David Cook
“American Idol” season seven champ David Cook already scored a solid hit with his first single, “The Time of My Life, ” the kind of sentimental ballad every winner is forced to churn out. Much like his predecessors’ quick-turnaround debuts, Cook’s is fairly generic, but its rock edge is dirtied up with crunching guitars and the artist’s tuneful growl. There are a host of big, anthemic choruses that highlight the power of Cook’s voice, namely the soaring “Declaration” and Chris Cornell/Brian Howes-penned “Light On.” Elsewhere, Cook exercises his right to rawk with the swaggering, gritty “Bar-ba-sol” and bares his soul alongside a delicate piano and string arrangement on “Permanent.” There are some lyrical missteps (“Life on the Moon, ” which marvels at the titular concept), but as the lone rocker winner of “Idol” to date, Cook stands apart from cookie-cutter pop.
No surprises emerge from Cook’s kitchen
The streets of America are littered with former “American Idol” contestants, making it increasingly difficult for them to set themselves apart from each other in their quest for post-show stardom.
Most recent winner David Cook attempts to stand out by being blunt and loud on his new self-titled release. Cook is an archetypical rock singer on a show dominated by divas and pop vocalists, so at least he’s got a slight stylistic distinction going for him. However, “David Cook” is so formulaic, it might as well be labeled simply “Rock Singer” (no title, no name, no photo) and deposited directly into the discount racks at Wal-Mart.
Cougars on the Prowl for David Cook
What it is about 25-year-old David Cook that attracts so many women who are old enough to be his mother (what is commonly referred to as a “cougar”)? Perhaps it’s the husky voice, maybe the beard — humankind may never know his secret. In this interview with AOL, the ‘Idol’ winner shows he’s a good sport when talking about one eager fan who had no hesitations about getting physical with him. “I feel like the celebrity barrier, if you will, is kind of non-existent for me and it’s great, ” Cook says. “I get to feel like a normal person and talk to people as opposed to feel like a butterfly under glass.” Watch the singer discuss Cougars for Cook in the video below.
David Cook debut rocks ‘Idol pop music world
American Idol, the reigning pop cultural king- and-queen-maker, is so tightly controlled and aggressively packaged that it difficult for any of the contestants to break free and develop their own personalities.
There are exceptions, of course, although they tend to be largely female ‘ Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Hudson and Carrie Underwood have each demonstrably broken free from Idol bonds. Chris Daughtry is, arguably, the only male to have accomplished much of note (OK, and Clay Aiken) and the lone rocker spawned by the show. Most other male contestants ‘ Taylor Hicks, where have you gone? ‘ have slipped almost completely out of the public consciousness.
Pop Quiz: David Cook
Let’s be honest. The latest season of “American Idol” didn’t really get exciting until David Cook and his pointy hair shot ahead of the competition. The Oklahoma rocker, 26, handily defeated his warbling 17-year-old nemesis David Archuleta in the finals, marking a victory for stalwart grunge fans everywhere. Now the two get to face off again on the charts. Cook’s first album, “David Cook, ” arrives Tuesday, a week after Archuleta’s self-titled CD was released. Cook’s record was produced by Rob Cavallo, who not only oversaw the past five Green Day discs but also Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus” and My Chemical Romance’s “Black Parade.” This pretty much guarantees it will rock. Plus, Chris Cornell helped write the first single, “Light On.” We spoke to Cook, who grew up in Blue Springs, Mo., near Kansas City, by phone from Los Angeles.
David Cook vs. David Archuleta: American Idol Battle Part Two?
David Cook and David Archuleta were far and away the most talented performers on American idol last season. The show tried to tighten things up a bit after the previous season’s disaster that included Blake Lewis in the finals and the way too long stay for Sanjayah Malakar. So when it became obvious that it would be the David and David show for the finals, it was a bit refreshing.
So is there a post Idol battle? Sort of. In Touch notes in an item this week that American Idol winner David Cook and runner-up David Archuleta are competing against each other again on the charts, but don’t worry they’re actually each other’s biggest fans!
David vs. David, round two
The battle of the David’s has been resurrected. Sure, round one went to David Cook, despite an intense finale in which most would agree that David Archuleta out-performed the elder rocker Idol. However, so many were smitten with Cook’s unique takes on songs like “Hello” and “Billie Jean” over the course of the season, his consistency and originality seemed to have conquered.
This time, the David’s will be battling it out on the charts. The young Archuleta got a leg up on Cook by releasing his album a week earlier. And the teens and tweens are going NUTS! It’s something reminiscent of Beatles mania, I tell you. If you don’t believe me, use this americanidol.com blog post as case in point. OMG! OMG! OMG!
SUICIDE IDOL’S BRO RIPS PAULA
Goodspeed auditioned for Season 5 of the hit Fox reality show, and her train-wreck performance of “Proud Mary” brought jeers and cutting comments from the three “Idol” judges.
“[Abdul] didn’t speak up for her. She let everyone take her down, ” McIntyre told The Post from his home in Maine.
“She [Abdul] said she was ‘speechless, ‘ when she could have said something in her defense.”
McIntyre insisted that his sister’s death so close to Abdul’s house might have been coincidental.
“She could have pulled over on the side of the road for a rest, ” McIntyre said.
While Goodspeed’s name is not in any prior LAPD reports, cop sources said she had been picked up for loitering in front of Abdul’s home in January and June.
Mom and daughter had planned to move back to Maine this week and pack in Goodspeed’s dreams of fame.
Death Of A Superfan Can American Idol survive the suicide of Paula Abdul’s admirer?
“American Idol” has had its share of scandals over the years’ the contestant who was disqualified (Frenchie Davis) for topless Internet photos, the twins (Derrell and Terrell Brittenum) who got the boot after they ended up in jail on forgery and theft charges, the guy (Corey Clark) who departed after the producers heard he was charged with assaulting his little sister. But the latest ex-contestant to pop up in the news is the most tragic “Idol” story ever. Paula Goodspeed, 30, who auditioned in front of the show’s three judges in 2006, was found dead on Tuesday just outside of Paula Abdul’s home in Sherman Oaks, Calif. Police said the death was an apparent suicide by drug overdose, and Goodspeed’ who was allegedly stalking Abdul’ had a photo of the “Idol” star in her car, along with some of Paula’s CDs and a license plate that read “ABL LV”–“Abdul Love.” On her MySpace page, she admitted that Paula was “My Secret Crush shhhhh!!” Goodspeed sent Paula flowers the day before her death (the note: “Hope you’re doing great. Here’s my new cell phone number”) and apparently her real name wasn’t even Paula. People Magazine reports that it was Sandra, and Goodspeed changed it so she could be more like the “Idol” judge.
Lost Jennifer Hudson ‘American Idol’ Footage
ET has obtained lost video footage of Jennifer Hudson and her family members from her time in the “American Idol” competition.
In the poignant look back at Jennifer’s time on season three of “Idol, ” her mother, Darnell Donerson, talks about how proud she is of her daughter. Darnell, Jennifer’s brother Jason Hudson, and her nephew Julian King were all found murdered last month.
Jennifer’s sister Julia Hudson, and young Julian also appear in the video, walking alongside Darnell into the family home in Chicago’s South Side where the bodies of Darnell and Jason would later be found.
‹Idol finalist to sing in teen memory
On Aug. 29, Culpeper teen Kelsey Orndorff was on her way to a Chris Sligh concert in Fredericksburg.
Kelsey, 17, never got to see the …American Idol finalist perform. She died when her car crossed the center line and veered head-on into traffic.
In the wake of the tragedy, Sligh, a Christian singer, became aware of Orndorff story. On Nov. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Culpeper County High School auditorium, he will hold a benefit concert in her memory.
An …Idol finalist on Season 6 in 2007, Sligh success on the show led him to a recording contract with Brash Music. His first album, …Running Back to You, made its debut May 6.
Satellite 29, the band Kelsey co-founded with her brother Josh, will open for Sligh.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students; they go on sale Monday at various locations throughout Culpeper.
NBC UNVEILS ‘SUPERSTAR DANCERS OF THE WORLD, ‘ (WORKING TITLE) AN HISTORIC DANCE COMPETITION EVENT FEATURING THE MASTERS OF DANCE GENRES FROM AROUND THE WORLD
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif., November 14, 2008 – NBC will broadcast “Superstar Dancers of the World, ” (working title) a breathtaking international dance competition led by executive producers Nigel Lythgoe and Simon Fuller, two of the masterminds behind “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” and hosted by Michael Flatley (“Lord of the Dance”). For broadcast in early 2009, the unique series will pit the masters of various dance genres from eight countries against each other. Equal parts sporting event, rock concert and artistic exhibition, “Superstar Dancers of the World” is poised to become one the greatest spectacles of dance performance ever seen on television.
‘So You Think You Can Dance’ fans get a treat at Civic Center
Joshua Allen might have been the winner of this year’s competition on the Fox series “So You Think You Can Dance, ” but it was fellow contestant Twitch Boss for whom the sold-out crowd at the Pensacola Civic Center screamed the loudest Friday night.
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The top 11 contestants from season four of “Dance” took to the stage as part of the latest edition of the series’ post-season cross-country tour. Introduced one by one, each dancer had his or her share of enthusiastic fans in the audience, but Boss, who came in second in the competition, definitely had the most, judging by the overwhelming roar.
