’s “Hello,” Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” and the Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby.” He explains, “When I began, I told vocal coach Debra Byrd I wanted the season to be like a set list, so people would feel like they were at one of my concerts.”

Cook’s musical journey began early. He grew up watching his father play guitar. But David’s first instrument of choice was the violin. “I tried that first because there was a girl in the school orchestra I thought was pretty.” When he was in seventh grade, his dad bought him a Fender Stratocaster. “I was bad at it because I never took a lesson. Gradually I got better.”

He was exposed to many different genres of music. “My parents had eclectic record collections. My mom liked Kenny Rogers and my dad was more into Boston, Kansas and Dire Straits. The first cassette tape I ever bought was by Kris Kross. I was into Boyz II Men for a while. When I was 13, someone played me the song ‘Closer’ by Nine Inch Nails and once I got past the audacity of the lyrics, I really enjoyed the song. So I backtracked through rock, which got me to where I am now.”

David formed a band in high school with a friend and appeared in three musicals: “West Side Story,” “Singin’ in the Rain” and “The Music Man.” He also loved sports and played baseball throughout high school. Ultimately his love for music brought his attention back to his band. David enrolled at Central Missouri State, changed the name of the band from Redeye to Axiom to Axium and had some local success.

As he was completing his studies, David had to choose between working as a graphic designer in Kansas City or moving to Tulsa to play rhythm guitar and sing backing vocals for a band called the Midwest Kings. “Of course, I moved to Tulsa,” he says. That’s where he lives today, although home is officially Blue Springs, Missouri. The Cook family relocated there after David was born in Houston on Dec. 20, 1982.

With his friends chipping in financially, David recorded “Analog Heart.” The album sold well regionally and won an URBY award from Urban Tulsa Weekly for Best Independent Album. David was in the early stages of recording a second album when his younger brother Andrew asked him to accompany him to Omaha and lend moral support while he tried out for “American Idol.” David was reluctant, but his brother and mother did their best to persuade him. He recalls, “At the last minute I decided to do it. Andrew and I were in the same group of four for the first audition and he didn’t make the cut. It was very awkward. I turned to him and said, ‘Is this something you want me to do? Because if you don’t, I won’t.’ And his response was, ‘If you don’t, I’ll beat your ass.’ So it’s entirely his and my mother’s fault that this happened to me, and I’m very grateful.”

We all know how the story went from there. Simon, Randy and Paula sent David to Hollywood, where he made it into the top 24. Then he was in the top 12, the top 10, the top five and the top two, all without ever being in the dreaded “bottom three.” Then, on May 21 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, Ryan Seacrest pronounced David Cook the winner of this season of “American Idol.”

It’s all come with lessons learned, according to Cook. “The whole process has given me a brand-new lease on life in that I am more sure of who I am now that ever before. I’ve learned that when I’m singing live on stage to embrace that moment and if doesn’t work, it’s OK, move on.”

Do you also would like to share your opinion? If so, please register or login here.

Details

Popular Songs

New Songs

Tracklisting

David Cook - American Idols