I was hooked since he sang Hello. That has always been one of my fav songs of all time anyway. And I have loved it even more since DC did it!!!

Like a lot of others here, I have been a fan of his since the very first audition. I always get really annoyed when they don't let people through that they should, and let people through when they shouldn't. I am just like, What the heck??? Why didn't you let such and such through?? lol. I guess I'll never understand their thinking about some things. But anyway...He came up and I was like, whoa, nice hair. LOL! Then he sang and #1, I was thrilled at his song choice, and #2, I loved his voice. I was sitting there going, They'd better let him through, or else this TV is going out the window (ok, maybe I didn't say that, but...). When they did I was like, YAY!!!

Then Hollywood week, I heard him and was like HOLY CRAP!!! and again enjoyed his song choices. Simon had absolutely no idea what he was talking about!! (maybe DC was right and he really was jealous of his hair...hahaha)

I was thrilled to see him get into the top 24 (I have to say, that pink tie really worked for him) and loved watching him every week, and waiting to see which songs he chose. His song choices were just awesome! He was always my favorite and just got better and better each week! I was always like, "Woooo!!! Go David!" LOL!

Nope you are not strange...I love that song too!

Hi Im janie and Im new here. I have been a bon jovi fan since 1986 so when David walked into the audition room and starting singing Bon Jovi, I was hooked. After that he only got better!!!

it is too hard to pick a favorite performance of his but have any of you heard the studio version of his phantom of the opera song? WOW it gives me chills!!!

Janie

i wish he would have tour here in philippines

Truth is.. I only watched this season's AI during the Top 8 Performance. And I really didn't enjoyed the Song... yet!
Then, after ABMB, I was kinda like, "Whoa! He rocks man!".. Right there, I kinda liked him a bit.
Until weeks gone by, he's grown more and more fanstastic than ever!
I've grown to really love him on Top 5. "All I Really Need Is You".! Whew! *grins*
ahaha!

Then, I have watched some Season Marathons, and saw that He REALLY ROCKS!! EVEN MY WORLD! XD

from his first audition! but his Hello perfomance blew me away! xxxx

ahehehe all of us here were blown away

when he sang always be my baby. *swoon*

and when he got the haircut. i'm shallow, i know. )

first the audition I thought wow this guy is a cutie and damn he belted living on a prayer out! Then when he sang Hello.............I thought damn this guy is going to win and man what a sexy beast!!!!!!!!!!

I think I might have come on board a wee bit later than most. I mean, I lurrrrrrved me his audition but it was during E. Rigby, you know, when he threw his arms open wide and launched into, 'all the lonely people'. Right at that very moment is was like some cosmic force alighted into the room and smacked me upside the head with a shovel screaming, "THIS MAN IS A STAR!"

Bam.

I was done for.

Let me start off by saying I am not an Idols fan. Don't like pop and hate the glitz and commercialisation that goes with Idols. I usually watch the auditions for a good laugh and then tune out. however this year was different - him and Michael Johns interested me from the beginning, found myself switching to Idols more and more during commercials trying to catch a glimpse of him. Then I switched over during Hello - that made me sit up and take notice. (even my 11 year old son, who has VERY strict metalhead musical taste left his computer game and came over to listen). I now started watching Idols for real, jsut to see what he did next Missed Eleanor Rigby due to circumstances outside my control, then saw Day Tripper. Very funky and great voice. I couldn't wait for next performance. Then came Bille JEan. OMG - I was hooked. Started surfing the net, downloading songs etc and listenting to them OVER AND OVER AND OVER again ( I think 'All I really need is you got over 30 listens in one day.) From there on he just hooked me more and more. ..... Went into work on Sundays and public holidays just to get to the net (home connection too slow), watched performances over and over etc etc.....

All time faves from IDols:
The world I know
The first time ever
Bille Jean
Thereafter it's a toss-up between
Baba O Riley/ Always be my baby / All I ever need is you

Actually I find it hard to choose between the rest - I love all of them (except Hungry like the wolf - done well, but I hate the song).

His audition....couldnt stop watching ever since

Hi everyone! Just wanted to introduce myself real quick before i answer the question..My name is Jen, Im 27 from NC, I am a nurse...and thats all Ive got right now
Now, as for when I was hooked on David, Im gonna be honest, he definately had my eye during auditions because I lovveeee Bon Jovi and his voice was amazing...
First week of the top 24 when he sang Happy Together i thought he was a huge dork lol but I loved what he did with the song and knew I had already picked myself a favorite....then when he sang All Right Now I never turned back....and Ive stuck with him ever since....so proud that he won because he soooooo deserved it.
Cant wait to get to know everyone

I guess when I first realized that he was gonna be "IT" was when he sang "Heaven" during Hollywood week. That's one of my fav songs--LOVE Bryan Adams-- and when Simon said the thing about being lost without the guitar, I got all defensive for him and yelled, "The guitar doesn't have ANYTHING to do with his voice, you S*i*head. If you don't put him through, I'm gonna come out there and throttle you!". I was SO relieved when Paula and Randy put him through and when he showed up in that black shirt and pink tie, I knew I was in love. I was SO happy he got into the top 24, I almost peed myself.

For me it was definatelly Billy Jean.
I had seen HIM before - I remember seeing his audition and thinking "Great voice, but OMG - what the hell is wrong with him? ridiculous hair, funny sweater-vest-jumper..."
Billy Jean by David Cook was for sure my favorite performance in the history of music. I have to mention that I love Chris Cornell (or rather used to love, because he's got midlle-life crisis and now recording an album with Timbaland).Chris is probably one of the most gorgeous rockstars ever and has killer voice. I've seen him singing Billy Jean live (shirtless!) - and that was amazing.

But what David did...
His performance was just out of this world... Magic that almost never happens.
Since then I knew he's THE ONE.

He caught my attention when he auditioned with "Living on a Prayer" ... I knew I was looking at something special. But I have to say that he really had me at "Hello" ... it was at that moment that I knew that no matter what happened, he would be number one choice until the end ... and I never waivered.

I have a mad obsession with Bon Jovi and I get pretty upset when people cover their songs. so in walks this handsome guy and I am already to hear what he is going to sing and they announce it. Bon Jovi's Living on a Prayer..and I am edge of my seat because if it ain't good then I will be another person with the memory of bad Bon Jovi covers. And then David Cook opens his mouth. And for the first time I am listening to someone other than Jon singing these lyrics and loving them. And what can I say I was hooked. Then when he sang Billie Jean I was amazed and have continued to be....I am a word nerd for life!!! Now I will get upset when others try to cover his work on AI

He had me from.....the first audition! I loved his voice and thought he was adorable! After he made top 12 though....I was 100% hooked and refused to even imagine anyone else winning!

i think i started to love D.C. when i first saw him but i really wasn't completely hooked on cook until he sang "hello". then i was all for him!

like i mentioned before, i was hooked to DC when he sang MOTN, but i HAVE to agree with you.
The moment i heard the studio version of always be my baby, i swear i had a heart attack XD
*giddy*





I felt the same O.o
I grew up listening to Bon Jovi <3
there's been endless HORRIBLE covers...*ears bleed*
but i agree, the moment DC sang it.....<3<3<3<3

I'm really enjoying hearing about everyone's moment when they were Cookfied and hope to hear more! I started out with Michael Johns being my favorite. At the auditions I thought there was no way he couldn't win the whole thing. Then once the show started, the "WOW" factor just wasn't there for me no matter how much I wanted it to be! Up walks David and sings Hello.......BOING!!! Michael who?? LOL I think that moment was the definite turning point in the competition. Some were fans from the beginning and others were 100% in his camp a little later, but I think from Hello on, his fan base exploded.

I know I was hooked from that moment on. I think I started to lean his way when I saw the segment about David and his crosswords. Then to hear Simon's comment about being boring and not having charisma! HA!

Billie Jean is a huge fave with me, too. I can watch him perform that all day, but I don't want to be locked up by my family so I'm quiet about it. So much for Simon being correct about David being vulnerable without his guitar! Then there was the evening when he sang Always Be My Baby and got overwhelmed with all that had happened and shed a few tears. If I hadn't already been hooked, that finished me off. Well, face it, all of his peformances are winners with me.

Don't know why I waited so long to get involved with other fans but I'm glad I'm here now!

Great thread! Sandi

Glad to have you with us, Sandi ... it's great to be able to get together and share David stories ... makes me feel better everytime

the first time i ever saw his face! i knew he was going to be amazing and look what happened!!!!

Newbie here... what a great board and fabulous topic - when did I get on the Cook Wagon? Well, my 16 year old daughter and I watch the show together every year. She was on board from the very first audition; she loved everything about him from the red faux hawk hot mess of a haircut to the sweater vest. I thought he had a great voice but the constant comparisons to DAUGHTRY (my very very favorite contestant of all time) were wearing thin.

Then I found out about the orange bracelet - the one that David wore for the little girl with cancer. My heart melted when I heard that. (We have an angel daughter who lives in heaven after losing a battle with cancer, so this hit home in a special way.)

We are so glad that David won. What a special guy! He will be around for years to come. As Paula said, "that's what I predict."

OMG I have to admit that he got me at "Hello".. since then i was hooked on cook.. up to now, still addicted and obsessed to cook! this obsession might last a lifetime....

I`m a great Bon Jovi Fan too since 20 years and I have never heard that anyone can sing a Bon Jovi Cover. David is the first one. I haven`t wachted any perfomance in TV because in germany it is not possible, but when I saw his performance on you tube with Billie Jean I thought "Oh my god". I never heard Billie Jean this way, it was so incredible wonderful that I forgot to breath and since this moment I love David.

I liked him from the beginning but when he sang 'Little Sparrow' and "Always Be my Baby' I was completely taken in!

Like truelurve I also usually watch the auditions and then tune out, and maybe come back for the finale just to see who's going to be talked about at school the next day, but other than that I don't watch Idol. I had decided while watching the auditions this year that I was going to try watching the whole season, but I missed all the episodes up to Day tripper. Then I started hearing about Archie. And I'm 17 like him and he really is cute, and his voice is amazing. I admit... I came back for him. The very next week was Cookie's performance of Billie Jean. And immediately I started leaning away from Archie, but I felt guilty since I'd committed to him already. (I have committment issues... can you tell??) This trend continued until MOTN. That in combination with ABMB the week before had me telling the world I'd switched sides. But in reality I think that I mentally switched sides by Little Sparrow. From then on I was totally cooked.

My Top 3 Favorite Performances:
1. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
2. Little Sparrow
3. Always Be My Baby/Billie Jean/Hello

(side note: My favorite studio performance is Innocent. It's an awesome song)

Does anyone know if the weekly results are ever published? Perhaps not the actual breakdown of who got how many votes each week, but at least a breakdown of who came in first, second, etc. each week. It would be interesting to compare that with how each performer did the night before, to see how often DC was at the top and when he started to get the big votes.

This inquiring mind wants to know!

Sandi

David had me in his Bon Jovi audtion. I picked him as my favorite right then. All season, he just kept getting better. When he talked about being a word nerd, I thought, OMG, a kindred spirit. I always have to explain to people what words I use mean or insert a synonym.

I was worried when he talked back to Simon in week 2 of the semis, when Simon told him he shouldn't have spoken about crosswords in his "package video" and had no charisma. But that seemed to be a shift in David, he looked like he realized he was at turning point. Then he came back the next week with "Hello" and the rest is history.

I just can't believe he WON! I didn't think a rocker could actually win AI.

FYI - This my first ever post.

I was Cookified when David sang Hello...
Had me at hello I guess...

That was one of my favourite moments ever on an Idol show. I think it was at that moment that David saw himself as a star. His whole persona and attitude on stage changed after that moment. It was an amazing transformation to see. He exuded so much confidence after that performance. Amazing!

when i first saw his audition, i know he'd make it far in AI..
but when he perform Billie Jean, my god! i know his gonna win the title..
then he "sang always be my baby", i'm quite sure he's gonna be a big big star..
he's original!
i've always felt bad whenever simon is harsh to him

^^^me too.
i saw him perform yeah,
but wasnt so sure who to root for...
until the HELLO performance.
that blew me away... BIGTIME!
since then im hooked...
he's like the 'point of no return'
once you entered
you can never ever look back.
forever.
forlife.



look what you have done to me david roland cook

Thank you Sandi,
I knew how much I appreciated his style, voice, charismatic attitude and of course that fabulous smile and I wanted to share that with you guys and gals...
Thank you to everone that has shared their stories, I love reading them all.

With much LOVE,
Christina *aka* LostPoetic WordNerd #1004

He had me at Hello.

It was a pretty great star moment, wasn't it? Some people try to pull that off and can't do it, but he just kept doing it over and over so I knew it wasn't a fluke.

Now, I'm gonna sound like the oldest person on earth, but I remember as a little kid how exciting it was to watch new performers on something like the Ed Sullivan Show. They would start out good, but kinda' funky, and after several appearances over maybe a year, they would improve so much it was startling. The Supremes come to mind in that regard. But, with David Cook, we got to see that kind of growth in just a matter of months on a weekly basis! In each early performance there is something that indicates true talent, but once he got into his groove with things like Eleanor Rigby and Hello, it was was clear that he was so much more than just a promising talent. Very exciting to watch a true star being born.

The second he opened his mouth! I loooooooove his voice! I could not believe that a young guy could catch this old girl's attention...but he did and I am thankful!

During auditions.. I really didn't noticed him! (whatta regret!)
But, during the semis.. I started to like him.. ^__^
But.. during Billie Jean.. it turned into.. an infatuation..
And finally.. in Always Be My Baby.. it was L-O-V-E!

and after that until now.. made me feel that "passionate affection" deeper!

i'd have to say he had me infatuated at Top 12 week with Elenor Rigby. he was just so amazing. from that moment on i knew i'd never have a good night sleep until American Idol was over and i knew that he'd won! ever since then i've been sleeping like a baby lol.

Click to view attachment

I love DC!!! So much!

Since the first appearance, but the love grow up when he sings HELLO.


Now, David Cook is my favoured singer. I love him!!!!

While I am at college I don't watch much tv. The only thing I saw of american idol was MJ sang Bohemian Rhapsody because my mom told me I had to see it. So I was a fan of MJ even though I did not watch the show. I had seen pictures and I liked David Cook's look but I didn't really start watching till the week he sang Innocent. I thought it was cool and I liked it.

My mom told my about the orange bracelet and also about his brother. I then say him sing Always be my Baby and I was hooked. I wasn't happy to hear he was singing music of the night because I was thinking he was a rocker so how is he going to sing that. But I loved it and I thought I could watch it over and over.

I also really like him signing Baba O'Reily. I love rock and I think that was one of the first things that drew me to him.

My problem now is I am hooked on him and I can't watch videos on the computer since it is so slow.

This is my first time here, but i guess i've been a fan since the audition! I was just so amazed at his progression throughout the season. At first i didnt want him to win. Not because i didnt think he was deserving but because i didnt want him to get screwed with an Idol Contract. Just an opinion, but i think a few of them were great on the show but their albums/cd's w/e didnt show what they were loved for on the show. But once he got so close it was like ok, lets show everybody a rocker can win. I'm a die hard Daughtry fan and have been since forever. I'm #1 chirsfan on the Mr. D site. Yes it does say chirs instead of chris! I guess i was sooooo excited when i found a place to talk about my obsession. I don't think i'm as obsessed about David. Maybe i can only handle one complete obsession at a time. And I'm still not over Chris. Although i did tell my DH and kids that when David opens for Chris i'm going!

This is my first post!! WHOOHOO

Funny story, my husband's college roommates name was David Cook. So our David caught my eye right away. I missed the audition shows so I didn't really see him until Happy Together. I liked his performance and his overall vibe. Then he sang Hello and I was impressed by his arrangement and originallity. But it was Billy Jean that got me totally hooked. I love Chris Cornell's version of that song and David performance was incredible!! This is the first season of Idol that I watched all the shows and totally looked forward to a contestant's performances.

Now I am totally cookified.

David had me hooked when he sent me a myspace message asking me to check out his music back in '05. And the fact that despite so many musicians...he responded to you when you emailed him. Then watching him in a smoke filled bar with very few people. The man is awesome and a great person!!!

As a Jersey girl he definitely had my attention when he say Livin' On A Prayer, but when he came out as a self proclaimed word nerd I almost died! I thought I was the only one out there and then suddenly there he was! That was it for me, I was hooked and in love.

R.K.

for me, it was auditions. one of my favorite songs is "Tulsa" by Rufus Wainwright (even though since i started getting David's songs its literally all i listen to anymore) and when i heard he was from Tulsa im like AWESOME! lol. and his singing only comfirmed that he is amazing... so he was my favorite before he even started singing lol.

Noticed and loved his voice already in the auditions.
Liked him even more at Hollywood week.
All Right Now really rocked and it made him my favourite.
Hello made him even more special.
Eleanor Rigby sent shivers through my spine and made me a true Word Nerd for life.
Day Tripper is still my favourite because he enjoyed singing it so much!
Then our DVD-recorder malfunctioned and I missed him performing Billie Jean. Finally I found the video and many others from the internet and also up to date information (considering the show was shown almost two weeks later in Finland).
And rest is just euphoria. How can he make me, watching and listening to him in television so far away in time and place, feel like he is singing to me and looking at me..? I don't know, but this sure is one part of his charm to me. He has a presence that will travel distances!

So this has been a slow but steady progression for me from never watching AI before and never feeling like a true fan girl before to being a dedicated DC fan at the age of 29 ...

Somehow every performance of his seemed to me a new proof of his talent, special character and musical vision. And at the same time every interview and behind the scenes clip showed an intelligent, fun and genuine person. All this made me think of him as refreshing, beautiful, believable and so much the opposite to trite .