Jump to content

David Cook (singer)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Garrett247 (talk | contribs) at 00:38, 29 September 2008 (→Studio Albums). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

David Cook

David Roland Cook (born December 20, 1982) is an American rock singer-songwriter.[1] On May 21, 2008, he won the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol. Prior to Idol he released an album entitled Analog Heart.

Early life

Cook was born in Houston, Texas, but was raised in Blue Springs, Missouri. His parents are Beth (née Frye) and Stan Cook.[5] He is the middle of three brothers.[6][7] Adam is the oldest, and Andrew is the youngest.

Cook's interest in music began early in life. He began singing in second grade, when his elementary school music teacher gave him a solo in a school choir performance. He proceeded to perform in virtually every Christmas and PTA program.[8][dead link‍] He received his first guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, at the age of 12.[9] He also participated in choir and drama programs in middle school and high school. At Blue Springs South High School, he performed in musicals, including The Music Man, West Side Story, and Singin' in the Rain.[10][11][8] In addition to this, he was an active member in the Blue Springs South High School National Forensics League (or NFL), where he qualified for the national tournament twice for duo interpretation, an event that relies on performance and interpretation of a literary work.

He was also an avid baseball player during high school. After losing interest in sports, he focused more on music. He earned a theater scholarship to the University of Central Missouri, but he abandoned theater after two semesters, graduating from the school in 2006 with a degree in graphic design.[12][dead link‍][13][dead link‍] While in college, he was a member of Phi Sigma Kappa.[14] After his college graduation, he relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to pursue a career in music, telling his family, "I just want to give myself until I'm 26 years old to get a job."[5]

Musical background

Cook was the lead singer and guitarist of the band Axium from 1999 until 2006. He formed Axium in his junior year of high school with drummer Bobby Kerr. One of the band's songs, "Hold", was picked up by AMC Theatres Movie Tunes and was played before previews on over 20,000 screens nationwide.[15][dead link‍][16] Axium was also named one of the top 15 independent bands in the country in the "Got Milk?" independent band contest, and it was chosen as the best band in Kansas City in 2004.[17][18][dead link‍]

In 2006, after the breakup of Axium, Cook relocated to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and joined the regional touring band Midwest Kings (MWK), playing guitar, bass, and singing backup vocals. He recorded one EP, Incoherent with Desire to Move On, with the band in 2006.

Cook released a solo independent album, Analog Heart, in 2006,[19][dead link‍] for which he also designed the artwork.[17][20] The album was chosen as the fourth-best CD released in 2006 by website Music Equals Life.[21] Cook also won the Urban Tulsa Weekly's "Absolute Best of Tulsa" award for "Best Locally Produced, Independent Album" in 2007. He had completed recording his sophomore album before his appearance on American Idol.[22] Over the weekend of April 18 to April 20, 2008, Analog Heart was listed as the number one album for "Today's Top MP3 Albums" on Amazon.com. Soon there after, the album was removed from Amazon.[23][24] His musical influences include Our Lady Peace, Alice in Chains, Big Wreck, Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell, Switchfoot, Bon Jovi and Collective Soul.[2][3]

American Idol

Overview

Cook auditioned for American Idol in Omaha, Nebraska, performing Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer." He originally did not plan to try out for the show; he came to the auditions initially to support his younger brother Andrew (who did not make it to Hollywood) and then, at his brother's urging, David tried out himself.[5][25] For his first Hollywood audition, Cook performed "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar. On the second song in Hollywood, he sang "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. Cook took advantage of the decision to allow contestants to play musical instruments. Besides his Hollywood audition, he also accompanied himself on electric guitar for his performances of "All Right Now," "Hello," "Day Tripper," "I'm Alive," "Baba O'Riley," "Dare You to Move," and "Dream Big," and on acoustic guitar for "Little Sparrow," "All I Really Need Is You," and "The World I Know." His white, left-handed Gibson Les Paul electric guitar has the letters "AC" on it; as Cook told TV Guide, "I have two brothers, Adam and Andrew. So, because of superstition, I put their initials on everything growing up."[26] Since the Top 12 week, he also wore (and continues to wear) an orange wristband to support a 7-year-old fan, Lindsey Rose, with leukemia.[27][28][dead link‍]

Cook's performance of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" was highly praised by all three judges, especially Simon Cowell. Cowell later said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the performance "was in a different league to anything we've heard on the season so far," and although he knew where the arrangement came from (Chris Cornell's remake of the Michael Jackson original), "that doesn't really matter." The performance has received well over 4.5 million views on YouTube.[29] Another of Cook's performances, The Beatles' "Day Tripper", was credited to Whitesnake. Seattle-based band Doxology has claimed that Cook's performance of The Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby" was based on a version the band recorded over a year ago.[30] On April 1, before performing his self-arranged rendition of Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow" on American Idol, Cook responded to Ryan Seacrest in the interview session, revealing that his performance of "Eleanor Rigby" was based on Neil Zaza's and Doxology's versions. He also reiterated the credits of Whitesnake and Chris Cornell. Despite the controversy, critics praised Cook for choosing versions of songs that fit his vocal style.[31][32][33] Cook's arrangements of "Hello," "Little Sparrow," "Always Be My Baby," "All I Really Need Is You," "Baba O'Riley," "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" and "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" were original arrangements, and his rendition of Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby" was also highly praised, receiving a standing ovation from Randy Jackson.

Cook won the seventh season of American Idol on May 21, 2008, receiving 56% of the votes, with 12 million votes over David Archuleta as the runner-up. Cook then sang "The Time of My Life", the winning song of the 2008 American Idol Songwriter's Competition.

During the finale, Cook appeared in a commercial for the game franchise Guitar Hero, mimicking Tom Cruise in Risky Business. Fellow finalist David Archuleta appeared in a separate commercial parodying the same scene. Both commercials were directed by Brett Ratner.

Performances and results

Week # Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition N/A "Livin' On A Prayer" Bon Jovi N/A Advanced
Hollywood N/A "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" Bryan Adams N/A Advanced
Top 50 N/A "I'll Be" Edwin McCain N/A Advanced
Top 24 (12 Men) 1960s "Happy Together" The Turtles 3 Safe
Top 20 (10 Men) 1970s "All Right Now" Free 9 Safe
Top 16 (8 Men) 1980s "Hello" Lionel Richie 6 Safe
Top 12 Lennon/McCartney "Eleanor Rigby" The Beatles 6 Safe
Top 11 The Beatles "Day Tripper" The Beatles 6 Safe
Top 10 Year They Were Born "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson 10 Safe
Top 9 Dolly Parton "Little Sparrow" Dolly Parton 2 Safe
Top 8 Inspirational Songs "Innocent" Our Lady Peace 5 Safe
Top 7 Mariah Carey "Always Be My Baby" Mariah Carey 6 Safe
Top 6 Andrew Lloyd Webber "The Music of the Night" The Phantom of the Opera 6 Safe
Top 5 Neil Diamond "I'm Alive"
"All I Really Need Is You" 		Neil Diamond 2
7 		Safe
Top 4 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame "Hungry Like the Wolf"
"Baba O'Riley" 		Duran Duran
The Who 		1
5 		Safe
Top 3 Judge's Choice (Simon Cowell)
Contestant's Choice
Producer's Choice 		"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face"
"Dare You to Move"
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" 		Roberta Flack
Switchfoot
Aerosmith 		3
6
9 		Safe
Finale Clive Davis's Choice
New Song
Contestant's Choice 		"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For"
"Dream Big"
"The World I Know" 		U2
Written by Emily Shackleton
Collective Soul 		1
3
5 		Winner


Post-Idol career

For the Billboard chart week ending May 25, 2008, a week following Cook's American Idol victory, Cook broke several Billboard chart records. Most notable was his record shattering feat of having eleven songs debut on the Hot 100 that week, beating the previous record set by Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) in 2006 when she had six songs debut on the chart.[34] Cook's first single, "The Time of My Life" led the pack, debuting at #3 on the Hot 100.[34] Cook's eleven charting songs also gave him the most songs by one artist on the Hot 100 of any week in the Nielsen SoundScan era (which began in 1991), and the most of any era since The Beatles placed 14 songs on the chart the week of April 11, 1964.[34] In addition, that same week Cook also broke the record for the most debuts on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, where he placed 14 debut entries, the record of which was previously six set by Bon Jovi in 2007.[34] Cook's 17 entries had a combined total of 944,000 digital downloads in the first week of selling.[35] The song also reached #61 in the UK due to downloads alone.

Cook has been working with Ed Roland (Collective Soul), Zac Maloy (The Nixons), Jason Wade (Lifehouse), Neal Tiemann (MWK) [36] and Raine Maida (Our Lady Peace) on his upcoming album,[37] which is set to be released on Tuesday, November 18, 2008.[38] The producer for the album is Rob Cavallo.[39] On Ryan Seacrest's morning show On Air of KIIS-FM on September 5, 2008, the singer revealed that the CD release date will be November 18, 2008.[40] Cook has also announced via a blog on his myspace page that Neal Tiemann has joined his band as lead guitar player.[citation needed]

Cook has also signed an endorsement deal with Skechers, that will run through December 2009. [41]

At the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, Cook won the Best Reality/Variety Star award, alongside Lauren Conrad of The Hills.[42]

The first main single from the album was announced on Cook's official site to be titled "Light On", and debuted on September 23, 2008. [43]

Discography

Singles

Year Title Chart positions[34] Certification Album
U.S. U.S. Pop U.S. Digital U.S.
AC 		CAN NZ UK UWC
2008 "The Time of My Life" 3 6 1 1 2 29 61 15 - The Time of My Life - Single
"Light On" - - - - - - - - - TBA

Other charted songs

Year Title Chart positions[34]
U.S. U.S. Pop U.S. Digital CAN UWC
2008 "Dream Big" (Song from the 2008 American Idol Songwriter Competition) [A] 15 17 7 21 32
"I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (Originally by U2) [A] 22 24 9 17 33
"The World I Know" (Originally by Collective Soul) [A] 28 31 14 24 -
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (Originally by Aerosmith) 42 38 21 43 -
"Billie Jean" (Originally by Michael Jackson) 47 39 24 41 -
"Always Be My Baby" (Originally by Mariah Carey) 67 46 29 59 -
"Hello" (Originally by Lionel Richie) [A] 73 48 32 57 -
"The Music of the Night" (Song from The Phantom of the Opera) 77 54 41 73 -
"Eleanor Rigby" (Originally by The Beatles) 92 62 51 83 -
"I'm Alive" (Originally by Neil Diamond) 99 73 60 - -
"Little Sparrow" (Originally by Dolly Parton) 101 79 66 96 -
"Hungry Like the Wolf" (Originally by Duran Duran) 103 81 68 - -
"Innocent" (Originally by Our Lady Peace) 104 82 69 - -
"Day Tripper" (Originally by The Beatles) 114 95 82 - -
"All Right Now" (Originally by Free) [A] 118 - 90 - -
"Happy Together" (Originally by The Turtles) [A] 125 - 97 - -

Awards/Nominations

Year Presenter Award Result
2008 Teen Choice Awards Choice TV: Male Reality/Variety Star[46] Won
Best Presenter (Post Show) Nominated
Preceded by American Idol winner
David Cook (2008) 		Succeeded by
TBD

References

  1. ^ a b "Biography of David Cook". Yahoo! TV.
  2. ^ a b David Cook - Rhapsody
  3. ^ a b David Cook Biography AMG
  4. ^ The Time of My Life - Rhapsody
  5. ^ a b c "Idol Contestant Has Indiana Roots". Pharos-Tribune. 2008-02-18.
  6. ^ Handke, Lisa (2008-03-21). "University grad David Cook rocks road to fame on 'American Idol'".
  7. ^ "David Cook's Brother Unlikely to Attend Idol Finale". People.com. 2008-05-19.
  8. ^ a b "She Spotted Her Idol's Talent Early". The Examiner. 2008-03-08.
  9. ^ DavidCookOfficial.com Biography | DavidCookOfficial.com
  10. ^ "David Cook, "Singin' in the Rain"". YouTube. 2008-02-28.
  11. ^ "David Cook Rocked Musical Theater Before American Idol". MyFox Kansas City. 2008-04-29.
  12. ^ "Always Been a Star". The Examiner. 2008-02-28.
  13. ^ "Tulsa Singer Cook Rocks 'American Idol'". The Associated Press. 2008-03-14.
  14. ^ "Phi Sig's Own American Idol".
  15. ^ "David Cook, a Local Idol". The Examiner. 2008-02-14.
  16. ^ "'American Idol' Front-Runner David Cook's Former Bandmates Recall His Early Years". MTV. 2008-04-29.
  17. ^ a b "'Analog Heart' by David Cook". PayPlay.fm.
  18. ^ "Best of Kansas City: Top Band? Axium". The Examiner. 2004-01-04.
  19. ^ "'Analog Heart' by David Cook". Amazon.com. 2006-05-05.
  20. ^ "David Cook: Idol-in-training". Kansas City Star. 2008-04-01.
  21. ^ "Music Equals Life's: Top 7 CD's of 2006". Music Equals Life.
  22. ^ "Shepherds, Idols and Saints". Urban Tulsa Weekly. 2008-02-13.
  23. ^ "'Idol' Singer a Ringer? David Cook's Album Already Out". FOX News. 2008-04-21.
  24. ^ "'Idol' MP3 86'D". FOX News. 2008-04-22.
  25. ^ "Idol Beginnings". TV Guide. 56 (15): 33. April 14–20, 2008.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  26. ^ "Idol's Class of '08: Secrets of the Top 12". TV Guide. 56 (11): 12. March 17–23, 2008. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: date format (link)
  27. ^ "Little Lindsey Rose's Favorite 'Idol' Singer Wears Wristband to Show Support for Girl". Tampa Tribune. 2008-03-14.
  28. ^ "American Idol's David Cook - 'He's My Hero'". Star Magazine. 2008-04-03.
  29. ^ "Simon Cowell Speaks Out about the Current Season of 'American Idol'". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-03-26. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  30. ^ "'American Idol' Dark Horse David Cook: Is It Fair for Him to Cover Other Covers?". MTV News. 2008-03-26. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |firstname= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |lastname= ignored (help)
  31. ^ Harris, Chris. 'American Idol' Dark Horse David Cook: Is It Fair For Him To Cover Other Covers?. MTV. 2008-03-26. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  32. ^ Hewitt, Michael. The Watcher: Give 'Idol's' David Cook the credit he deserves. The Orange County Register. 2008-04-03. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  33. ^ American Idol Commentary: The Trouble with Originality. TVFan. Entertainment Weekly. 2008-03-27. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  34. ^ a b c d e f [1]. Billboard. Retrieved May 28 2008.
  35. ^ Grein, Paul (2008-05-28). "Week Ending May 25, 2008: David Vs. David, The Showdown Moves to the Charts". Yahoo! Chart Watch. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ "Music Equals LIfe".
  37. ^ Fuoco-Karasinski, Christina (2008-07-10). "LiveDaily Interview: David Cook". LiveDaily.
  38. ^ "David Cook and Other Photo Exclusives". Entertainment Weekly. 2008-07-03. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  39. ^ Graff, Gary (2008-07-25). "David Cook Promises 'Twists, Turns' On Debut CD". Billboard.
  40. ^ "David Cook joined us to talk about "Stand Up To Cancer" CD". 102.7 KIIS-FM. 2008-08-30.
  41. ^ Grossberg, Josh (2008-07-09). "David Cook Laces Up Shoe Deal". "Yahoo! TV".
  42. ^ MyFox Kansas City | David Cook & Lauren Conrad Snag Teen Hearts
  43. ^ "First Single Title Announced - "Light On"". "davidcookofficial.com". 2008-09-19.
  44. ^ a b c d "Axium". CJOnline.com / The Topeka Capital-Journal.
  45. ^ "Walmart Music Downloads: Axium". Walmart.com.
  46. ^ TC08 - The Official Website of Teen Choice 2008
Wikimedia Commons has media related to David Cook.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=David_Cook_(singer)&oldid=241663749"