David Cook was born on December 20, 1982 in Houston, Texas. Raised by his parents Beth and Stan Cook in Blue Springs, Missouri he is the middle of three brothers. David’s interest in music began early in his life. He started singing in the second grade, when is elementary school teacher, Mrs. Gentry gave him a role in a school choir performance. After that performance he began performing in almost every Christmas and PTA program. In middle school and high school he continued to participate in the school choir and drama programs. During his four years at Blue Springs South High School, he performed in musicals, including The Music Man, Singin’ in the Rain, and West Side Story. David was an avid baseball player but lost an interest in sports and began putting more of an emphasis on music. Earning a theater scholarship to the University of Central Missouri, David abandoned theater after two semesters. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in graphic design. After graduating from college, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma to pursue a career in music.
David formed the band Axium in his junior year of high school with drummer Bobby Kerr. He was the lead singer and guitarst. One of their songs entitled, “Hold,” was picked up by AMC Theatres Movie Tunes and was played before previews on over 20,000 screens nationwide. Axium was named one of the top 15 independent bands in the country in the “Got Milk?” independent band contest. In 2004, they were chosen as the best band in Kansas City. Axium broke up in 2006 and David moved back to Tulsa, Oklahoma. He joined the regional touring band Midwest Kings, playing guitar, bass, and singing backup vocals. David recorded one EP, Incoherent with Desire to Move On, with the band in 2006. During this time, he also worked as a bartender at several Tulsa clubs and bars. David’s solo independent album entitled Analog Heart was released in 2006. The album artwork was also created by David. The website Music Equals Life chose Analog Heart as the fourth-best CD released in 2006. In 2007, David won the Urban Tulsa Weekly’s “Absolute Best of Tulsa” award for “Best Locally Produced, Independent Album,” Analog Heart was listed as the number one album for “Today’s Top MP3 Albums” on Amazon.com during April 18 to April 20, 2008. Just shortly after this, Amazon removed the album. David’s musical influences include Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, Big Wreck, and Our Lady Peace.
David Cook’s journey on American Idol, Season 7 began when he auditioned in Omaha, Nebraska. He performed the song, “Livin’ on a Prayer,” by Bon Jovi. David originally came to Omaha to support his younger brother Andrew who was auditioning for the show. David made it into the Hollywood round and performed (with his electric guitar) the Bryan Adams hit, “(Everything I Do) I Do It for You.” Later that week he also performed “I’ll Be” by Edwin McCain. A new part to American Idol in Season 7 was that the performers were allowed to accompany themselves playing an instrument. David took every advantage of this new rule. Using his electric guitar, he performed, “All Right Now,” “Hello,” “Day Tripper,” “I’m Alive,” “Baba O’Riley,” “Dare You to Move,” and “Dream Big.” On acoustic guitar he performed, “Little Sparrow,” “All I Really Need Is You,” and “The World I Know.”
David’s electric guitar that he played is a white, left-handed Gibson Les Paul that has the letters “AC” on it. Growing up with two brothers, David says because of superstition, he put their initials on everything. During the Top 12 week, David began wearing an orange wristband. This was in support of Lindsey Rose, who is a 7 year old fan that has leukemia. David also performed the songs, “Billie Jean,” “Eleanor Rigby,” “Always By My Baby,” “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” “Happy Together,” “Innocent,” “The Music of the Night,” “Hungry Like the Wolf,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “The World I Know,” and “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing.” David is known for singing the original versions of some songs but he also changed the arrangements of some songs so show his talent, uniqueness, and the ability to make a song fit his vocal style.
On May 21, 2008, receiving 56% of the votes, David Cook won the 7th Season of American Idol. He sang, “The Time of My Life.” Throughout the entire season, David was considered safe each week. One week after claiming the title of winner of American Idol, David broke several Billboard chart records. He had eleven songs debut on the Hot 100 with his first single, “The Time of My Life,” debuting at #3. That same week he also broke the record for the most debuts on Billboard’s Hot Digital Songs chart, where he placed 14 debut entries. His 17 entries had a combined total of 944,000 digital downloads in just the first week of selling.
David is currently due to work with the Grammy-nominated songwriter and producer, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic and Jesse McCartney on his upcoming album that is to be released sometime in the fall of 2008.