So...i stumbled on this today. Not sure if it's been posted already, i looked and didn't see it, so forgive me if it has been. Also, i'm having trouble finding the actual link to the original article, so i'll include the link to where it was posted on LJ.

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"I just wanna make a record that's gonna make the hair on the back of your neck stand up," exclaimed newly crowned "American Idol," David Cook, during a conference call with the media this morning. When asked when he would recover from the exhaustion and excitement of it all, Cook replied, "Hopefully never."

Throughout the competition, Cook's mentality has been "hope for the best, expect the worst." After all, following Tuesday's performance, the general sentiment was that Cook's rival, David Archuleta, had won the night. Believe it or not, Cook agreed. "I definitely thought if you were basing it off of Tuesday, [Archuleta] deserved to win. He came out and did three amazing songs," recalled Cook.

After his big win, Cook stopped by the "Idol" after-party with none other than his family. Throughout the call, Cook's family was at the front of his mind. Cook even mentioned the possibility of a collaboration with his musician brother. "I've left the option open, and I'm kinda leaving it up to him," Cook explained, adding that he hopes that his brother will come hang out with him on tour, if only for "a short stint."

After all, Cook's brother was the one who persuaded him to attend the "Idol" audition in the first place. "He has been my No. 1 supporter from Day One," emphasized David Cook, "and has routinely told me how proud he is of me." When asked what he had given his brother in return, Cook replied, "Inadvertently, I'm responsible for getting him into video games." Hmmm, sounds like one of the Cooks is getting the short end of the stick here.

As for his new star status, Cook remains in awe. "I can't believe the level of support that has come out of me doing this crazy TV show," he marveled.

The level of support in the "Idol" community was clear on Tuesday night, when 12 million more votes were cast for Cook than for Archuleta. "I attribute the finale vote … to my fans just being awesome," Cook stated simply. Still, Cook doesn't want the public to read too much into that number. "I think that number is actually really misleading," he mused, in yet another shout-out to formidable opponent Archuleta. "I was just honored to share the stage with him."

When the conversation moved back to Cook's time as a struggling musician, Cook recalled, "I wasn’t ready to give up on music, and I didn’t think music was ready to give up on me." Now an international star, Cook is grateful for his starving-artist days. "You get pretty humble playing shows to five people," he said with a chuckle.

As for the idea that he would have been better off not winning "Idol" (in terms of credibility as a rock musician), Cook admitted that the idea had crossed his mind, but he said he didn't give it much attention. It would have been "a slap in the face" to the competition and fans, he explained. "As far as having more success by not being a winner, I think that is something that will get played out in the next few years," he concluded.

If Cook looks like a different man today than the one we met months ago, it's not just the gleam in his eye. "I've lost probably 10, 15 pounds on this season," he revealed. And Cook's physique isn't the only thing that changed. He's become more open as a performer, thanks to vocal coach Debra Byrd, who helped him break down the "wall" he was putting up. Hence Cook's late-season success -– and his late-season proclivity for tears, especially at the finale. "The crying after I'd won was like an exhale," he recalled. "I felt like that whole time I was holding my breath."

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