Kidsday interview: 'American Idol' winner David Cook
Photo credit: Newsday Photo / Pat Mullooly | Kidsday reporters (from left) Rebecca Prechtle, 10, Julia Venezia and Michelle Westphal, all 10 of Middle Island, with "American Idol" winner David Cook at the Fox offices in Manhattan, May 29, 2008.
We met David Cook, the 2008 " American Idol" winner while he was in Manhattan recently.
Were you ever nervous about singing in front of so many people? Every week. I have been in bands since I was 15 and some of the best shows I have ever played in were ones where I thought I was going to be sick before I went on stage.
What is your favorite song that you sung on American Idol? The last one, "The World I Know" by Collective Soul. I enjoyed signing that song for two reasons. One, I am just a big fan of the song and two it just kind of represented, when I got done with the song I was no longer a competitor on the show. I kind of got to relax a bit and enjoy myself after that. It was good.
When you look back on TV at yourself were you ever embarrassed the way you look and danced and sang? [Laughing] I am now! No, I was pretty happy with most of it. The dancing. I am always embarrassed when I dance because I am a bad dancer. No, I was pretty content with everything.
How did it feel never to be in the bottom three? My goal every week was not to take last. The fact that I was able to avoid that particular stresser in the show was kind of nice. I can't imagine how crazy that must have been like. I was one of the lucky ones.
Was it sad to see the others leave? Who were you most sad about having to leave? I loved Tuesdays and I hated Wednesdays. I hated Wednesdays for two reasons. One, I am a bad dancer so dancing in the group numbers was always pretty embarrassing and to watch somebody go home was always rough. If I had to pick one person; I was probably equally upset with everybody but the one that shocked me the most was Michael Johns. I thought he had done well enough to stick around.
Did you make a lot of friends and who did you become closest to? I said this when I made the top 24. They asked me who my favorite contestant was. I said I don't have one but I have 23. Everybody that was on the show this year was actually really cool. So I made a lot of friends. Michael Johns is probably the most obvious one. He and I buddied up with Jason Yeagar and Luke Menard during Hollywood week ... they are all great.
When you arrived back in your hometown, how did it feel to see your family friends and fans? It felt great. I think dealing with all the stuff that you deal with on the show which is a pretty grueling process to be able to come home and kind of relax and enjoy yourself I thought it was great.
Did you like riding in the big stretch limo, what was it like inside? The limo was awesome; I did enjoy it. It had these lights on the ceiling that changed color the whole day and I had like a little mini bar with a bunch of sodas and waters and stuff. It was really cool; it had TVs all over the place too.
Were you excited when you actually made it to Hollywood? Yeah, I was. It was early on in the journey so I didn't really see the forest for the trees too much. I was excited to come to Hollywood and see what happens, but I really didn't anticipate this too much.
Were you upset when your brother Andrew did not make it to Hollywood? Absolutely. I think my brother is a raw talent and I think where I succeeded and he didn't was just that I have had a little more time to blossom into what kind of musician I am. He's got a lot of time to figure it out. I was pretty bummed when he didn't make it but he was cool about it and I think he is going to audition again.
How old were you when you learned to play the guitar? There are two ways to answer that. I was 12 or 13 when I got my guitar and I probably learned how to play it at 24. The rest of the time I just kind of meandered through power chords. I still got a lot to learn so I don't think I am done learning necessarily. I guess I did OK.
When you were a little kid did you ever think you would be a famous singer? No. I saw myself when I was a kid being one of three things: a baseball player, a ninja or I always thought it was cool the guys that got to stand and ride on the back of the trash truck. Those were like my three dream jobs. The music thing started to hit about 16 or 17. When I got older the sports thing wasn't progressing the way I would have hoped. Music kind of presented itself as something I could do. It made me that much cooler to my friends.
What is your favorite song? Ever? That's tough. A song called "Potato Girl" by Our Lady Peace.
You are going to get a record contract, how does that feel? It feels great. I have been trying to get one of those for a long time. To get one is pretty crazy. It is something only a lot of musicians only dream of.
When you were a child did you love to sing or were you not into singing? At first I was really nervous about singing. Like I would sing around the house and that probably annoyed my parents a lot., but my music teacher in elementary school, Miss Gentry, made me sing, or let me sing as she put it, sing a solo in a Christmas show that we did for my school. I enjoyed it. I did it in talent shows in elementary school and stuff like that. I kind of shuffled through music pretty much most of my life. For a while there, I didn't like it but I didn't dislike it. As I grew older I found that it was something that I could do in a way that most people couldn't do, which was cool.
Do you think Simon was cruel to your friends on "American Idol"? No. I think Simon is sometimes misguided but never cruel. Simon is just honest. Maybe a little mean too.
Did you play sports when you were little? I played little league baseball until I was 18. I did football for a few years. I did soccer and basketball for a little while. I wasn't very good in soccer. I guess in hindsight I wasn't any good in any of them because I am not playing them anymore.
Would you sing a song for us? I don't know what to sing. I have been feeling a little under the weather the last few days. Can I take a raincheck? I'll come back just to do that. I'll come to the school.
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