This is pretty impressive. David Cook is set to appear on Saturday Night Live November 1. This is the Saturday before the presidential election, so count on the ratings to be HUGE for this particular show.
This is a very big get for the Cook camp. Congrats to all involved!
There was some chatter in comments about the history of Idols appearing on SNL. Lady Madonna was kind enough to check out the SNL archives, and this is what she found:
Clay Aiken: 02.12.04 (’Invisible’ and ‘The Way’)
Kelly Clarkson: 02.12.05 (SUBG and ‘Breakaway’)
Carrie Underwood: 03.24.07 (’Before He Cheats’ and ‘Wasted’) and 02.23.08 (’All American Girl’ and ‘Flat on the Floor’)
David Cook’s appearance on Saturday Night Live will mark the earliest appearance post win/finale for any Idol who has appeared on the show.
delted
I am so beyond excited about this! This is fricking HUGE!
*dance of joy*
Well, it’s not aired in northern Europe…or at least in Denmark.
Guess that’s what youtube (and Mj’s is for) Can get the hook up either place!
Still cannot believe it…boyfirend is gonna be on SNL!
Can’t wait to see the band! Rehearse boys! Rehearse!
Wow! This is very big for David C. SNL is THE show for any musician to get on. And they do not have very many AI winners/contestants on the show. That is sooooo excellent for David!
“Well if the album tanks, no one can fault RCA for their poor promotion. This is a big coup.”
I agree with you. RCA is definitely doing their part.
Hmmmm, do I or do I not avail myself of a vacation day to try to go get in on standby? That can be my birfday present to myself, but I’ll only have been in my new position for 2 weeks. Buggerrrrrrrr.
I think Cook will do well on SNL. He seemed a natural on stage during the Idols Live tour and he is at heart a theater geek, so if the writing is there (a big IF with SNL these days) then he should shine.
I knew that was at least one musician/group that did a skit. It was Aerosmith during Wayne’s World. Pretty funny.
Musical acts who have skitted…Madonna cameo’d in Coffee Talk. Sting, Paul Simon….Adam Levine I mentioned previously. (Huge SNL junkie here doing some wishful thinking.)
I would love to see him in a skit. He would be perfect for any election spoof, or even the cougar den (not sure if I want to see that though).
Even one song would be great, so it’s all good. :)
jpfan
I don’t believe that there is a chance in Hell that this album will “tank”. David Cook has a huge following from AI, the voting showed that, and whether we (AI fans) liked it or not TOML earned him many more with it’s significant air play during the Olympics and it’s steady hold on the charts. I really belive RCA knows exactly what they are doing concerning the promotion of his new album. Being that he is going to be on SNL they are obviously targeting a completely different demographics than DA and shooting for the more mature audience.
I agree, Autumn. I have complete faith that the album is going to sell quite well.
I don’t think it’s a given that his album won’t “tank” (same goes for little David). I hope it doesn’t, but I remain “cautiously optimistic”. You just never know who will catch on once the competition ends, and it takes more than a large, loyal AI fanbase to carry your single or album sales.
If I’ve learned anything from past seasons (especially season six), it’s that there are very few “sure things” when it comes to post-Idol success.
I don’t expect the album to tank but it’s happened before to winners of Idol, so it can always happen again.
Winning Idol with millions of votes is not a guarantee that you’ll sell millions of albums. And how a coronation single does isn’t the best indicator of success either. Carrie’s did just okay, for example. But in the past, RCA has been blamed for their poor promotion and lack of support. This will def not be the problem here. Big names working on the album and the video plus huge TV exposure shows RCA is behind this 1000%.
Personally I believe Cook is probably the most talented AI contestant to date with the highest chance of success beyond the AI bubble.
I’ve been at this (following AI closely) since Season 3, and believe me, I have found this to be absolutely true.
No matter how many times people in this thread tell me that I’m wrong and that SNL musical guests always perform twice, I’m not wrong. I have seen lots of episodes where they only sang once. It seems to be related to how many songs the artist has out and also how high-profile he/ she is. It goes like this– if the guest is doing two songs, then expect them to come out first around 12:10 and then again about 12:45. If you don’t see them until closer to 12:30, then they’re only going to be onstage once. So pay attention to what time Affleck says “Ladies and Gentlemen, David Cook!”
No, you’re not wrong. Off the top of my head, I can think of two examples of the musical guest performing once (I was at the dress rehearsal for the former; I don’t recall him rehearsing a second song because I recall being surprised that he didn’t). It doesn’t happen often, but it does happen.
If post Idol sucess is selling lots of records then some have not done as well, but most have reach some element of sucess and are still making a good living doing personal appearances, Broadway, concerts etc. Selling multi platinum isn’t the only measure of sucess IMO.
Recording artists make their income by touring, concert merchandise and endorsements (and Broadway, TV and movies).
They can sell millions of albums and singles but still come out either broke or owing the label.
The record industry hypes and rewards big sales because its to their bottom line to do so. For the artist the music is a tool to attract concert audiences. If you buy the albums and singles but don’t attend the concerts, plays and events, they will be back tending bar or selling used car parts soon enough.
Coming back out of lurkdom to do the Snoopy dance over Cook being on SNL. (With Affleck as the host? Two great tastes that taste great together, IMO. I’d kill to see these two in a “Dueling Toupees” sketch.) He’s been so smart about playing the media game, it’s fascinating to watch.
I agree; I remember this being really common in the mid aughts (while I was enjoying phosphates at the local soda shoppe
), which seemed even more stacked than usual with half-hit wonders as musical guests. Pray that Cook doesn’t add to that pile!
Agreed. I think, if anything, the lackluster radio performance and subsequent falling sales of LO (it really sucks to start off with no major markets on board) are an indication that the album will tank. That doesn’t mean that SNL won’t be hella awesome to watch. There is no doubt that this appearance is quite a coup for the Cook camp, but…. TV appearances only boost sales temporarily. Consistent airplay presence is what keeps sales consistent, and this is where the problem lies with LO. Whether that is RCA or not, I don’t know. But if LO can’t get the airplay, they need to whip out a single that can in order to sell singles and albums in the long term. Maybe RCA needs to take some lessons from Jive on how to make songs that mixture of generic and catchy that guarantees radio play.
Maybe MJ or Kirsten knows the answer to this question,
Do the record sales in Europe count towards the tally? As I mentioned before, amazon.uk now has DC’s record up for pre-order.
David is a natural on stage given his theater background..SNL would squander a great opportunity to use DC this way.
I just hope that if DC does a skit that it doesn’t revolve around “cougar” ANYTHING! I postiviely HATE that reference in relationship to describing DC’s fan base.
RCA is doing their job in promoting DC and getting him outside of the AI bubble.
When one reads about him in Rollingstone, Blender and EW-especially Rollingstone as they play down the AI shit- one cannot help feeling so optimistic to a fault…
His record will do well…no doubt. He has a built in “starter” fanbase which will only increase with the incredible PR in the works.
DC on SNL after only five months. Well damn.
Huh. Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, and San Diego aren’t major markets? Damn. That’s not only bad news for DC, but bad news for Chicago, Boston, Atlanta, and San Diego. LO is currently #45 on the HAC chart, going up a couple of spots a day. After its 11 Top 40 adds on Tuesday, it has started going up in spins on Top 40 again. So, the hitpredictor assessment that LO will be a success on radio in both formats is starting to come true. As he performs the show in public and there is more radio and TV presence, it seems likely that LO sales will go up, although I still don’t think that singles sales are RCA’s highest priority here—record sales are.
In the meantime, there is plenty of evidence that DC will sell a lot of records, regardless of how many sales LO gets. Evidence of preorders. The excellent pre-review in Rolling Stone. The SNL appearance. All of this shows a good sign that the Record will be a success. So, the prediction that the unreleased “album will “ank” seems to me to be utterly unsupported and likely incorrect.
I hope the day never comes that David tailors his writing in order to guarantee radio play. I have faith it won’t. His writing, and his integrity in doing what he feels is right as an artist, is part of why I am a fan. I also believe strongly that the album will do well as the extent of his talent becomes apparent to more people. Those people who only saw his singing/playing/rearranging talents on the show are in for a surprise when they see him perform songs he has written without the constraints of AI. Seeing him perform on tour, you were made aware that we were only getting a small indicator of his performing abilities on the show. Most of the world has yet to see that or the songwriting. I can’t believe that those of us who were bowled over by these things are that unusual.
Aiyi, please no. That would be the very definition of “selling out” to me, if he turns his back on his own music and cranks out prefabricated junk just to sell units for the label. He may sell like gangbusters, but what’s the point?
Please Lord no!!!! I hope he NEVER EVER sells out to that degree.
I’d rather he have a smallih cult following for his music than the eventual goal be to mass produce in order to sell.
Oh hell no.
Oh, happiness!!!
Thanks. I needed this.
Heh, Gwendolyn.
Layla said:
I’m with you Layla, but if (and that’s a really big IF) little Davey Cook is lucky enough to get to do a skit on SNL on November 1st, the chances are going to be very high that he will be guest starring in another installment of The Cougar Den. I think it would be very, very, VERY difficult for the cast of SNL to resist that glorious synergy given that David is well known for being Cougar Prey. (Damn you, Cougars4Cook sign lady!!) So, sorry about that, Layla. You may just have to change the channel during the skit.