David Cook’s ‘Time of My Life” Wins Song Of The Year at the Nashville Music Awards
Hooray magic rainbow!
David Cook’s winners single, “The Time of My Life” nabbed Song of the Year at the Nashville Music Awards last night, according to CMT.com.
Read about it HERE.
The announcement was made at an event at the Cannery ballroom near Nashville’s music row.
Debuting at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in May 2008, “The Time of My Life” has sold more than 1M downloads. The song peaked at #1 on the Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, and remained there for 11 weeks. “The Time of My Life” was used during the 2008 Summer Olympics games. A few months later, David performed it on Oprah Winfrey’s 2008 premiere, honoring the Olympic gold medalists.
Songwriter Regie Hamm entered the song “Time Of My Life” to the Season 7 songwriters contest at the encouragement of his wife Yolanda. After the song was played during the 2008 Winter Olympics in China, Hamm wrote a blog about how the challenges his family faced after adopting a special needs child from China inspired him to write “The Time of My Life”.
A big congratulations to both David Cook and Regie Hamm…
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I don’t think this is the best song of the year at all, but this is far from being a terrible song. Also, this has already won an award for best song and fans didn’t vote for that. It’s really not hard to believe, after all the success this song has had, that maybe there are many people out there who love it and aren’t hardcore David fans.
I actually think David’s album has songs for the TOML audience. Lie, Avalanche, Permanent, I Did It For You, CBTM… I don’t think they would be much of a shock to those who like TOML.
They have played it once in the US tour, I thought they were going to add it now and then, especially play it in those fairs. But has never happened after that one time.
So true, and since the single sold over a million copies, and is still getting radio play, the win can’t be dismissed as merely “fan spam”, not in this particular case. I’m the first to dismiss polls that are spammed by fans, but I think this song has a wide audience.
*nods* The tour was a nice statement making tool for the band. It sucks, though, that they almost had to do that to counteract the choices RCA made in releasing and promoting singles. While I’m like 100% posi in my own delusional world that Declaration was the best choice for the lead off single from a thematic tone setting, radio ready predicting, and statement making POV, I’ve always liked LO. Not a bad start- the lyrics are devoid of magical sparkly things, it’s a decent power ballad, had some grit to it, some nice guitar work, a tie in with Cornell, and an opportunity for a great rock vocal by DC, yada yada. It’s the one two punch of LO followed by CBTM as the sole releases from the record (and technically one two three if you include Rainbowz, although I still think after 8 seasons most people realize that there’s a coronation tune foisted upon AI winners unwillingly, at least in a tangental pop culture awareness way even if they don’t watch) that didn’t make the boys’ jobs easier, you know? A cumulative thing. Most rock bands play a ballad or three, so I’m not anti-ballad as a single per se (flove Avalanche myself.) I’m also not really concerned about people who might assume, based on Cook’s time on AI where there was a mix of plugged in and acoustic performances alike to clue them in, that Cook wouldn’t mix up his set lists with harder stuff and ballads. But to the people who have only ever heard the radio singles, LO plus CBTM does not give them an adequate representation of the record, or David’s songwriting efforts, or the concert experience, or…aaRRRrrrGGGggg. Yeah, THAT again. Been there, said that. Bring on record numero dos and further evolution.
I always lurrrved it, tho I realize that David hasn’t. I agree: double-edged sword. It’s what people (who were not inside the Idol bubble) thought this is what Cook’s music sounded like. HOWEVER, if they have listened to other songs (tho, granted, LO and CBTM kind of suck), they realize he is a lot more diverse than this. And ToML gets spins constantly; in fact, mix in Boston, an HWC station, plays ToML, LO, and CBTM quite frequently, but I would guess that ToML gets more airplay. I do not expect to hear it tomorrow night (sad), but I still love the song. And I voted for it, despite having to go through three pages of artists/ songs I do not know.
Kudos to Cook!
P.S. Please, compared to NoBo and This Is My Now, this is the best song ever written.
ETA: lurchcat, me, too! And I fault RCA for releasing LO/CBTM so many months apart, and not picking either a more upbeat song (Declaration) or a prettier song (Lie). I wonder if Cook got any say in the matter…
Yeah, that’s the frustrating thing to me… I mean, people clearly like those songs and the shows I’ve been to people know every word and sing along with them both. But in my small little sampling
the lady who sat beside me in Radford *clearly* was not expecting what she got from David at that show but man, when he did Light On? Big grin, singing, happy swaybot lady appeared! The two ladies in front of me looked perplexed by the whole thing and asked “Isn’t he going to play Always Be My Baby?” Now, I wish he *would* do that acoustic now and then because it’s purty but… I think he’s definitely had to go out and lay down what he wants to be and I’m sure some of the Idol fans have been lost in the process, especially ones who hadn’t heard any of his previous work to get a better idea of who he is musically.
And MJ, I agree, people outside the Idol bubble don’t know that coronation songs are generally throw-away crap, so he definitely is identified with the song in a lot of cases (and for a coronation song this one is REALLY good, lol).
I just watched the finale video again yesterday and I love his smile right before he has to say “magic rainbows.” Hee.
Heh, maybe you would have liked it better if Archie had sung it?
I’m a self-admitted *huge* Cook fan, but I didn’t even know there was a poll, so, no, I don’t think this one was spammed by Idol fans.
The song itself is kinda cheesy, but it hits all the right sentimental notes, and David’s interpretation, for whatever reason, transformed it into something that resonated with a lot of folks. My favorite Magic Rainbow Moment (aside from David’s performance at the finale) was when they played the entire song at Citizen’s Bank Park during the World Series last year. (Yes, thanks for asking: The Phils are defending their title this year!)
I know someone who has this has her ringtone and she never watched one single episode of AI. This song went way, way beyond being simply a coronation song. In NYC alone, the biggest radio market it reached a point you couldn’t turn on a radio station without hearing it because all the huge stations here played it to death (and still play it a lot). Z100 even played it for a good 3 months. So for many this was not an American Idol winners song.
This is one of the saving graces of ToML’s success. The AI voters, and David Cook’s performance, really helped to resurrect a career that had stumbled because of some unfortunate developments in Regie Hamm’s family’s life. Sure, AI was largely responsible for selecting the song, but I still think that it would not have been as popular had Archie sung it because the interpretation needed a harder edge to sell it mainstream.
I thought I read that David had no say on what singles would be released. That’s what really sticks in my craw. They had this proven songwriter, who had won a regional award for his self-produced, self-written CD and they STILL wouldn’t promote HIS material and give him the courtesy of even releasing and promoting ‘“ promoting is the important part ‘“ just ONE of the songs he wrote or co-wrote. I will never believe there wasn’t an agenda there. It’s been almost a year and only two singles. It will never make any sense to me.
Not every idol success is because of Idols spamming polls. I actually doubt Cook fans had a lot to do with the success of this song. The reason it did so well is because people outside of idol embraced it and radio loved it. A lot of Cook fans were never crazy about the song and never did that much to promote it. I think people outside of Idol liked it more because they don’t associate it with a cheesy coronation song and they don’t realize that it’s completely against Cook’s style. I never liked to watch Cook perform it live because there was such a huge disconnect between the artist and the song. However, when I listen to it on radio, it sounds like a decent song (and the voice is a standout). Perphaps if I knew nothing about the singer, I might see it differently. It was really gorgeous as a background to the Olympics montage and I actually thought it sounded beautiful when the kids sang it in All My Children. It’s also a perfect montage song for lots of events.
All I can say is that some not-so-great songs just strike a chord with people and this is one of them. Lesser songs have won bigger awards so it’s all good IMO.
ETA: I can’t imagine David having a say in the release of CBTM…in fact I still don’t know how they got him to even agree to have it on the album. It’s a pretty song, but very boring (unless it’s live and David does the singalong). I’m not sure how he felt about LO. I think it’s a very good song, mainly because of his singing and I think the video is well done. However, there is always something off whenever they perform it live (except for the time he did it acoustic). The band just never kills it the way they do with the other songs on the album, which makes me think that it might not have been his choice either. If Cook likes a song, he always brings out the best in it when he performs it live.
I was raised in the Philadelphia environs and was a big fan of the Phillies, but I’ve since moved elsewhere and now root for another team. However, much of my family is still back in the Philly area and are HUGE Phillies’ fans. It’s neat to see this confluence of favorites, sports and music.
1) TOML has sold more than 1,210,000 downloads
2) was played in various (popular) american tv shows like ”Opra”, Dancing With The Stars” and ”SYTYCD”and more.
3) and radio station are STILL playing it
i would like to say ,as a cook fan, i had nothing to do with it winning this award, and that I don’t even like the @*&%$$ song!
so would ppl like fearbear plz lay off the”EWW THIS SONG STINKS LIKE HOW COULD IT WIN AN AWARD LIKE, IZ ALL B/C HIS FANZ SPAMMING THAT VOTING SITE LIKE.”
thank u.
Congrats to Reggie and David!! I happen to love this song. Its
about time Reggie got a little more recognition. Every song has a
time and a place just like everything else. Some days I like to dance
and somedays I like t chill. This song is for a chill day. David did
excellent singing this song and Reggie wrote a winner of a song.
When I hear this song it always reminds me of Davids moment in
time. It was his winning moment and the beginning of a new
career.
It’s an opinion, I think I’m allowed to have one? I mean, unless you can prove without a shadow of a doubt that his fans didn’t spam the poll, then go ahead. PS: The song still stinks. Thank you too.
Well that’s really nice that you think that, but I still think differently.
I did vote. He had posted on his facebook/twitter that it was nominated and gave the link to vote (but warned you had to vote in every cat.)
I love ToML- but like “Lie to Me” more. I know they won’t release it, because another ballad in 6/8 is too similar to ToML- but I think of the people who don’t love his rock show (I’ve been 2xs in DelMar and Antelope Valley- and he’s HOT in concert)- Lie to Me and Permanent would be the type of song they would like (people like my 62 year old pretty-hip mom who was heartbroken when he didn’t play ToML at DelMar). I think Lie to Me is beautiful- and would have a long radio life- and he wrote it!
As far as coronation songs go- it’s one of the best (magic rainbows and backstory and all). I still can listen to AMLT and ToML, but sorry to Reuben, Carrie, Fantasia, Taylor, Jordin, and Kris- I don’t listen to theirs anymore. And a smile still comes across my face every time I hear :Invisible- but too bad Clay didn’t put out more commercially viable records.
And I still smile everytime I hear ToML on a tv show- like I think they played it on the finale of America’s Got Talent… and the Olympics… that song reminds me of why I love Cookie- and I hope he finds his audience with his writing voice (as well as his singing voice).
As a song to represent many moments in time for many different people, “Time of My Life” is accumulating quite a back story. In terms of who likes or doesn’t like the song, it appears to have stepped outside the AI Bubble, and moved on.
I ran across this early in January, a commemoration of a different occasion.
I wasn’t sure what The Magic Rainbow was doing here, or where ‘here’ was, but it appeared to be having a very good time.
http://sports.cctv.com/20090105/109951.shtml
I’ve since been told that it looks like clips from the World Soccer Cup on a Chinese website…go figure.
somewhere in maine….Kara is ripping out her hair extensions
Are all the Nashville Awards voted on or just this one? This is a cheesy Idol coronation single to me but it made a splash a year ago. This was Cook’s biggest hit and probably the one most people identify with him.
A lot of the Nashville Award part of it is doubtless due to the fact that these awards are geared to the music biz community in Nashville, and Reggie Hamm, as a long time songwriter who lives there and has been up and down and worked the biz a long time, is the sort of guy who represents many in that town.
The song becoming a hit, IMHO, is all Cook, but since it has been such a hit, provides a feel good chance to recognize its writer.
those idol fans ! etc etc etc
Since Cook sold both 1.2 mil of TOML as a single and 1.2 mil of his album, either the Idol “bubble” is huge or he’s got a lot of fans outside it. Either way, he’s good.*
* in fact, the great big airplay, and the featuring on Oprah, ESPN, Olympics etc logically reached an audience quite beyond the show. But if one NEEDS to believe that secretly it’s all! not! fair!, then the real culprit for the song’s status is the two million consumers who made the dude a hit, not this one award vote.
Anyway, I kind of love that one line “watch all the bitterness buuuuurn!”
In general Idol fans are terrific at voting. But maybe Reggie Hamm has a huge base of fans who also vote like crazy. It’s possible. I’m just surprised one of Taylor Swift’s songs didn’t win (unless she wasn’t nominated or was not eligible)..
Also, Fans did not nominate the songs, some local music scene folks did.
Kings of Leon won big time as well. So did Taylor Swift. So did Jars of Clay, a Christian act, and Elvis Costello, for a cross over album, and a host of special categories like bluegrass, and Jack White and The Raconteurs and Erin McCarley. The theme seems to be that they wanted to highlight how Nashville is homebase for so many types of acts and songwriters in addition to country, bluegrass and gospel. I think it’s neat.
; )
LOL!
Cookie really sells this song, magic rainbows and all! Congrats!
Wasn’t LO an equal hit? TOML was an AC hit, LO was a HAC hit, and both sold platinum. So … just saying. Also, as for what he’s most identified with, TOML or LO/CBTM, that possibly depends if you listen to AC or HAC.
What does Archie have to do with it? This song stinks, that is all. I don’t know why you feel the need to bring up Archie in this discussion that does not concern him in any way, hmm.
Cook sells this song. Without his voice, his passion, it wouldn’t have been a hit. I was in the dentist’s chair & that song came on. I made a comment that I wish the station would play his other two singles. The dental hygenist said she loved that song and she didn’t watch American Idol. A lot of people use that song at graduations, weddings, you name it.
I voted on VH1 for David’s videos but I never voted on this either. The fact remains that this single broke records & it wasn’t just because Regie wrote it.
I don’t care what anyone says about this song, I actually like it. In fact, I’ve been putting it on “repeat” on my CD player. You can have a song written by a famous person but if the right person isn’t singing the song–it goes nowhere. So they can praise Regie as much as they want but Cook made this song what it is.