David Cook Performs New Song, “Make Believe” in St. Louis
David Cook performed a brand-new song to a sold-out crowd at the Pageant in St. Louis MO, last night.
The song is called ‘Make Believe”, and you can hear it, via the magic of You Tube, after the jump.
David is currently touring and writing songs for his next album, scheduled to be released sometime next year.
Posted in 
Tags: 74 Responses to “David Cook Performs New Song, “Make Believe” in St. Louis”
Those are some really amazing photos.
Love Make Believe, love how he’s almost shy about it in his introduction, LOL. I wonder if he’ll ever realize just how devoted his fans are? (Wouldn’t want it to go to his head though!) Can’t wait to hear a studio version, or at least a live one with clean audio. Pinkpassion87 has the best one I’ve heard so far.
MP3 from Pinkpassion87’s video for anyone who doesn’t want to sort through the videos at DCO:
http://www.mediafire.com/?4zwwjrn3t22
Here is a newer Make Believe with banter and great audio. Make Believe
I like this song. It’s very catchy and has a nice melody. I still prefer when he sings mainly in a slighty lower register, (I prefer the “Man in the Box”/”Billie Jean”/”til I’m blue” range, to the “Dream Big” range that borders closely on vocal strain), but I think that once they work out the kinks in this song, it will sound even better.
Who said that they wanted a Closer cover? I second that.
So exciting to be getting a sneak peak of new music. And nice for David that he can do a little road testing this time before he heads into the studio. I can’t wait to see what he and the guys are able to do with the experience of the past year under their belts and time to really write and record.
I think this song has a lot of potential. I would agree with those that commented that Make Believe seems like a direct line from AH – thematically, structurally and lyrically. Super catchy chorus, I could see this being a real ear worm on the radio. The verses could use some more work, they meander a bit and lack a certain crispness and focus, both melodically and lyrically (I have the same criticism on several of the AH songs).
Oh, and Rocking Out! Dave is my very favorite Dave, so seeing this direction for the new record makes me a very happy camper indeed.
Needs polish, especially the transition between the chorus and the bridge, but it doesn’t suck (like most of the Cherry Lane songs do). I agree with the comment that he should sing it in a lower register because it sounds like he’s hit the top of his range and is straining.
Should it make the sophomore record? Eh, don’t know about that one. Maybe if it’s one of the weaker tracks. It’s not a single on any format as currently constituted. With some tweaks, HAC would lap it up, but CHR would still stay far away from it in any form that I can conceive of it.
Dave shaved! http://twitpic.com/p6zzq
Okay, the ass grab banter was epic. Good job St. Louis, 20 high fives and only 3 ass grabs (including David’s good friend Bubba). Bwah!
Hey guys calm down, it’s the first time they performed it live, it’s gonna get better, trust me (all his songs do), and testing them live it’s a great way to see the response of the audience and make those tweaks and turns before record it.
But there’s contradiction inside my head, because I really like this song but I would like to see his music done in a much modern way, with interesting melodies, sounds, bridges, etc. They’re so used to the same structure, the same sounds (like in the beggining of the song, it ´s exacly the same sound as Straight Ahead).
Nevertheless I like the direction they’re taking, hopefully we will see harder songs, catchier and faster than in DCTR, please make less mid-tempo songs!
I love him and all his music, wish him the best.
http://www.pjstar.com/entertainment/x1659498237/David-Cook-answers-fans-questions-ahead-of-Civic-Center-show
Q and A with David Cook.
Hey from a lurker. I really like this song – I think its catchy and could be a hit. It doesn’t sound overproduced like some of the songs on his first album. I’m looking forward to his next one, hoping we’ll see more of the raw music like this.
All the comments about the Ed Vedder voice are cracking me up. I love Eddie Vedder!
Hey noctem, you heard the Cherry Lane songs? How? Where? Because all I heard were teeny tiny snippets. I’m jealous. I’m still jonesing for a full length Strange and Beautiful, and the Ed Rolland cowrite.
Anyway, as threatened in the headlines thread, now that I have the lyrics (ish), I’ve been chewing on them and am prepared to lay my overanalyzed mumbo jumbo on ya. Feel free to read and discuss, or not… Ahem….~clears throat~ On the surface, when you first wrap your brain around this song, you think, okay, it’s a dysfunctional relationship song which Dave has done before and does so well. Yet it’s still new and fresh. He’s kinda like the Steven King of dysfunctional relationship songs that way, if eery stories were dysfunctional relationship songs. I imagine he could throw 20 dysfunctional relationship songs at me with a slightly different twist to each and I’d probably relate to all of them for different reasons. Some people just have this ability to pinpoint an aspect of the human condition and write about it in a way that rings true.
So, like, when I compare this song to, say, for example, Honest (my jam), Stitches, and Lie, I get completely different vibes even though they seem like similar subject matter. For me, it comes down to key words that set the tone. We’re Only Honest When We’re Sleeping… Specifically it pants the picture of these people who lie to the outside world (and themselves?) that everything is hunky dory and then they come home to reality, and crawl into their cold bed and dream of being someone else. In general, though, I think it’s kind of about any set of circumstances that find you sleepwalking through life and only being awake when you’re dreaming. It makes me think of facades, really, and fear, and putting yourself out there in all your broken glory rather than painting over the cracks. Stitches…this one is all about the perseverance, intestinal fortitude. Of course, also kinda sounds like a break up song, but isn’t all jaded ennui like Honest. This one is a scrapper, chock full of imagery that suggests being beaten up and bloodied and then just crawling back into the ring and stitching yourself back up and getting back in the fight. Cuz hey, even if you lose, you might also win (I found what I always wanted, as she walked away…) Lie…again, obvs, sounds like people on the verge of breaking up, but this song is gentler, more poignant. It’s a song of acceptance and regret…coming to terms with something that you can’t change even though you’d like things to be different, but not saying it out loud just yet so you have one more night of blissful ignorance.
And Make Believe…well, who uses the term “make believe?” Children, really, right? This one for me is all innocence lost and wishing you could hang on to it. Kind of like the giddy feeling you get when you first fall in love versus the reality when the bloom is off the rose and you wonder, where do we go from here? I think David’s gotta be asking himself that question right now, you know? Okay, so, America fell in love with me on a TV show, and it was like a fairytale ending. Now I have this career and it’s a year and some change later. What happens next? Can I recapture that giddyness and make them fall in love with my new music? Will anyone still give a damn?
Of course, I could be completely full of crap, but it works for me. Also, I’m pretty sure I can submit this lovely bit of bullshittery in lieu of that number one fan application I never got around to filling out.
ohhh good analysis Sunchick. I had the same thought floating around in my head but you articulated it perfectly. It is an innocent perspective. I really like the lyric “in the palm of your hand” I don’t know why I like that imagery? Regarding the vocal strain. I have posted elsewhere that I think his nerves caused him to choke up on his vocals. He has songs in this same range that he sings on tour so this shouldn’t be a problem. I think the strain was due partly to nerves. If he can settle into the song I think it will help that problem. I really like the punchy guitars. A little something different.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/concert/story/365100B8CB50D9858625766B00602A53?OpenDocument
Article about David Cook show.
I agree.
This is a good Cook Article
http://www.freep.com/article/20091112/ENT04/911120306/1035/ENT/5-questions-with-David-Cook-rock-singer-and-guitarist
I was not happy about this one quote though:
Is this the first time he has said that it’s unlikely?
Apparently, I’m going to get my wish according to one of his latest interviews:
I think so, May. Suck it, RCA. Suck it hard.
Awww at this…
And this interview with the Examiner writer slash obvious fangirl is all kinds of interesting. This is my favorite bit…
Dear RCA,
Lay off the reigns a little bit. Please.
Love,
sunchick
I want to write a note too.
Dear Marnie Brodersen of Examiner.com:
You do not “reign in” people or anything else for that matter. You rein in people (and horses for instance). Those are two different words, with two different meanings, and you used the wrong one.
Love,
Someone who is not an internet journalist.
sunchick, your Make Believe read through is teh aweseom
Back to the actual substance of the quote:
No, David, I would not assume the producers know anything about music trends. They are fighting the last war; not being innovative, looking ahead, or thinking outside the box. So, if you want to sound like what was successful in the past, you should allow them free rein. If not, you should rein THEM in not vice versa.
Oh … and from that interview it sounds like Monty Anderson is not going anywhere. I wonder if that means that Phil Marshall has to find a new bass player.
P.S. I meant reins, of course, because reign would be silly. Although if you want to end Ryan Tedder’s Reign of Terror over pop music, I wouldn’t be mad atcha.
Ah shucks Sassy. I swear know the difference between their, they’re, and there, so there’s that. <<<< see? Also, amen to your second post.
Hey, it’s nice to have someone besides your friends tell you that you don’t suck! (tm David Cook)
Completely agree. He over sang it and over performed it, and I would attribute that entirely to nerves, since in the normal course of things this would be right in his comfort zone vocally. It’s got to be a little hard to put something of yourself out there like that for everyone to critique I would think, especially in these oh so kind and gentle internet days. It’s a wonder he has any fingernails left at all.
sunchick much love to your entire post. David Cook has the most awsome fans.
Where do I get my “Free David Cook RCA” t-shirt?
OMG. Whoever showed the picture of DC shaved!! Loved it. I was thinking the other day that I wish he would shave. He looks like a baby, took years off of him.
One thing for sure about Cook is that he never looks back, always forward & he’ll play & play with a song (given time) until he’s 100% happy with it. I love DCTR but I know it was done quickly & I am really looking foward to a progression in his next album & I’ll be the first in line to buy it. Let’s face it, it’s hard not to like David Cook. I think his personality wins people over every single time. He’s just such a nice guy.