Since winning, the pace has picked up for Cook, and even while on tour, he has been recording his debut album—being produced by Rob Cavallo—due out Nov. 18. “After the finale, I came out here to New York, and I had three meetings with three different labels. The first one was RCA, and I walked in, sat down with Barry Weiss, and he said, ‘Before we get into it, the first thing I want to tell you is we want you to make the record that you want to make,’” says Cook. “So I cancelled my other two meetings.”
Although recording the album, plus touring and doing promotion, is unquestionably exhausting, he is enjoying every minute of it. “I get to travel the country playing music. Nothin’ wrong with that!” he states emphatically. In addition to the large amounts of work involved, there have been some moments that certainly keep things humorous. “We switched bus drivers like a week and a half in [to the tour],” Cook describes as he begins to laugh. “The first five feet that our new bus driver was driving, he hit a van; like, a parked van, literally going like two miles an hour.” Then there was Archuleta’s Nutter Butter incident. After announcing in an interview that they were his favorite snack, crates of the cookie began showing up at tour stops. “I always need socks and underwear. Medium boxer briefs, socks size 10-13!” Cook hints.
“Look who we got our Hanes on now!” Johns says in a sing-song voice.
“Goin’ for the necessities.”
One of the most important aspects of Cook’s life remains his nothing-but-supportive family. His older brother Adam, who is a big inspiration for his album, is currently battling cancer. Even so, taking all the necessary measures and precautions, he made it to Los Angeles at least once to watch Cook compete, the night he sang Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” and received some of his highest praise from Simon, Paula, and Randy.
“He’s dealing with something that allows me to put all of this in perspective. I’m able to go out every night and just enjoy this for what it is, and not get stressed out about all the mundane details.”
“He’s happy for you. That’s the coolest thing,” Johns adds.
While Cook continues on his surprise conduit, Andrew continues to find himself as an artist, and aspires to one day produce songs that he is 100 percent confident in. “With David being the older one, I grew up wanting to do exactly what he did. And even today I still want to; I just want to take a different path.” It seems as though the paths both Andrew and Cook set for themselves, were really meant for each other. “Hopefully one day you can be looking through the CDs at the store and see Andrew Cook right next to David Cook. That would be a dream come true.”
Be on the look out for David Cook’s debut full-length, released through RCA records on Nov. 18. For more info, visit davidcookofficial.com or myspace.com/officialdavidcook.
