KHOP 95.1 -- The Morning Paper (Modesto, CA) -- 6/18/08
DJ: Jack and Madden
Ryan Seacrest Voiceover: The winner, by twelve million votes, of American Idol 2008 is: David....Cook
David Cook voiceover: This is amazing, Thank you.
[montage of David Cook songs performed on Idol]
Jack: David, how are ya'?
David: I'm good, how are you?
Jack: We're fantastic, man. He was just on with Leno, Larry King, and now you have your New American Idol, David Cook, inside The Morning Paper. Great to have you man.
David: Aw, thank you so much for havin' me.
Madden: I'm sure you've heard it a million times, but Jack and I actually voted. You were our favorite...
[Jack laughs]
Madden: ...we like...
David: Aw, thank you.
Madden: ...were pushin' for you to win. We were so excited when you did.
David: Aw, thank you very much. Nah I was uh, I was kinda shocked, [laughs] honestly.
Jack: Brother, I had never, ever texted for American Idol ever. And because of my wife, who we'll talk about later, we went crazy on finale night. And brother, you are in as the new American Idol. How does that feel?
David: Oh man, it's, it's, it's a trip. I'm just, I, I, I hope it doesn't set in ever. Like, I've just, I, I've thoroughly enjoyed the last, ya' know, few weeks.
Madden: You seem like the most humble American Idol they've ever had. You're just like, chillin', havin' a good time.
David: Yeah, I mean, why not? I mean, I'm in a position that most people never get the opportunity to be at. So, I, I'm just enjoyin' it, I honestly am. Like, I get, I get to meet cool people. I got to, I got to do Leno, for cryin' out loud.
Jack: No doubt, man. Madden: I knooooow.
David: Yeah
Madden: I so totally saw that. And you rocked it.
David: Oh thank you, yeah. It was uh, I was just tryin' not to be...too bad. So...
[Jack and Madden laugh]
Jack: We've got David Cook, your new American Idol, inside The Morning Paper on KHOP at 95.1 with Jack and Madden. So what has the last couple of weeks been like since you beat out Archuleta a couple of weeks ago?
David: A bit of a whirlwind. I, I, I got to do uh, I got to do the press rounds for about a week in L.A. and New York. It was my first trip to New York, and...and then since then it's just uh, that was just-- I've, I've had a chance to just do some cool things and meet some great people, and...I, I got a couple minutes just to, you know, breathe and, and see family and....just celebrated my older brother's birthday, and actually I'm gettin' to celebrate my little brother's birthday on Monday. He's comin' up to L.A. Uh yeah, it, I mean it-- it's a, it's a good time to be me.
Jack: You know what man? Family, obviously, s-- ah, at least from the show, the vibe that you gave out, is super important to you. Especially the relationship you have with your brothers. I wanna talk about the two different brothers, the first one being, though, the one that you went to the audition with. And you apparently weren't even supposed to sing or audition or anything. And then you ended up doing so, won the whole thing. How did that go that day when you were in line at the auditions?
David: Yeah it was just my little brother Andrew, and uh, he'd wanted to audition for three years or somethin' like that. And, I was like: Ok, I'll go as moral support...
[Jack and Madden laugh]
David: ...ya' know, but I don't wanna audition. Cuz I was-- I was workin' on a record in Tulsa and was just really content, like, doin' what I was doin'. Standin' in line, it's like 5:30 in the morning in Omaha. It's raining, the sun's not up. Producer comes up with a camera, interviews my brother: Why are you the next American Idol? And then turns to me, and I'm like: "Whoa I'm not auditioning." And he goes: "Oh, well you are now."
[Jack laughs]
David: And uh...
Madden: So they didn't think you had any singing background or anything, and they just say "you're going to audition"? David: I guess, yeah. Apparently, the-- I, I mean, cuz at the time I had that weird hair thing goin' on.
[Jack laughs]
David: So I guess they thought...
Madden: Ohhhhhh
David: ...I looked weird enough to make it work.
Madden: OK
Jack: Dude, your hair rocked.
David: Oh man. It was, it was a different beast back then. I...
[Jack and Madden laugh]
David: Uh, so...yeah, so...I, I picked my song in line and...it was weird. I, I never really got...nervous the first few rounds, cuz it was like-- uh, I was like: OK, well if I make it, great. And if I don't, then oh well. So I kinda backed into the whole thing, and my brother's been great. Uh, whereas it would have been so easy for him to kinda take the jealous tone. I asked him after the first round when I made it through and he didn't, I was like: "Do you want me to do this? Because if you don't, I won't."
Jack: Whoa
David: And...
Madden: That's huge.
David: And he goes: "If you--" he goes, "If you don't see this thing through, I'll kick your...
[Jack and Madden laugh]
Madden: Yeah
David: ...expletive."
Madden: Good for him
David: And uh...
Madden: Good for him.
David: My brother was a wrestler in high school, and so I believed him. [Jack and Madden laugh]
Jack: We've got David Cook, your American Idol, inside The Morning Paper on KHOP at 95.1. That show when you brought, uh, your brother up on stage...I was thinking...
David: Mm-hmm
Jack: Oh dude, that's either going to be a shining moment for him, or really sting bad.
David: Yeah, I mean, and he's been very appreciative of me tryin' to push him a little bit. Ya' know, cuz obviously this is somethin' he wanted to do from the start, so...and, and if I'm being honest, I think he's a better singer than I am.
Jack: Wow [laughs]
David: Uh...so...
[Madden laughs]
David: We'll see what happens. I don't know.
Jack: You need to, you need to spot that producer who grabbed you in line, like, a hundred bucks or somethin'.
David: Oh I know, right? Yeah I just uh...take him out to dinner or somethin'.
[Jack laughs]
Madden: I know. I know, I know.
Jack: Hey, does it trip you out that people are like, really interested now about where you eat, who you're dating, like, stuff like that?
David: Yeah, I mean it..it's all been interesting. I, I don't know. I...I'm kinda from the Dave Grohl school, I guess, in that, like, I got into this cuz I wanna write music that, that has some substance to it. And, and all the celebrity stuff, a lot of it's pretty absurd to me. Ya' know, but it, it's also puttin' me in this position where I get to help out and, and uh, and kinda, ya' know, do my part to, to better everybody else. I don't-- ya' know, I'm excited. I think movin' forward, I'm, I'm, I'm tryin' to get involved with some cancer charities, and, ya' know, o-- obviously cancer's somethin' that's very, very close to me. So, uh, ya' know, I'm excited. I, I feel like I'm in a good spot to move forward and, and hopefully uh, promote change a little bit.
Jack: Honestly, is David Cook, like, one of the coolest guys ever?
Madden: I know! [Jack laughs]
Madden: I'm just sitting here, just kinda taking it all in.
David: Aww
Madden: Um, I have a question. Um, I don't think you're gonna be honest with me. But I'm gonna ask it anyway.
Jack: Uh-oh. She's known to do that, man. I'll warn ya' now.
[Madden laughs]
David: That's fair. Alright.
Madden: Um..."Time of Your Life." Does it really seem like your...type of song? How do you feel about having to sing that? That has to be your first single, right?
David: Yeah I, I-- well, I mean I, I, I think it's my single now. I don't know that I necessarily have to put it on the record. But, um...
Madden: OK
David: Uh, ya' know the song is uh....the song is what it is. And I, and I think it's uh, it's, it's a solid, uplifting song. I, I think, I think there's a reason people have gotten behind it the way they have.
Madden: I mean, I think you've pulled it off fabulously. I think you sing it great. But I was just like: It just doesn't seem like something he would choose to do.
David: Honestly, they kinda brought the song to our attention and, and allowed us to make it our own. So, I, I felt like, du-- I feel proud of the song, ya' know, for what it is and what I was able to do with it. I think, I think as far as, ya' know, American Idol finale songs go, I think it, I think it's, it's right up there. So I, I'm actually, I'm OK with it.
Jack: So it wasn't like an Idol hand-me-down. You had some say about it?
David: Yeah, absolutely. I, I, they, they uh, they allowed us to kinda pave our own way a little bit, which was cool.
Jack: Alright. You've got American Idol David Cook inside The Morning Paper on KHOP at 95.1. And man, I gotta be honest, I think we have found...
[Madden laughs]
Jack: ...David Cook's number one fan. And I'm not kiddin' about this. She's right here in the central valley. David: OK
Jack: We're gonna tell you who it is, and get your reaction next. We have just a couple minutes left with David Cook on KHOP.
[break]
Jack: Ok uh, first, before we get to your number one fan, we have to ask: What's the deal with Kimberly Caldwell? Just friends, or more?
David: Um, uh, I'd, I'd say at this stage we're probably more than friends. I mean, we've been hangin' out, and she's been extremely supportive, ya' know, and uh, and great, ya' know, with, with my family and everything. So...yeah, she's uh, very, very cool.
Madden: I've always liked her. I think she's great. I love her.
David: Yeah. She's awesome.
Madden: She's always seemed like one of the coolest ones.
David: Mm-hmm
Jack: Brother, I mean, she's met the fam. That says a lot, right?
Madden: Riiiiight?
David: Oh, well, there you go. Yeah.
[Jack and Madden laugh]
Jack: Alright. Your number one fan...just happens to live in my house. It's my wife.
[Madden laughs]
David: Ahhhh
Madden: She really is, like, your biggest, biggest, biggest fan. [laughs]
Jack: Let me--
David: Aw, that's awesome
Jack: Let me quickly explain. She has no celebrity crushes, she's not into the whole celebrity thing at all, she hardly even watches TV. But for whatever reason, she starts watching Idol this season. She doesn't miss an episode. The first time she saw you on camera, she's like: "That's the guy. He's gonna win it."
David: Oh wow Jack: Way early on. Then when you win...
David: You know what...
Jack: She's like: "See?"
David: ...the sweater vest, huh?
[Madden laughs]
Jack [laughing]: She, she knew, man. She felt it. So I told her, I said "Hey, babe, we're gonna be uh, interviewing David Cook." So after she gets, like, this little giddy schoolgirl smile off of her face, she says: "Please tell him one thing." I'm like: "Ok."
David: Ok. Lay it on.
Jack: We're gonna go to the Fresno Idols tour this summer...
David: Mm-hmm
Jack: And she's like: "Hopefully, your boss can get us backstage. And if he does, please tell David that he has to remember me."
[Madden laughs]
Jack: That's it!
David: OK.
[Jack laughs]
David: What i-- what is her-- what is your wife's name?
Jack: My wife's name is Kristen.
David: Kristen? Ok. I can remember Kristen.
Jack: Alright. Kristen in Fresno. Jack Paper's wife. Your number one fan. Dude, she's...she's giddy for you. It's weird.
Madden: Yeah. It's exciting.
[Jack laughs]
David: I'm on it. I'm ready for it. Bring it on!
Jack: Alright, David Cook inside your Morning Paper on KHOP at 95.1. We're gettin' ready to play his first single, "Time of My Life," which we just talked about.
David: Yeah Jack: Dude, did Michael Johns get ripped-off or what?
David: Uh... [sighs] ya' know, uh, I, I was ah, I was genuinely shocked. And that, that moment on the show, uh, was an epiphany for me. It really was. Cuz it showed me that, you know, you can have a great week -- I mean, Mike had like, three or four great weeks in a row, there.
Jack: Oh my goodness...
Madden: Yeah...
Jack: ...he was rocking it.
Madden: ...he was great.
David: Yeah and, and I mean, you could have a great week and go home, you could have a bad week and stay. And I mean, there's really no rhyme or reason to it. It was just-- people get invested in, you know, us as contestants for a myriad of different reasons. So, yeah, I mean, I still talk to Mike about that. It was just such a trip. Like, I c-- I couldn't wrap my head around it. I don't know that I've, I've been able to yet. There were a couple eliminations this season that kind of threw me off guard a little bit.
Jack: The look on Michael's face...you could tell it was legitimately -- he was like: "Whoa, this is not...
Madden: Yeah
Jack: ...this did not just happen."
Madden: Really? Did that just happen to me?
David: I, I mean Mike...ya' know again, Mike put together some great weeks leadin' up to that. And, and uh, ya' know, he had every reason to believe that he was gonna stick around another week. And so, again uh...that's wh-- kinda what makes the show work, is it's very, very unpredictable.
Jack: We got David Cook inside The Morning Paper on KHOP at 95.1. Hey man, you mentioned your brother, and obviously throughout the show we had heard about him and how he was doing. And I did wanna make one comment, man. The fact that you didn't play that up? I respected you so much for that. Because you could have, and you coulda won a bunch of sympathy votes. But you didn't do it that way. How is your brother doing, man?
David: My brother's good, and, and uh, ya' know, he just celebrated his 37th birthday and, and uh-- oh wait, I'm supposed to say his 24th. I'm sorry.
Jack: Oh. Ok. [Jack and Madden laugh]
David: No, but he's uh...we had a conversation before the show started and, and we both kinda came to this...agreement very easily that, ya' know, for, for me to have success on the show, for it to have any credibility, it needed to be-- I had to, I had to succeed or fail on my own merit. And um, so I mean-- it was just-- yeah I mean it was, it was a planned thing for me not to talk about it. Um, I think just because, ya' know uh, I mean on the surface, it's somethin' where it's like: Ok, I'm on th-- I'm on this huge platform. I can raise awareness for it. Ya' know?
Jack: Mm-hmm
David: But I'm also in this competition. And...ya' know, if I can do well on this, then I'll, then I'll have that platform to, to, to kinda raise awareness, and...and so now to be where I'm at, ya' know, I can't wait to get my feet wet with, with this um, with the-- with these cancer, ya' know, projects that I've, I'm tryin' to get off the ground. And, it's a very, very exciting time and...and uh, ya' know, I'm just glad to be able to kinda do my part to help.
Jack: You know what man, you did it with integrity. And I have to believe...
David: Thank you
Jack: ...that God's blessing you with an even bigger platform now to help out your brother and other people goin' through that situation.
David: Everybody knows somebody who's dealin' with it. And so, to be a part of uh, what, what can hopefully, and, and should be, the eradication of it...I mean I'm, I'm on board.
Jack: Alright, we're wrappin' up our time with American Idol David Cook, inside The Morning Paper on KHOP. We're gettin' ready to play the single. Madden, you got anything?
Madden: I got nothin'. I got everything out...of the way.
[David laughs]
Jack: David man, honestly, you're one of the coolest cats that we've talked to. Obviously...
David: Oh thank you.
Jack: ...just so humble and dude, you got your head on your shoulders. Man, you're gonna have such a big career. We're so fired-up for you.
David: Oh, thank you so much. I, I, I can't wait to kinda get out on the road and say hi to you guys in a proper fashion. Jack: July 1st the big Idols tour begins. And you are comin' through our area. I think we have three different dates. You can go to KHOP.com to check that out. You just have to make sure you remember Mrs. Paper in Fresno.
Madden: Yes [laughs]
David: That's right, that's the way to do it.
[Jack laughs]
Jack: This one's called "Time of My Life," David's first big single. Oh real quick, when's an album comin' out, man?
David: Uh, we're lookin' late October, early November.
Jack: Alright, you heard it. There's a perfect Christmas present to get...
David: There you go.
Jack: ...David Cook's first CD. Here's "Time of My Life," from David Cook, on KHOP.
David: Thank you guys. Thank you for havin' me.
END OF INTERVIEW