40 Fun Facts About David Cook

David Cook went to American Idol's Omaha auditions only to support whom, then tried out himself?

His younger brother Andrew was the one auditioning, and he never made it to Hollywood. A producer noticed Cook in the crowd, and his mother and brother pushed him to sing Bon Jovi's Livin' on a Prayer.

David Cook and David Archuleta each spoofed Risky Business in finale ads for which video game?

Guitar Hero had both finalists copy Tom Cruise's underwear dance, air guitar in hand, in two identical commercials. The ads ran during the season's final show, one for each David.

As a teenage American Legion pitcher, David Cook gave up a home run to which future MLB star?

Albert Pujols played his high school ball in Independence, Missouri, the same state where Cook grew up. An injury later pushed Cook away from baseball and toward music.

David Cook surprised which politician, an American Idol fan, with a song at a Glamour awards night?

Hillary Clinton was being honored when Cook, brought along by actress Mary Steenburgen, sang The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face. It was one of her favorite songs, and one he had performed on the show.

David Cook's 11 songs on the Hot 100 in one week were the most since which band in 1964?

The Beatles had put 14 songs on the chart at once in April 1964. Cook's haul came right after his win, in the first week that season's American Idol downloads counted toward Billboard's charts.

David Cook made his Broadway debut in 2018 playing Charlie Price in which Cyndi Lauper musical?

Kinky Boots cast Cook as Charlie Price, the reluctant heir to a struggling family shoe factory. He played a limited run that spring, then returned for a second stint from July.

With two solo albums already recorded, what job was David Cook working just before American Idol?

A bartender in Tulsa, Cook had moved there after college to chase music. He had told his mother he would give himself until age 26 before settling for a regular job.

David Cook sang a rock arrangement of Always Be My Baby on American Idol; whose hit was it first?

Mariah Carey was mentoring the contestants that week, so every finalist sang from her catalog. Cook's studio recording of his version became one of the season's best-selling singles.

David Cook told a Race for Hope crowd in 2009 that his older brother Adam had died of what illness?

Brain cancer had first been diagnosed in Adam Cook in 1998, and he died the day before the race. Cook ran the 5K anyway, saying he could not imagine being anywhere else.

Which TV show had David Cook as musical guest in November 2008, weeks before his debut album?

Saturday Night Live paired Cook with host Ben Affleck on November 1, 2008. He played Light On and a second song from an album that was still more than two weeks from release.

Which song, picked in a songwriting contest, did David Cook sing right after winning American Idol?

The Time of My Life was the first winner's song never performed during the competition itself. It went on to spend 15 weeks at number one on the adult contemporary chart.

Which singer, whose Billie Jean arrangement David Cook used on Idol, co-wrote Cook's hit Light On?

Chris Cornell, the voice of Soundgarden and Audioslave, wrote Light On with producer Brian Howes. Cook's live cover of his Billie Jean arrangement had already charted on the Hot 100.

Which producer, known for his work with Green Day, made David Cook's self-titled 2008 album?

Rob Cavallo also played guitar, keyboards and piano on the record. It entered the Billboard 200 at number three and went platinum within three months.

David Cook's first headlining tour, in 2009, took its name from which track on his debut album?

Declaration opens the album, and the tour named after it kept growing. Planned to end in April, it was extended twice and finally wrapped in December.

Which ballad from David Cook's debut album did he sing on an Idol finale to honor his late brother?

Permanent was his tribute to Adam on the season eight finale, weeks after Adam's death. The live recording was sold as a charity single, and it runs longer than the album cut.

The reverse-motion video for David Cook's Come Back to Me was filmed in what kind of place?

An airport, Los Angeles International, is where Cook's character says goodbye to his girlfriend. Because the footage runs backward, he had to learn to sing the song in reverse.

David Cook co-wrote The Last Goodbye, from This Loud Morning, with the frontman of which band?

OneRepublic's Ryan Tedder wrote it with Cook, who debuted the song live on American Idol. Its video has his bandmates reading that he is feared drowned while he sits indoors doing a crossword.

David Cook's fan-edition EP This Quiet Night revisits songs from This Loud Morning in what form?

Acoustic versions of five album tracks make up the EP, which first came only with fan editions from Cook's own store. It later reached shops on CD as a Walmart exclusive.

Which David Cook album was pulled from sale after topping Amazon's MP3 chart during his Idol run?

Analog Heart had never sold more than five copies in a week before the show, then moved 900 in its last week on sale. Cook had it pulled for fairness and said a reposted copy left him feeling like a pawn.

David Cook made Digital Vein in his home studio after leaving RCA and relocating to which city?

Nashville opened him up creatively, Cook said, and he played most of the parts on the record himself. He called himself a control freak who had never had more fun making an album.

Before David Cook settled on Digital Vein, what working title did his fourth studio album carry?

Mirror Mirror gave way to Digital Vein because Cook wanted the record linked by name to his 2006 independent debut. Both were made with a very small team, with Cook hands-on in every part.

Which direct-to-fan platform did David Cook use to pre-sell Digital Vein and to fund Chromance?

PledgeMusic let Cook post video updates, song previews and photos for backers while the album took shape. He said he liked bringing fans into the process of making an album.

David Cook's album Digital Vein includes a cover of Wicked Game, first a hit for which singer?

Chris Isaak's original was a sleeper: it took off only after an Atlanta radio programmer heard it in the David Lynch film Wild at Heart.

Which Digital Vein single did David Cook say tells of young love against the world?

Criminals is lyrically a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde story, Cook said, and he called it a good synopsis of the whole record. It led off his first album after parting ways with RCA.

Which producer, the man behind Santana's Smooth, oversaw David Cook's album This Loud Morning?

Matt Serletic had also produced Aerosmith's I Don't Want to Miss a Thing, which Cook sang on American Idol. More than 80 songs were written for the album he oversaw, and only 14 were tracked.

Which 2017 single introduced the more pop-driven sound of David Cook's EP Chromance?

Gimme Heartbreak was teased months ahead with a thirty-second clip and a hashtag. The EP it previewed went on to reach number five on the US independent albums chart.

David Cook's EP Chromance includes a cover of Another Day in Paradise, a hit for whom?

Phil Collins wrote the 1989 original about homelessness, a sharp turn from his earlier dance-pop. Cook recorded it for an EP built around a more pop-driven sound than his rock albums.

David Cook's Don't You (Forget About Me) was an Idol farewell song; which band had the 1985 hit?

Simple Minds at first turned the song down, as several other acts had, before recording it for The Breakfast Club. Cook's version played each time a season ten contestant was eliminated.

David Cook entered college on a theater scholarship but graduated with a degree in what?

Graphic design won out after he dropped theater two semesters in. The training stuck: he is credited with the art concept, design and layout of his own first solo album.

David Cook grew up in Blue Springs, Missouri, but in which Texas city was he born?

Houston was only his birthplace: he was raised in Missouri as the middle of three boys. He began singing in second grade, when a music teacher gave him a part in the school Christmas show.

Which band did David Cook form in high school with drummer Bobby Kerr, first calling it Red Eye?

Axium dropped the name Red Eye because it sounded too much like pink eye. One of its songs, Hold, was later played before the previews on thousands of AMC movie screens.

David Cook's 11 Hot 100 debuts in one week shattered a record set in 2006 by which teen star?

Miley Cyrus, charting as Hannah Montana, had debuted six songs at once. Cook set the digital songs chart's record for debuts the same week, beating a mark held by Bon Jovi.

Which fellow American Idol winner joined David Cook for a 2021 co-headlining tour of Europe?

Kris Allen won the season after Cook, and the pair had sung Fleetwood Mac's Little Lies together in Central Park back in 2009. Their European run was billed as Dave & Kris Go to Europe.

David Cook thrived in the first American Idol season that let contestants do what on stage?

Contestants could play instruments for the first time, an idea borrowed from Australian Idol. Cook took full advantage, strapping on a guitar for songs such as Hello and Day Tripper.

NBC used David Cook's coronation single to recap each day's US wins at which 2008 sporting event?

The Summer Olympics gave the song a second stage: NBC also played it to recap the opening ceremony. The single stayed in the top 50 of the Hot 100 for nineteen weeks.

Soon after winning American Idol, David Cook signed an endorsement deal with which footwear brand?

Skechers kept Cook in its campaign through December 2009, a stretch that covered both his debut album and his first headlining tour.

Which singer co-headlined a fall 2011 tour with David Cook, with Carolina Liar as support?

Gavin DeGraw and Cook played 22 shows across 15 states that autumn. Cook released Fade into Me, his final single for RCA, to coincide with the run.

David Cook sang The Music of the Night on Idol in a week mentored by which composer?

Andrew Lloyd Webber coached each finalist through a song from one of his musicals. Cook's choice came from The Phantom of the Opera, where Michael Crawford first made it famous.

David Cook's single Laying Me Low came out on XIX Recordings, the label of which Idol creator?

Simon Fuller created the Idol franchise, yet Cook's stay on his label was brief. He soon left and put out his next single through his own imprint.

David Cook calls Reds Turn Blue, a single from The Looking Glass, a letter to himself from what?

His anxiety disorder was diagnosed two years after his Idol win, Cook has said. The song's title nods to the manic highs and lows that come with it.