David Cook conducted a satellite interview for the press today. The reports are beginning to be posted across the internet. Here’s a list of the usual suspects: MTV, USAToday, Los Angeles Times and Entertainment Tonight.
He talks about what really went down with Analog Heart, his progression though the weeks of the competition, and breaking down that wall between he and the audience. Containing a mixture of his writing and other songwriters, he hopes to make a solid record that “makes the hair stand up on the back of your neck.”
Here are some highlights:
- About Analog Heart, “Analog Heart got released independently in May 2006. I spent a good year playing and promoting that record as much as I could. A lot of people, thank God, bought the record. About midway through the season, I had to have the record pulled, obviously, for fairness issues on the show. And I got it pulled offline. But somebody, I have no idea who, reposted it on Amazon, so while that was going on, I was kind of at a loss. I talked to Amazon about getting it pulled, and there was a bunch of mass confusion about it. I’m extremely appreciative at how well it did. But I was kind of a pawn in that whole game.”
- About his progression on the show, “This show has been great for my diet. I’ve lost probably 10 to 15 pounds. There was definitely a progression for me on this show. Early on, I’m talking third, fourth week in, Ken Leverne, our vocal coach, really hit home with me on a particular lesson: I put up a wall, kind of a protective barrier between me and the audience. It was a little bit of a defense mechanism to try to protect myself. He had to force me to break that down.” Toward the end, I started crying a lot. There was a lot of intensity ‘ as far as what was at stake and all the effort that had been put into it. The crying after I won was like an exhale. This whole experience has been about eight months, including the auditions. And I felt like that whole time I was holding my breath. And to be able to just breathe and enjoy the moment was amazing.
More after the JUMP…
- About Simon calling him smug, “You know, I didn’t really change much of anything, as strange as it is. You know, I went into this with kind of a different perspective from everybody else. I didn’t have any expectations as to what the show was going to do for me or what I was going to do for the show. And so my confidence level really never wavered, and maybe that’s what seemed cocky or arrogant. But I think as the season went on, I think maybe he saw the work I was putting in ‘ not just on my own stuff, but really just to make it a positive working environment for everybody.”
- About the theme weeks, “Actually, there was a short article that Debbie our stage manager hung up … midway through the season. It talked about Frank Sinatra and how he would go about the song process, about recording a song. And before he listens to the music, he would read the lyrics and basically try to tune into what the lyrics were saying and what the song was about, and then he would go into the music aspect of it and figure out the melodies and all that. And so for me, that was really an eye-opening article, because it made me think I just really need to step back, and before I even try to learn this song, I just really need to read the lyrics.”
- About his versatility on the Idol stage, “I don’t see myself putting out a record of standards or anything like that. For now, I’ll probably end up putting out a rock record because I feel that’s the kind of music that I enjoy playing. But that was the exciting thing about the show ‘ I loved knowing there were things I could do that people would never expect I could do. I’m going to try to recreate that energy within this record. I want people to feel they got taken on a trip from beginning to end. I’ve got my work cut out for me, but it should be fun.”
- About learning all those songs for the finale, “They made it very, very easy for us with everything going on. It’s just a matter of trying to focus in on each song at a time and not really worrying…Yes, some of them were on the teleprompter for us. But at the end of the day, you can get the words, but it’s about the performance.”
- About those 12 million votes, “I think that number is actually really misleading. Obviously, within the bubble of “Idol, ” it’s hard to get a vibe on what’s going on. I thought Archie was probably a little bit ahead of me, if I’m being honest. … I attribute the finale vote discrepancy to my fans just being awesome. I don’t really know how else to explain it. My hat’s off to Archie for the whole scenario. I think he handled himself with a lot of grace. And, more importantly, he’s just an amazing human being. I was just honored to share the stage with him.”
- How does it feel to have the Top 4 songs on iTunes? “Well, you know, it doesn’t feel bad. I can’t believe the level of support that has come out of me doing this crazy TV show. All I can do is try to embrace it and make all the effort people are putting into supporting me worthwhile.”
- Did he want to win? And what about those comparisons to Daughtry, “Did it cross my mind at any point during the competition? I mean, sure ‘ but only as an objective point. I think to go into this with the idea that you don’t want to win is a huge slap in the face to the 103, 000 people who auditioned this season that really wanted to win. … As far as having more success by not being a winner, I think that’s something that’ll get played out hopefully in the next couple of years. I think Daughtry’s success is amazing. And so for me, right now, I’m not trying to be Daughtry. I’m just trying to put out a solid record. Even if it doesn’t do well commercially, at least I can say I put out a record that I’m proud of. That’s the goal right now. Hopefully, if I can do that, the success would follow.”
- What will his debut album be like? “I think it’s going to be a mixture of my writing and hopefully writing with some other people. But the bottom line is, I just want to come out of the gate with a solid record. If I can do that, I’ll be happy.”
- The release date? “Well, the ideal release date is as soon as possible, if you’re asking me. You know, these things take time. And as for the type of the record, you know, it will probably be a rock record, but I think that is a pretty vague generalization. I just want to make a record that is going to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.”
