Light On, Toml

http://www.foxesonidol.com/cgi-bin/ae.pl?m....art&page=1

Based on a combination of factors, David Cook could be the most successful Idol winner since Carrie Underwood. His coronation single, “The Time of My Life,” continues to maintain a presence on all the major charts 19 weeks after its release. In recent years, this has been unprecedented, and the success of “Time of My Life” and the buzz surrounding the new single certainly indicates interest in the Season 7 winner has not waned.

In addition, if sales figures from this summer’s concert tour are any indication of Cook’s draw, he’s going to do just fine. The numbers show a dramatic increase in the number of attendees at this year’s tour over last year’s. According to Ken Barnes, the average percentage of seats filled was 85.4 percent, up 17 percent over Season 6’s rather paltry 68.4 percent.

Will David Cook hit Daughtry-esque numbers? It’s unlikely, due the state of the economy and a slowdown in CD sales overall, but both he and David Archuleta should debut at #1 on the Billboard 200 and go platinum.

A Toml Poll

http://www.musicplayoffs.com/nmpcurrent.php


Time Of My Life going up against I Kissed A Girl and All Summer Long. I see no reason not to give DC a little push. The DJ posted it on David's MySpace so he must've wanted people to vote so I say, we vote.

Seattle Times Interview

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/musi...064_idol08.html

"Idol" moments with winner David Cook
By Misha Berson

Seattle Times arts critic

First he handily beat out legions of other hopefuls for the "American Idol" crown. Now the champ of TV's top-rated sing-a-thon is on tour with the top 2008 "Idol" contenders, which began last Tuesday in Arizona, and comes to Tacoma on Saturday.

The 25-year old Tulsa musician David Cook — he of the soaring voice, mercurial hair and indie attitude — might be the first rocker champ to please "Idol" fans and critics alike.

By phone from a limo in L.A., a busy but open and amiable Cook seemed eager to talk about matters musical and creative, revealing passions for grunge rock, books by a hot Vancouver, Wash., novelist, and a Broadway role he's dying to play.

Q: You'll be performing in our area for the first time, when the "Idols" tour hits Tacoma. Growing up near Kansas City in the '90s, did the Seattle rock scene ever excite you?

A: I was kinda late on the curve with the Seattle sound. I had to backtrack to get into bands like Soundgarden, Mother Love Bone. But Pearl Jam's "Ten" was one of the first rock records I really embraced.

I absolutely think the Seattle grunge sound was instrumental to my music education. Songs like Soundgarden's "Rusty Cage" ... You listen to the lyrics and think, where in the world did that come from?

Q: Speaking of Seattle musicians, on "Idol" you sang Chris Cornell's version of "Billie Jean." And we hear you planned to do a Jimi Hendrix classic — Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watchtower"?

A: Yeah ... but I never wanted to plateau, y'know? I didn't want to do two songs in a row with the same vibe. The week I sang the Who's "Baba O'Riley," and we slowed it down, I couldn't also do "Watchtower" the way I wanted — with a slow, acoustic, Dave Matthews vibe. I'll get to it down the road.

Q: Vocal versatility helped you win "Idol." Did you always have such a big vocal range?

A: I was a real midrange singer, out of fear or discomfort I wouldn't stray too far from that. It took me doing a solo record ("Analog Heart," released in 2006) and having to sing backup vocals to realize, hey! There are some high notes there I can actually hit.

The hardest part for me is to find a new (vocal) trick and not beat it into the ground — which I'm very capable of doing.

Q: You've had theater training, and your approach to songs on "Idol" seemed very theatrical.

A: Right. Some of the best rock shows I ever saw were those appealing to all your senses. There's definitely a visual aspect and an emotional aspect to a song. And that harks back, for me, to theater. I think every good song tells a story, as ambiguous and vague as it may be. And if you know what a song is talking about, it can only help your performance.

Q: You had different looks, "costumes" for each number.

A: I had to nudge the wardrobe people a little. They didn't want us to dress for the song, just wear street clothes. I said, why can't we do both? To me, there's a very abrupt disconnect if I go on stage in bicycle shorts and a tank top to sing "One" by U2.

Q: Would you like to act, along with making music?

A: To get back into theater would be a lot of fun. I got very excited when (rocker) Sebastian Bach took over the lead in "Phantom of the Opera." I find that role so intriguing and mysterious. When Andrew Lloyd Webber week came along on "Idol," I couldn't imagine myself singing anything but "Music of the Night." I'd love, love to play the phantom.

Q: "Idol" turned you into an instant media celebrity. Was that weird or intrusive for you?

A: It was like three years of PR wrapped into three months! It's nuts! To have people I've never met come up and congratulate me, say they feel they know me ... it's very powerful.

Q: It probably helped that you looked so relaxed on camera.

A: Well, things changed when I sang (Lionel Richie's) "Hello." I couldn't tell any other difference performance-wise from earlier weeks. I just began to engage the camera more. I learned a trick of not looking at the lens, but through it.

There's an odd disconnect with TV sometimes, and if you can do anything to break down that fourth wall between you and the person 10,000 miles away, it can only help.

Q: You're writing new songs for your album. What are they like?

A: I want the album to be eclectic, but still rock. I've tried to incorporate fresh ideas, and actually I've tried not to listen to rock music while I'm doing this.

Q: So what do you listen to?

A: (Singer-songwriter) Imogen Heap. Some Keith Urban. Trying not to stray too far, but get a bit of a fresh perspective.

I'd like this record to be palatable for sure, because I want to sustain a long career. But I don't feel I have to glue myself to the usual 1-4-5 (pop chord structure). I'm trying to write songs you may hear on the radio, but with interesting quirks that make them stand out.

Q: Isn't it the post-album era, where the big thing is single tracks?

A: Yeah, depressing, isn't it? I came from a time when records were records. I'll let the label worry about the singles, I'm into making a record.

Q: What songs will you perform on tour? The same each time?

A: We have a set list, but I want to make it a bit different every night, get as much audience interaction as possible, make it about us ... as opposed to me! I tried to put some duets in with others and I kept hearing, "David, your set's about you."

But y'know, I'm over that. You can have my ego! I want people to walk away from the show feeling like they've seen something completely unique they won't get anywhere else.

Q: Do you feel pressure to sing the big download hits from "Idol" — like "Billie Jean" and "Hello"?

A: I'm feelin' like, whatever's going to make the audience happy. ... I put a lot of work into this, and I'm completely OK to take the credit that entails. But if a lot of people didn't invest themselves, and their phone bills, in what I was trying to do each week, I'd still be in Tulsa bartending. And telling my roommate I can't pay my rent again this month.

Q: Will you play after-hours gigs at clubs during this tour?

A: I've talked to old bandmates about throwing in an under-the-radar acoustic gig here and there. For me, at the end of the day, all the interviews and attention are nice. But I'd rather be playing music.

Q: You're called "word nerd" because you like word puzzles. Do you read much?

A: As much as I can. I read a lot of poetry. ("Fight Club" author) Chuck Palahniuk — I'm really into his work. Autobiographies. "The Road to Dallas," about the JFK assassination, I'm thumbing through that.

Q: Amazing you can read at all, given how much PR stuff you've doing. Weren't you on a talk show with Barack Obama?

A: He was on "Jimmy Kimmel" with me, but by satellite feed so I didn't get to meet him. But hey, I was on a TV show with Barack Obama! At the end of the day, that's all I have to say.

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com

Archie's Concert Cancelled

Outrage: David Archuleta Concert Canceled

Local fans of Utah singing legend and defeated American Idol finalist (sniffle) David Archuleta have one more reason to feel cheated after the unfair cancellation of a charity concert he was scheduled to play tonight at Salt Lake City's E Center. Idol producers reportedly nixed the show because they were worried about its cutting into ticket sales for the American Idols Live tour, figuring that once fans had seen David perform solo, they probably wouldn't pony up the $65.50 (plus taxes and surcharges) to watch him share the stage with nine screeching goblins.
"They're just going to reschedule the event for a later time," says David's father, Jeff, who, hilariously, appears to have set this up himself without asking anybody. "When all the minds met, everyone concluded this wouldn't work out for this particular weekend, and they just want to reschedule it for toward the middle or the end of the [American Idol summer] tour." But that's not for another few months! This is a community in mourning now! And the last thing it needs is a lame group show featuring Kristy Lee Cook's earache of a soprano or the plodding, out-of-tune "musical" stylings of David Cook. Proceeds from Archuleta's concert were to go to the Make-a-Wish Foundation, which is now expected to be deluged with wishes to egg Nigel Lythgoe's Ferrari.

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/...ert_cancel.html

DC's Personality now under fire? C'mon!

http://www.okmagazine.com/news/view/7090#
NEWS
June 04, 2008
Nigel Lythgoe: "David Cook Needs a Personality"



If you thought Simon Cowell was blunt, how about this?

The Idol judge has nothing on his boss Nigel Lythgoe, who told OK! that this year’s winner David Cook could be as big as AI alum Daughtry – but only if he gets some personality.

The exec producer also revealed for the first time that the smash hit show had a run-in with the White House earlier this year over the President’s appearance on the Idol Gives Back special!

And he told us about hsi bizarre plans to turn America second biggest show, So You Think You Can Dance, into a tinned-food drive.

The Idol exec producer said yesterday that both of the finalists, Davids Cook and Archuleta, could have a shot at the big time -- except that they both suffer from a lack of onstage charisma.

Lythgoe said that he thinks 25-year-old Cook, who took the Idol title two weeks ago, could be “enormous for a long time� and even rival the success of fellow rocker Chris Daughtry, who came fourth in the show's fifth season.

“He can certainly sing – and I’d like to see a bit more personality when he’s singing,� he said.

“And that was the only thing that I think our finalists lacked a little bit this year, was more charisma.�

He said that the pair should use the American Idol Live tour this summer, which starts in Glendale Az. on July 1, to learn to put a unique sparkle into their performances.


Nigel, 58, also spilled that during the planning for the second annual Idol Gives Back fundraising special, which aired in April, America’s biggest TV show had a spat with no less a power than the White House!


He said that the show’s producers were so disappointed with President Bush’s efforts to combat the very poverty that the show was trying to relieve that they were embarrassed to have him on their TV show.



But Nigel said that Idol relented under pressure from the Pres's people, and allowed him to speak during the star-studded broadcast.

“The President is always saying ‘I want to be on [Gives Back],� said the Brit.

“We didn't ask the President this year to say anything because we are all a bit embarrassed about him, and the office insisted that, because the [primary] candidates were on it, the President would like to come on and say ‘thank you.’"

So far Nigel says, Idol Gives Back, has raised some $142million for projects in the US and Africa. But that hasn’t stopped him for developing some far more home-grown ways to help the poor.

The exec, who is also on the board of the after-school program LA’s Best, said that he is going to make the studio audience for So You Think You Can Dance donate canned goods for the program in exchange for an admission ticket.

"So if you want a ticket for So You Think You Can Dance, all you have to do is bring a can of fruit or vegetables or something.

"And I'll come and collect it each week and just take it away.

"And how sad is this? How sad is this in Los Angeles. I get angry with it,� he said.

So You Think You Can Dance airs on Fox on Wednesday and Thursdays at 8pm ET/PT.

Tickets for the Pop Tarts American Idol Live Summer Tour 2008, featuring the final 10 contestants from season 7 of American Idol, are on sale now.