Posted on Friday, 11.27.09
IN CONCERT
A few words with the accidental 'Idol'
BY MICHAEL HAMERSLY
Special to The Miami Herald
For American Idol fans, all-American boy Kris Allen's recent surprise victory over the dynamic and flamboyant Adam Lambert likely still burns fresh in their memories. But the year before provided almost as much drama, with gruff-voiced rocker David Cook beating out the angelic David Archuleta in the Season 7 finals.
Cook proved to be the ``stealth Idol'': Sure, he never ended up in the Bottom 3, but who predicted he would actually win? Since his victory, Cook has flourished, with his self-titled debut album opening at No. 3 on the Billboard charts and ending up a platinum-seller.
He talked to The Miami Herald about his first solo tour, ``Declaration,'' which hits the Don Taft University Center at Nova Southeastern University Sunday night.
Q: How's life post-Idol?
A: Good, man, they've kept me busy. And I've really enjoyed being on the road -- to be on the road this long is really a testament to a lot of people's belief in the record and belief in the tour, which is really cool to see.
Q: What can we expect from your show? Any surprises?
A: Well, lately, we've been trying to unveil a new song here and a new song there. We've done covers -- we actually last night just played a cover song by an '80s band, Johnny Hates Jazz, a song called Shattered Dreams. So we try to have fun.
Q: Is this your first time in Miami?
A: I think so -- we started the tour in Tallahassee, but I don't think we ever made it down to Miami. I've never visited myself, so this is gonna be completely new to me.
Q: Is it true that you never planned to audition for American Idol?
A: Yeah, I'd actually gone to Omaha for my little brother -- he was auditioning and I went as kind of moral support. I was living in Tulsa, putting together a record there, and then my family and one of the producers on the show talked me into it while I was in line.
Q: The selection of songs you sang was really diverse, from Bryan Adams to Dolly Parton to Lionel Richie to the Beatles to Roberta Flack. Is your musical taste as diverse as that?
A: I try to be, yeah. I like a little bit of everything. I probably come off as a bit of a music snob at times because I don't really like a whole lot of music, but I like a little bit of almost every kind of genre.
Q: From Season 7, with whom out of your Top 10 are you still the closest?
A: Oh, wow -- there's actually a lot of them. I was fortunate enough to play with them in Los Angeles a couple months ago, and almost everybody from the Top 10 came to the show, so I got to see Brooke [White] and Syesha [Mercado] and Ramiele [Malubay] and Mike [Johns] and Carly [Smithson]. I got a great relationship with all of them, so it's hard to say.
Q: What are some of your biggest highlights post-Idol?
A: Getting to play in the Philippines with Archie [Idol runner-up David Archuleta] in front of 115,000 people, which is pretty incredible. And then last night was a huge milestone, the one-year anniversary of the record release. We played at Hammond, Ind., and got to play our record from start to finish, which was a lot of fun.
Q: Did you watch Idol last year?
A: I watched it as much as I could -- being on the road is kinda tough, but I got to see a little bit.
Q: Does fame seem overwhelming sometimes to you?
A: Yeah, I think only because it happened real quick, you know? It's hard to wrap your head around. But I'm lucky -- I've got a great band around me, I've got great friends and family, and the crew's fantastic, and they all kind of help me process it.
Miami Herald correspondent Michael Hamersly can be reached at mikehamersly@gmail.com.
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