David Cook (album)
Encyclopedia
David Cook is the first major-label album from seventh season
American Idol
winner David Cook
. The album was released on November 18, 2008 in the United States
, was certified platinum
and has sold over one million copies in the United States. It has produced two top twenty singles, "Light On
" and "Come Back To Me
". The single "Time of My Life
" has also been certified platinum by the RIAA. "Light On
" was certified platinum in January 2010.
gave the album a positive review saying, "They give David Cook's clutch of bombastic verse-chorus- verse rockers an impressive melodic sheen, one well suited to Cook's husky, expressive vocals. If anything, the series of booming midtempo anthems (most notable among them "Bar-ba-sol" and "Mr. Sensitive") could use a little sandpapering around the edges." Allmusic concurred writing, "He not only is a star thanks to AmIdol, but he's always been ready to do big, happy, crowd-pleasing grunge-pop, as his self-released 2006 debut, Analog Heart, proved. David Cook is remarkably similar to that now-suppressed effort, heavy on crawling, melodic midtempo rockers and power ballads, only given more gloss in its production and writing."
Billboard
said of the album, "Much like his predecessors' quick-turnaround debuts, Cook's is fairly generic, but its rock edge is dirtied up with crunching guitars and the artist's tuneful growl. There are a host of big, anthemic choruses that highlight the power of Cook's voice, namely the soaring "Declaration" and Chris Cornell/Brian Howes-penned "Light On." Elsewhere, Cook exercises his right to rawk with the swaggering, gritty "Bar-ba-sol" and bares his soul alongside a delicate piano and string arrangement on "Permanent." There are some lyrical missteps ("Life on the Moon," which marvels at the titular concept), but as the lone rocker winner of "Idol" to date, Cook stands apart from cookie-cutter pop."
Rolling Stone
gave the album an average review commenting on its lack of "out-of-the-box songwriting". Meanwhile, Ken Barnes of USA Today was also subdued in his review, particularly criticizing the production team and the song choices made on the album. Of it, he wrote, "they did him a disservice ... [Cook] has a more supple, versatile voice than Daughtry, and he demonstrated vastly more musical originality than most Idol finalists, but you’d never know it from this collection of formulaic, tune-averse tracks."
", was released to U.S. radio on September 30, 2008. The song sold 109,000 digital downloads in its first week of availability, leading to a #17 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the Hot Digital Songs
chart. "Light On
" was certified platinum in January 2010.
"The Time of My Life
" (his first feature single as the winner of American Idol
) is also featured as a bonus track on the album.
On February 27, 2009, Entertainment Weekly
ran a piece saying that Cook will be releasing not one, but two singles in March 2009, "Come Back to Me
" and "Bar-ba-sol
." The video for "Come Back to Me" premiered on American Idol on April 1.
On May 20, 2009, David performed the song "Permanent" on the finale of American Idol Season 8. The song was released as a single with the money from the song and the video of his performance going to charity. The single version of the song is longer than the version on his album.
Musicians
Production
chart with sales of 280,000 copies in the United States
. In the beginning of February, 2009, it was announced that the album had been certified platinum by RIAA for shipment of 1,000,000 copies. The album also broke digital sales records for a debut artist, selling 59,000 electronic copies. The album has sold 1,500,000 copies worldwide.
American Idol (season 7)
The seventh season of American Idol, the annual reality show and singing competition, began on January 15, 2008 and concluded on May 21, 2008. Ryan Seacrest continued to host the show with Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returning as judges...
American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
winner David Cook
David Cook (singer)
David Roland Cook is an American rock singer-songwriter, who rose to fame after winning the seventh season of the reality television show American Idol...
. The album was released on November 18, 2008 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, was certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
and has sold over one million copies in the United States. It has produced two top twenty singles, "Light On
Light On
"Light On" is the first official single released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook. The single has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.-Song information:...
" and "Come Back To Me
Come Back to Me (David Cook song)
"Come Back to Me" is the third official single to be released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook. It was released with "Bar-ba-sol" as a joint double-A single...
". The single "Time of My Life
The Time of My Life (David Cook song)
"The Time of My Life" is the coronation song and the debut single for the winner of the seventh season of American Idol, David Cook.-Background:...
" has also been certified platinum by the RIAA. "Light On
Light On
"Light On" is the first official single released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook. The single has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.-Song information:...
" was certified platinum in January 2010.
Reception
The album's reception has been generally positive. Entertainment WeeklyEntertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
gave the album a positive review saying, "They give David Cook's clutch of bombastic verse-chorus- verse rockers an impressive melodic sheen, one well suited to Cook's husky, expressive vocals. If anything, the series of booming midtempo anthems (most notable among them "Bar-ba-sol" and "Mr. Sensitive") could use a little sandpapering around the edges." Allmusic concurred writing, "He not only is a star thanks to AmIdol, but he's always been ready to do big, happy, crowd-pleasing grunge-pop, as his self-released 2006 debut, Analog Heart, proved. David Cook is remarkably similar to that now-suppressed effort, heavy on crawling, melodic midtempo rockers and power ballads, only given more gloss in its production and writing."
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
said of the album, "Much like his predecessors' quick-turnaround debuts, Cook's is fairly generic, but its rock edge is dirtied up with crunching guitars and the artist's tuneful growl. There are a host of big, anthemic choruses that highlight the power of Cook's voice, namely the soaring "Declaration" and Chris Cornell/Brian Howes-penned "Light On." Elsewhere, Cook exercises his right to rawk with the swaggering, gritty "Bar-ba-sol" and bares his soul alongside a delicate piano and string arrangement on "Permanent." There are some lyrical missteps ("Life on the Moon," which marvels at the titular concept), but as the lone rocker winner of "Idol" to date, Cook stands apart from cookie-cutter pop."
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
gave the album an average review commenting on its lack of "out-of-the-box songwriting". Meanwhile, Ken Barnes of USA Today was also subdued in his review, particularly criticizing the production team and the song choices made on the album. Of it, he wrote, "they did him a disservice ... [Cook] has a more supple, versatile voice than Daughtry, and he demonstrated vastly more musical originality than most Idol finalists, but you’d never know it from this collection of formulaic, tune-averse tracks."
Singles
The first single, "Light OnLight On
"Light On" is the first official single released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook. The single has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.-Song information:...
", was released to U.S. radio on September 30, 2008. The song sold 109,000 digital downloads in its first week of availability, leading to a #17 debut on the Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart. "Light On
Light On
"Light On" is the first official single released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook. The single has been certified Platinum by the RIAA.-Song information:...
" was certified platinum in January 2010.
"The Time of My Life
The Time of My Life (David Cook song)
"The Time of My Life" is the coronation song and the debut single for the winner of the seventh season of American Idol, David Cook.-Background:...
" (his first feature single as the winner of American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
) is also featured as a bonus track on the album.
On February 27, 2009, Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
ran a piece saying that Cook will be releasing not one, but two singles in March 2009, "Come Back to Me
Come Back to Me (David Cook song)
"Come Back to Me" is the third official single to be released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook. It was released with "Bar-ba-sol" as a joint double-A single...
" and "Bar-ba-sol
Bar-ba-sol
"Bar-ba-sol" was the third official single released from American Idol season 7 winner David Cook's major label debut studio album, David Cook...
." The video for "Come Back to Me" premiered on American Idol on April 1.
On May 20, 2009, David performed the song "Permanent" on the finale of American Idol Season 8. The song was released as a single with the money from the song and the video of his performance going to charity. The single version of the song is longer than the version on his album.
Track listing
Personnel
- David Cook - Art Direction, Guitar, Vocals
Musicians
- Paul Bushnell - Bass
- David Campbell - Strings Arrangement
- Rob Cavallo - Additional Guitars, Keyboard, Producer
- Dorian CrozierDorian Crozier- Drummer :A session drummer whose credits include Pink, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, the film Rent, Celine Dion, Backstreet Boys, and David Cook...
- Drums, Programming - Jamie MuhoberacJamie MuhoberacJamie Muhoberac is a session keyboardist with numerous credits, including The All-American Rejects, Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones , Backstreet Boys, Aly & AJ, Bob Dylan, Goo Goo Dolls, Chris Cornell , My Chemical Romance, Paradise Lost, Girlfriend, Carmen Rizzo and Pet Shop Boys...
- Keyboard, Organ, Piano - Tim Pierce - Guitars
- Neal Tiemann - Guitars
Production
- Keith Armstrong - Additional Pro Tools, Assistant Engineer
- Tyler Dragness - Guitar Tech
- Mike Fansano - Drum Tech
- Erwin Gorostiza - Art Direction
- Ted Jensen - Mastering
- Chris Lord - Mixing
- Doug McKean- Engineer
- Chris Feldmann - Art Direction, Design
- Lars Fox - Additional Pro Tools
- Cheryl Jenets - Production Coordination
- Nik Karpen - Additional Pro Tools, Assistant Engineer
- Jamie Neely - Production Assistant
- Frank Ockenfels - Photographer
- Steve Rea - Assitant Engineer
- Steve Salas - Musical Direction
- Emerson Wahl -Studio Assistant
- Seth Waldmann - Assitant Engineer
- Russ Waugh - Studio Assistant
Release history
| Region | Date |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Brazil | |
| United Kingdom | |
| Japan |
Chart performance
The album debuted at the number-three spot on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart with sales of 280,000 copies in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In the beginning of February, 2009, it was announced that the album had been certified platinum by RIAA for shipment of 1,000,000 copies. The album also broke digital sales records for a debut artist, selling 59,000 electronic copies. The album has sold 1,500,000 copies worldwide.
| Chart (2008–2009) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Finnish Albums Chart | 15 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
3 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums | 2 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
11 |
| Year End Charts (2009) | Year End Rank |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
13 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Internet Albums | 9 |
Sales and certifications
| Country | Total sales | Digital sales | Certification |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1,345,000 | 158,000 | Platinum |
| Canada | 50,000 | Gold | |