David Cook (singer) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids David Cook
Cook performing at Schriever Air Force Base in September 2016
Background information
Birth name	David Roland Cook
Born	(1982-12-20) December 20, 1982 (age 42) Houston, Texas, U.S.
Origin	Blue Springs, Missouri, U.S.
Genres	Rock alternative rock post-grunge pop
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter musician actor
Instruments	Vocals guitar bass piano drums
Years active	2001–present
Labels	RCA 19 XIX Recordings Analog Heart Music

David Roland Cook (born December 20, 1982) is an American rock singer and songwriter. He became very famous after winning the seventh season of American Idol in 2008.

Before American Idol, David Cook played in several bands. He released his first solo album, Analog Heart, on his own. After winning American Idol, his first song, "The Time of My Life", became a huge hit. It sold over 1.4 million copies and was certified platinum, meaning it sold a lot!

His first major album, also called David Cook, came out in November 2008. This album also sold over a million copies and was certified platinum. It had two popular songs: "Light On" and "Come Back to Me". His next big album, This Loud Morning, was released in June 2011. It featured songs like "The Last Goodbye" and "Fade into Me". He also released an EP (a shorter album) called This Quiet Night with acoustic versions of songs from This Loud Morning.

Later, David Cook became an independent artist, meaning he released music without a major record label. He released his fourth album, Digital Vein, in September 2015. This album included songs like "Criminals", "Laying Me Low", and "Wait For Me". He also released two more singles from it: "Broken Windows" and "Heartbeat".

In 2018, Cook released his second EP, Chromance, which had a more pop sound. Its main song was "Gimme Heartbreak". This EP reached number five on the US Indie charts. His third EP, The Looking Glass, came out in April 2021.

Early Life and Musical Beginnings

David Cook was born in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Blue Springs, Missouri. His parents are Beth Foraker and Stanley Cook. He has two brothers, Adam (who passed away) and Andrew. His family background includes German, Irish, and English roots.

David's love for music started when he was very young. He began singing in second grade in a school Christmas show. He performed in almost every school event after that. He got his first guitar, a Fender Stratocaster, when he was 13. In middle and high school, he was also active in choir and drama.

At Blue Springs South High School, he acted in musicals like The Music Man and West Side Story. He was also part of the National Forensics League, where he performed literary works. He graduated from high school in 2001.

He was a good baseball player in high school, but an injury made him focus more on music. He received a scholarship for theater at the University of Central Missouri. However, he decided to focus on music after two semesters. He graduated in 2006 with a degree in graphic design. After college, he moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, to start his music career.

Early Music Career and Bands

David Cook formed a band called Red Eye with his friend Bobby Kerr in high school. They later changed the name to Axium. He wrote his first song, "Red Hot", when he was fifteen. A musician named Evan Sula-Goff encouraged him to make an album.

Axium became quite successful. One of their songs, "Hold", was played in movie theaters across the country. They were also named one of the top 15 independent bands by a "Got Milk?" contest. The band released three studio albums: Matter of Time, Blindsided, and The Story Thus Far. They also released live albums like Alive in Tulsa.

Axium broke up in 2006, and David Cook moved to Tulsa. He then joined a band called Midwest Kings, which he had opened for before. He played bass for their EP, Incoherent With Desire to Move On. Two members of that band, Andy Skib and Neal Tiemann, later joined David Cook's band after American Idol. Before Idol, he also recorded his first solo album, Analog Heart, in 2006. He was working as a bartender to support himself at that time.

David Cook on American Idol

David Cook didn't originally plan to try out for American Idol. He went to the auditions in Omaha, Nebraska, to support his younger brother. His brother didn't make it to Hollywood, but David was encouraged by his mom and brother to audition himself. He sang "Livin' On a Prayer" by Bon Jovi for his audition.

During the Hollywood rounds, he sang "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" by Bryan Adams and "I'll Be" by Edwin McCain. David was able to play his guitar during his performances, which was a new rule that season. He played electric guitar for songs like "All Right Now" and "Baba O'Riley". He also played acoustic guitar for "Little Sparrow" and "The World I Know". His white guitar had "AC" on it, which stood for his brothers, Adam and Andrew.

Starting from the Top 12 week, David wore an orange wristband to support a young fan named Lindsey Rose, who had leukemia. Lindsey Rose is now healthy.

David Cook won the seventh season of American Idol on May 21, 2008. He received 56 percent of the votes, beating David Archuleta. After winning, he sang "The Time of My Life", which was the winning song from the American Idol Songwriter's Competition that year.

American Idol Performances and Results

David Cook's Career After American Idol

Cook performing during the American Idols Live! Tour 2008

After winning American Idol, David Cook broke several music chart records. In May 2008, he had 11 songs debut on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This was a new record, beating Miley Cyrus's previous record of six songs. His first single, "The Time of My Life", debuted at number three.

Cook's 11 songs on the Hot 100 also meant he had the most songs by one artist on the chart since The Beatles in 1964. He also broke the record for the most new songs on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs chart, with 14 entries. In total, his 17 songs had almost a million digital downloads in their first week!

He also signed a deal with Skechers shoes. His photo was even on the cover of The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009, alongside President Barack Obama.

First Major Album: David Cook (2008-2009)

David Cook worked with many talented people on his first major album, David Cook. These included producers and songwriters like Ed Roland from Collective Soul and Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace. The album was produced by Rob Cavallo.

The album was released on November 18, 2008. The first song from the album, "Light On", became very popular and was certified platinum. Later, two more songs, "Come Back to Me" and "Bar-ba-sol", were released. The music video for "Come Back to Me" came out in April 2009. His debut album was certified platinum in January 2009 for selling over one million copies.

David Cook at Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas, during his Declaration tour

David Cook announced that two of his former bandmates from Midwest Kings, Neal Tiemann and Andy Skib, would join his new band. Other members included Joey Clement (later Monty Anderson) on bass and Kyle Peek on drums.

His first big tour, The Declaration Tour, started in February 2009. It was a very long tour, with 153 shows in total, ending in December 2009. In August 2009, David announced that his band would be called The Anthemic.

Second Album: This Loud Morning (2010-2011)

Cook performing at Toad's Place, New Haven, Connecticut in September 2010

After his first tour, David Cook started working on his second album. He wrote songs with many different artists and producers, including Raine Maida again. He also worked with his bandmates, Neal Tiemann and Andy Skib.

The album, This Loud Morning, was released on June 28, 2011. David said he wanted to make an album that "really, really pushed the concept of dynamic." The first song from the album was "The Last Goodbye", which came out in April 2011.

To support This Loud Morning, David Cook went on a Fall Tour in 2011. He toured with Gavin DeGraw and Carolina Liar. The tour had 22 shows across 15 states. His second song from the album, "Fade into Me", was released around the same time as the tour.

Becoming an Independent Artist: Digital Vein (2012-2016)

David Cook at Belly Up Tavern in San Diego, California in 2015.

In May 2012, David Cook performed a new song, "The Last Song I'll Write for You", on American Idol. He also shared that he was no longer with his record label, RCA, and was releasing the song himself. In April 2013, he released another new song, "Laying Me Low", through a different label, but he soon left that one too.

David Cook also helped write a country song for David Nail called "Kiss You Tonight" in 2014. In March 2015, he signed a deal to publish his music with Warner/Chappell Music.

Cook moved to Nashville and started producing his fourth album himself. He worked with familiar songwriters like Zac Maloy and Kevin Griffin. "Criminals" was the first official song from this album, released in July 2015. His album, Digital Vein, was released on September 18, 2015, through his own independent label, Analog Heart Music.

He promoted Digital Vein with a tour in late 2015 and early 2016. The tour had many shows across different states. His second song from the album, "Broken Windows", was released in February 2016, around the time the second part of the tour began.

Recent Music and Broadway Debut (2017-Present)

In March 2017, David Cook hinted at a new song called "Gimme Heartbreak", which was released in June 2017. An EP called Chromance followed in February 2018. He also went on an Acoustic Tour from October to November 2018. In October 2018, he released a single called "Death of Me."

In June 2020, he released "Reds Turn Blue" from his EP The Looking Glass. He explained that the song is about his experience with anxiety, which he was diagnosed with after American Idol. He released two more songs from the EP, "Strange World" in December 2020 and "Fire" in March 2021. The full EP, The Looking Glass, was released in April 2021.

More recently, David Cook released a single called "TABOS" (which stands for "This'll all be over soon") in April 2022. In July 2024, he released "Dead Weight," and in November 2024, a charity single called "This Time Tomorrow 16." He announced in February 2025 that he would release multiple EPs throughout the year. The first one, The Hero, was released physically in June 2025.

Other Activities and Philanthropy

Acting on Broadway

David Cook made his debut on Broadway in the musical Kinky Boots. He played the role of Charlie Price. His first run was from April to May 2018, and he returned for a second run from July to September 2018.

Helping Others

In March 2009, David Cook had to cancel some tour dates due to "family matters." His older brother, Adam, had been battling brain cancer since 1998 and passed away in May 2009. On May 3, 2009, at the "Race for Hope" event, David announced his brother's passing. He completed the 5k race, and his team raised over $136,000 for brain cancer research.

On the finale of the eighth season of American Idol, David sang his song "Permanent" in honor of his brother. The money from the sale of this song on iTunes went towards brain cancer research.

Other Performances and Appearances

David Cook has performed at many events and returned to American Idol several times.

• In 2008, he surprised Hillary Clinton at the Glamour magazine Women of the Year Awards by singing "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face".
• He performed "Light On" and "Declaration" on Saturday Night Live in November 2008.
• In 2009, he performed for military troops during a USO tour, visiting bases in Iraq and other places. He has performed for military families at over 40 locations worldwide.
• He performed with the band Our Lady Peace in Dallas, Texas, in August 2009.
• He appeared on Good Morning America in February 2009 to talk about Walt Disney World Resort's new attraction, The American Idol Experience. He performed "Light On" and covered "Go Your Own Way" with Carrie Underwood.
• He returned to American Idol to perform "Come Back To Me" in April 2009 and "Permanent" in May 2009.
• He also performed "Jumpin' Jack Flash" in March 2010 and "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in May 2011 on American Idol.
• He mentored the top 8 finalists during "Songs from the 1980s" week in the thirteenth season of American Idol.
• In April 2016, he performed a David Bowie tribute with other American Idol winners.
• In May 2022, he returned to American Idol to mentor contestants and sing with Kris Allen.

Personal Life

David Cook married his longtime girlfriend, Racheal Stump, in a private ceremony in Nashville on June 20, 2015.

Musical Influences

David Cook's musical influences include bands like Our Lady Peace, Alice in Chains, Big Wreck, Pearl Jam, Bon Jovi, The Goo Goo Dolls, and Collective Soul. He also admires artists like Chris Cornell and Michael Jackson. After winning American Idol, he mentioned Foo Fighters, Jimmy Eat World, and 8stops7 as some of his favorite bands.

Backing Band Members

Discography (Albums and EPs)

Studio albums

• Analog Heart (2006)
• David Cook (2008)
• This Loud Morning (2011)
• Digital Vein (2015)

EPs

• This Quiet Night (2011)
• Chromance (2018)
• The Looking Glass (2021)
• The Hero (2025)

Tours

Headlining Tours

• The Declaration Tour (2009)
• This Loud Tour (2011)
• Fall Tour (2013)
• Navy Entertainment/AFE Tour (2013–2014)
• Winter Tour (2015)
• Digital Vein Tour (2015–2016)
• Summer Tour (2017)
• Acoustic Tour (2018)
• Summer Sessions/Fall Sounds Tour (2019)
• The Looking Glass Tour (2021)
• Summer/Fall Tour (2022)
• Summer/Fall Tour (2023)
• Scars Open, Eyes Shut Tour (2024)

Co-headlining Tours

• American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008
• 2011 Tour with Gavin DeGraw
• Dave & Kris Go To Europe Acoustic Tour (2021) with Kris Allen

Theatre Performances

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: David Cook para niños

• List of Idols winners