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“David Cook: The Next American Idol”           

My phone is turned off, the lights are out, and at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays I’m alone with my American Idol, David Cook. He stares longingly into the cameras and his emerald eyes pierce my soul. With chestnut hair parted to one side, and his perfectly trimmed stubble, the rugged rock star look is completely irresistible.           

David Cook is a breath of fresh air on the overall “pop” Idol. His rock star style is reminiscent of Season 5’s Chris Daughtry but better. Cook puts his own spin on well known songs or as Idol judge Paula Abdul puts it, “Makes the songs his own.”            

Cook has been winning over fans as well as the three judges, and even the artists whose songs he covers. The day after he performed a rocked out version of Lionel Richie’s love ballad “Hello,” Richie called into On Air with Ryan Seacrest to let the Idol host know that he loved it.           

On Idol, the contestants do covers of well known songs. It tends to sound the same, like they are just trying to be a cheap copy-cat version of the star whose songs they are singing. The job of American Idol is to turn glorified karaoke singers into stars but this has only really worked for two of the six winners.            

The reason David Cook is successful is because even before auditioning for Idol, he had the talent to become a mega star. All he needs from Idol is exposure, a national platform to showcase his talent. In fact, he never intended to become the next American Idol. He tried out for Idol in support of his younger brother Andrew, Andrew didn’t make it but David did.            

Family is important to the Midwesterner. Every week his mom is in the audience cheering him on. Even his older brother Adam, who is suffering from cancer, came to support David on Idol with an IV in his arm and all. His doctors had told him he couldn’t travel, but the cook family was determined that he see his little brother and managed to get a chartered jet. After performing a version of Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby,” that blew even Carey herself away, Cook had tears in his eyes because his brother, a man who at times can even leave his bed was standing cheering him on.           

When it came down to the top 6, David proved that he can even do Broadway. The category that week was the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber, and he sang “Music of the Night.” Once again he showed that he is a truly versatile performer and can sing anything.           

On the top 5 week the contestants had to sing two Neil Diamond songs. David sang “I’m Alive,” and “All I Really Need is You.” After singing “All I Really Need is You,” All three judges praised his song choice. Randy Jackson called it, “blazing, blazing, blazing.” Paula Abdul said, “You not only picked two songs that are less familiar then Neil Diamond’s hits but you were the only one that was able to pull that off. I feel like I’m already looking at the next American Idol.” And Simon Cowell said, “I thought that was brilliant. You actually made that song seem like it was written this year.”            

But it isn’t just his current music that’s gaining fame. Recently, his solo album surfaced on Amazon. David put out Analog Heart independently. He wrote all the songs, and even designed the cover art. As David continued to succeed, Analog Heart mysteriously disappeared from Amazon. It’s been said that now American Idol is repackaging and redistributing it. Now Amazon says you can sign up to be notified when it becomes available again. Lucky for all David’s fans it’s already been put up on Limewire.           

David is a hugely talented songwriter therefore; if he becomes the next American Idol he’ll be able to write his own songs. One of my favorite songs from Analog Heart is “Silver,” it opens with the line “When writing your history I will always be a footnote, a distant memory, a warning sign of mistakes made- the kind that you learn from.” From those first few lines I’m drawn in and by the chorus I’m hooked. “So take this long confession as my price to pay. I’ve never been the kind to let go, but before you up and walk away, I’m miserable without you, you know. This silver leaves me longing for gold; second place’s never carry me home.”          

            As Simon Cowell told him early on in the season, “If this remains a talent competition you could win it all,” so second place doesn’t seem to be an issue.  Every week he gets praised by at least 2 of the 3 judges; most of the time even cranky Cowell seems to agree that Cook is amazing. Whether or not Cook wins Idol he clearly has a bright future ahead of him.

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