The day after a day full of TV interviews all over the country, newly crowned "American Idol" David Cook took some time to talk with me and other TV reporters from across about his "Idol" experience. He talked about his big win, his self-released debut album "Analog Heart" that was reposted on Amazon during the "Idol" season, and why he's not trying to be Daughtry. Check it out...
On Simon calling him "cocky" and "pompous" at the start of the season, then calling him "sincere" at the end, and whether he changed or Simon's opinion changed...I didn't really change much of anything, as strange as it is. 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. I just went into it thinking of it as a way to expose myself and my music to a much larger audience. So maybe that came across at first as cocky, but as the season went on, maybe he saw the work I was putting in.
On what his first album after "Idol" will 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. So if I do that I'll be happy. It will probably be a rock record, but I think that's a pretty vague generalization. I just want a record that's going to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.On how it is that he's still single...I have no idea. [Laughs] That's all I can say.
On what his musical background really is, and whether it's truly a "bartender-to-contest-winner" kind of story...I started playing in bands when I was 15 in Kansas City and I was fortunate enough to play in and around Kansas City and travel around midwest on occasion. I graduated college and had an opportunity to play music in Tulsa (Okla.), and I played some acoustic gigs and some full band gigs a couple times a month.
On how hard he worked to learn the winning song, and whether he thought he had a real chance of winning...I'd worked as hard as time would allow on the last song. I always hope for the best and prepare for the best, but expect the worst. I made sure that I was prepared to win, but Archie did a good job, and I definitely thought if you're basing it off of Tuesday, he would definitely win. He did three amazing songs.
On how it feels having the attention online, with his "Guitar Hero" commercial being a hit and four of his songs topping digital charts...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 try to make all this effort of people who are supporting me worthwhile.
On being categorized as a rocker right away and whether he might surprise fans with a different style on an album...I don't see myself putting out a record of standards, or anything like that. I'll probably end up putting out a rock record, just because that's the kind of music I enjoy playing. But one of the things about the show was that I loved knowing there were things that I could do that people wouldn't really expect from me. Like, Andrew Lloyd Webber night was fun for me. I'm going to try to recreate that energy with this record. I want this record to have some twists and turns on it. I want people to feel like they've been taken on a trip.
On whether he knew he was running away with the votes after hearing that he won by 12 million...I think that number is really misleading. Obviously within the bubble of "Idol," it's hard to get a vibe on what's going on. But I definitely thought Archie was probably a little bit ahead of me. As far as the finale goes, there's a lot of conspiracy theories out there. I attribute the finale vote discrepancy just to my fans being awesome. My hat's off to Archie. He handled himself with a lot of grace and he's really just an amazing human being.
On whether he thought Simon's criticism got him more votes...I don't know. All I can hope is that it was based on my own merit. But, regardless, I'm happy where I'm at. But Simon's blunt, he's honest and that's why they pay him what they pay him. The goal for me was to try to find some constructive criticism in what he was saying, and sometimes that was tough.
On what happened with his "Analog Heart" CD getting posted on Amazon during the season..."Analog Heart" got released indepently in May 2006 and I spent a good year just playing out and promoting that record as much as I could. It got sold and a lot of people, thank God, bought the record. I ended up close to selling out right before I came out (for "Idol"). I had to have the record pulled offline when "Idol" started, just for competitive fairness reasons, then somebody, I have no idea who, reposted it on Amazon. So, while all that was going on I was kind of at a loss, and eventually it got pulled. But I am extremely appreciative of how well it did in that short time, going to No. 1.
On what he thought about the theory that as a rocker, he might have been better off not winning "Idol"...Obviously, the theory's there. Did it cross my mind at any point in the competition? Sure, but only as an objective point. But 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 and really wanted to win. So I definitely went into this to try to win it. And, as far as, having more success by not being a winner, I think that's something that will get played out hopefully in next couple years. I think Daughtry's success is amazing, but, 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, as long as I can say that I put out a record that I'm proud of, that's the goal right now. And I hope if I can do that, the success will follow.
On whether he'll include any of the covers he did on the show on his album...As of right now, there are no plans as far as (putting any on) an album. I look forward, after the tour and trying to get another show together, maybe incorporating something into the live show, just something fun. But things change, so I have no idea. At this point, I haven't gotten my head around the idea.
On saying in recent interviews that he doesn't recognize himself from the earliest rounds of this season...This show's been great for my diet. I've lost probably 10-15 pounds throughout the season. But there was definitely a (musical) progression for me on the show. Early on, I think I put up a wall, kind of a protective barrier between me and the audience and (our vocal coach) kind of forced me to break that down. I think that really helped me.
On his reaction after winning...The crying after I'd won was like an exhale. This whole experience has been about eight months, including the auditions. That whole time I was holding my breath, so it was nice to be able to breathe again.
No comments:
Post a Comment