David Cook wants to prove 56 million Americans right.

“I remember hearing that number and just (thinking), ‘My mom must have called 55 million times or something!’” the ‘American Idol’ winner tells PopEater. “Theatre of the absurd, I guess.”

But Cook, who received the most votes in the show’s history, is out with a debut album that he hopes will impress ‘Idol’ fans and rock fans alike.

“What worked for me on the show was that I was able to take these pop songs and make them fit some level of rock mythos,” Cook says. “I don’t feel like I misrepresented myself on the show to where I would have had to make a pop record.”

In addition to growing into his new status as a rock star, Cook is still having a hard time getting used to being a celebrity. He’s just glad he hasn’t reached the point of being unapproachable.

“We’re outside waiting on a car, and this woman in her 50s comes up to me and says, ‘I have to give you a hug!’” Cook says. “And she hugged me, but not in a creepy fashion. I think there was this weird juxtaposition of some sort of celebrity status, but on the flip, I’ve become this accessible person to these people because of ‘Idol.’ These people know things about me I wasn’t 100 percent sure I knew about myself at the time. So the ‘celebrity barrier,’ if you will, is kind of non-existent for me, and it’s great. I get to feel like a normal person as opposed to feeling like a butterfly under glass.”

Source

He tells Logo’s NewNowNext Blog that if he could have voted on Proposition 8 in California, he would have voted NO.

David says, “Human rights is human rights, and I don’t really see how sexuality parlays into whether or not you’re a human being.” He adds that in his house growing up, “general tolerance” was “kind of the norm” and that he can’t recall ever feeling uncomfortable with the idea of sexuality, whether it be his own, or anybody else’s. Very interesting interview:

Source

Last week I reviewed little David Archuleta’s debut, and even though I gave it a positive critique, I was spurned by a plethora of Archie-loving lunatics. This week, it’s David Cook’s turn in the spotlight, and while I don’t anticipate the same back-lash from Cook extremists, treat this review as one of unbiased intention.

During much of his run last season on American Idol, David Cook drew many comparisons to season five’s resident-rocker Chris Daughtry. Not only was Cook’s style harder-edged than the competition — especially in the context of Idol — he even pulled the same advantage-grabbing stunts that Daughtry did. Cook emerged from the franchise’s most talented season primed to be the first contestant who can hold his own with his Idols.

Of course, the difference between Cook and Daughtry is that Cook won the freaking competition, a feat fourth-place finisher Daughtry could not achieve. This loss certainly didn’t diminish Daughtry’s multi-platinum success, and Cook’s win actually presents a significant challenge. Unlike Daughtry, who had nearly two years to distance himself from the show’s sugary-pop associations, Cook has no such luxury, needing to rush out an album that skirts the line between hard-rocking and Idol-appropriate — a record that solidifies his alternative, post-grunge rock credibility, while still catering to the vastly diverse Idol audience that supported him, from swooning soccer moms to angst-ridden teenagers.

And while this obligatory nod to all audiences has catapulted several post-Idol contestants into super-stardom (Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson), it also has resulted in embarrassingly misguided debuts (Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice), demoting contestants that showed artistic vision on the show into second-rate pop-rock balladeers. Thankfully, Cook avoids this pitfall, as his eponymous debut is a diverse, winning combination of poignant pop ballads and rolling rock anthems.

Surging album opener “Declaration” sets the stage, as Cook effectively builds from a haunting, sparse guitar riff into a swelling chorus. Lead single “Light On” and “Heroes” follow suit, pairing professional songwriting craft by Chris Cornell and Cathy Dennis with Cook’s soaring vocals. Sweeping, U2-esque mid-tempo “Come Back to Me” and hardest-rocking gem “Bar-ba-sol” are arena anthems in the making — perfectly suited for stadiums filled with cell-phone waving, Cook-loving crazies. Nevertheless, the most indelible moments on David Cook are when he tones down the guitars and amps up the emotion, as is the case on the stirring “Lie” or on the compellingly uncomplicated “Permanent.”

Even when the album is lyrically uneven (“Life on the Moon”), feels sort of forced (“Mr. Sensitive”) or is slightly generic (“I Did It For You”), David Cook is held together by the winner’s charming growl and Green Day-producer Rob Cavallo’s welcomed rock flourishes. With a voice that is more versatile than nearly every artist to come out of the Idol machine, David Cook is a multi-format monster in the making, a record that stays true to Cook’s identity while still appealing to the same pop-rock and adult-contemporary-loving audiences that got him here.

Source

Check in our gallery more than 1,500 screencaptures from Walmart Soundcheck performances and interview!

GALLERY LINK:
- Oct 27, Performing on Walmart soundcheck

David will be on Entertainment Tonight performing Light On later this evening. Here is the interview part:

If, as many music gurus say, David Cook is “American Idol’s” new rock superstar, that means he’s the new Chris Daughtry. That means David Cook could be nominated for four Grammys soon, just like Daughtry. Right?

Entertainment Weekly gives the new disc a B grade, adding, “If you’re expecting Daughtry 2: Post-Grunge Boogaloo, well . . . you’re about right. Cook is clearly built in the guy-linered mold of that earlier Idol alum, though his debut owes just as much to the expert hands that craft it, including producers Rob Cavallo (Green Day, My Chemical Romance) and Brian Howes (Hinder, Chris Cornell). They give David Cook’s clutch of bombastic verse-chorus- verse rockers an impressive melodic sheen, one well suited to Cook’s husky, expressive vocals.”

Since Daughtry didn’t win “American Idol” (he came in fourth place), Billboard declares David Cook to be “the lone rocker winner of ‘Idol’ to date” and says “Cook stands apart from cookie-cutter pop.”

However, David Cook won’t be nominated for four Grammys this year. He has just limited eligibility, as pointed out by our resident Grammy sage Darrin “DoubleD” Dortch.

“I hate to be cynical,” Darrin says, “but David Cook and David Archuleta won’t be anywhere near the Grammys next year — unless they buy a ticket. Their albums just came out this month so they aren’t eligible. However, Cook’s single, ‘Lights On; and David Archuleta’s single, ‘Crush,’ are both eligible and they have little chance of being nominated in the male pop vocal performance category. Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Jason Mraz, Michael Buble, Seal, Chris Brown, Kid Rock, Ne-Yo, Neil Diamond, Gavin DeGraw, James Taylor, Josh Groban, Paul McCartney, Lenny Kravitz, etc. will all get in before David Cook or David Archuleta.”

Do you agree?

VOTE/Source

In Other News: Check out this “coffee” with David Cook, Don and Marty talked to singer David Cook about life after “American Idol” and working on his new album, “David Cook.”

Check our gallery with more than 1,000 screencaptures from David Cook and Band AOL Sessions’ performance!

GALLERY LINK:
- Nov, Performing on Aol Sessions

Check David talking about the most werid fan’s gifts — the unforgettable pink panties! —, his favorites new tracks, his reaction meeting Rob Cavallo for the first time and so many other things on this interview, with fans questions.