David Cook: Life After Idol
Performing his first single, “The Last Goodbye” here, from his second album, This Loud Morning, on George Lopez last night, David Cook displayed the vocal chops and good looks that won the 7th season American Idol contest and have kept the singer among the most popular of Idols.
Cook is certainly one of the most well rounded Idols with a background of singing since 2nd grade, performing in plays throughout high school, excelling in baseball, and graduating from college with a degree in graphic design. He was in several bands and recorded a solo album, Analog Heart, two years before he was encouraged by his contestant brother to also try out for Idol. During Idol, Cook was particularly adroit with arrangements of the songs he chose to sing and at playing guitar.
Still, no one in the Cook camp was prepared for the week after his American Idol win when he broke several Billboard chart records including having 11 songs debut in the Hot 100 (the previous record was held by Miley Cyrus with 6 songs). He also had 14 debut entries in the Billboard Hot Digital Songs chart with almost 1 million downloads in the first selling week!
Cook has been smart in his decisions to collaborate with hit songwriters and producer Matt Serletic (Matchbox Twenty, Santana, Collective soul) on This Loud Morning. But, a winning formula is still a formula and Cook is dangerously close to a sonic sameness with his new album and single. I would prefer to hear a sensitive, ballad delivery of the poignant lyrics in “The Last Goodbye”.