The folks over at ONTD_AI apparently disagree with Cook as well:

http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_ai/899577.html

I love their headline: David Cook Smokes Crack, Talks Nonsense. Hee.

What’s irritating about him incessantly repeating this soundbyte (about his perception of his own vocal inferiority compared to some of his fellow contestants) is that whenever he does it, the interviewer alway puts the quote in print. And that feeds into the “undeserved winner”/ “glorified bar singer” assessment that a few media outlets promulgated….

In actuality, in my days in local music scenes I did come across one (and only one) bar/ club singer who smokes Cook vocally. But, that guy would have certainly “made it” by now (he and his former band were getting really close), except for that nasty heroin addiction of his….

30 Seconds to Mars is really good.

Back on Mr. Leto for a second, last night I googled the band to see what they’re up to currently (supposedly a third album is in the works, but Jared is also up for some roles right now). Anyway, apparently the lead singer for Death Cab To Cutie recently singled him out to call out, basically saying he was just an actor and was a poseur as far as music goes.

My initial observation was that when the front guy for Death Cab can sing like Jared Leto then he can talk. (It is amusing to me that the guy who is, in my opinion, one of the best singers in rock is, in fact, an actor). Although, I can see how the “poseur” tag has legitimacy in one sense, because Jared does “overcompensate” as far as how far he goes to effect the rock frontman “image”.

But, my second observation came from reading the comments section. Apparently, a Jared fanboard must have gotten wind of the article because there were five pages of posts denouncing the Death Cab guy’s comment. So it was refreshing to see that it’s not just Idols who have crazy fandoms!

(ETA: If anyone was confused, or cares, much earlier in this thread I mentioned another band whose lead singer I consider to be on the “great” level. And for some reason, I wrote the band’s name down as “Crossblade”. But, their actual name is Crossfade.)

Oh wow, noctem I respect your opinion and like reading your posts, but I disagree with you here. I would put Cook in the ‘good’  category of singer when compared with the guys in Nickelback, Lifehouse (whose voice sounds exactly like Cooks, IMO), and other similar bands. He does have a good voice but I don’t see anything too unique or memorable about it, and it’s certainly not a great voice, IMO.

Actually, if you read my first post in this thread, I said I stop short of calling Cook a “great” singer. Calling somebody “great” is not only relative– it’s relative to context. People might tell the soloist at your local church that she’s “great”.

In my view, the list of truly “great” singers AI has produced is extremely limited: Kelly, Jennifer, Melinda…. after that MAYBE Clay. Adam is on this level too when it comes to technical proficiency, but he loses it for me when it comes to song interpretation and emotional connection, the latter perhaps being an extra-vocal type of ability rather than a purely vocal one.

Now as far as comparing Cook to Chad Kroeger and other “rock vocalists”, try to imagine, as examples, Chad, Austin of Hinder, or– dare I say it– Chris D., pulling off “Music Of The Night”. I rest my case.

(Incidentally, I do agree with you about the national anthem. That was a mess of a performance. However, I don’t think it reflects Cook’s ability to sing a capella overall. He’s done part of Lie a capella on tour, and it was actually kind of chilling….)

Thanks dv. That’s a great setlist. Is it the same one for each concert or is this the full list of songs she sings on her tour and she does a smaller subset from the list (say, 15-17 songs) each night? A Kelly concert sounds like it would be awesome.

thats the full set list for each concert but Kelly may change a song or 2 depending on how shes feeling or crowd reaction.

I love their headline: David Cook Smokes Crack, Talks Nonsense. Hee.

LOL. I could not have phrased it more eloquently.

Ryan serenading David? A classic. I generally don’t pay that much attention to all the bromance stuff, but if I had to pick my favorite pairing it would be David and Ryan because they’re like a comedic act. Ryan constantly “embarasses” David by being slightly over the top and David’s reactions are usually priceless. My favorite would be the pre-Avalanche moment where Ryan sort of killed it for David:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gd2L0KEYJY&NR=1

Did I mention how much I loved All I Really Need Is You? Loved.

LOL, do you know how much I wished I would have downloaded this when I had the chance? It wasn’t my fav. DC at the time, but oy, it was wonderful!

Keel: thanks for the livejournal link. The first poster had a pic. of Kris Allen and said,

I HAVE A KINK FOR MODEST DUDES WHO ARE ACTUALLY REALLY AWESOME

Yep, that’s me!

That’s a cool setlist for Kelly… I’ve never seen her perform live, might have to catch a show one of these days.

http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_ai/899577.html

I love their headline: David Cook Smokes Crack, Talks Nonsense. Hee.

ETA: Thanks dv. That’s a great setlist. Is it the same one for each concert or is this the full list of songs she sings on her tour and she does a smaller subset from the list (say, 15-17 songs) each night? A Kelly concert sounds like it would be awesome.

Intro (You Shook Me All Night Long)
All I Ever Wanted (with Sax/Trombone players)
Miss Independent
I Do Not Hook Up
Some Girls Have All The Luck (“Rod Stewart” Cover)
Don’t Let Me Stop You
Breakaway
If I Can’t Have You
Never Again
Behind These Hazel Eyes (Acoustic)
Walking After Midnight (“Patsy Cline” Cover) (Acoustic)
Cry (New arrangement-> Jill – Guitar, Cory – Violin)
I Want You
Whyyawannabringmedown
Because Of You
Walk Away (with Sax and trombone)
Since U Been Gone
Already Gone
If (“Janet Jackson” Cover)
My Life Would Suck Without You

wellhesback Jul 3rd, 2009 at 11:31 pm

Ok – this is for the David Cook lovers – Ryan Star has been the opening act for Cookie’s tour up to now. Tonight they are playing in Thackerville, OK, & its Star’s last night (I think) as the opener. So he called DC out on stage and sang ‘Time of My Life’  to him. Cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hd7kAGNdhi8

oh – and Cook can’t just sit & listen so he gets up to play the drums. Enjoy.

Wow, thank you wellhesback! lol. These are the moments I know DC will always be my favorite AI!!! For Ryan Star to do this, you have to know that DC has impacted him in such a great way! And I can’t stop smiling. lol. Even though the sound sucked.

smallie, I too appreciate how you (earlier on) distinguished the difference between a great musician and an instrumentalist. DC is not a great guitarist by far (and I honestly think he’d agree), but his vocals and how he interprets a song make him a great musician.

Anoop just tweeted:

#so we tried to work in a short MJ tribute to the end of the show today during rehearsal but it didn’t work out logistically, unfortunately#1 minute ago from web

“Third place is the charm for “Idol” Gokey”
http://www.columbian.com/article/20090703/LIVING11/707039994

Just when I was starting to like Danny, he says this:

But Gokey he suspects he was much closer to winning it all than many people assume. While most observers (not to mention the “Idol” judges) expected Lambert ‘” with his big voice, flashy goth clothes and makeup and his strong stage presence ‘” to win easily, Gokey thinks his main competition was Allen, whose smoother mainstream pop sound and boy-next-door image carried him to the upset win over Lambert.

Had he beaten out Allen to reach the finals, Gokey thinks he might well be wearing the “Idol” crown.

I guess Danny is just being Danny — Instead of realizing that he was lucky to get past his weak performance in Final 7 of “Endless Love” or even more luckier to survive the Final 4 “Sream On” fiasco.

someone above noted that David Cook is in the press a lot – I think that’s because of his tour. That may be self-evident, but I think he (and that hot band) are working very hard, and often hard work will gain rewards.

Definitely, the touring is a big reason for the press he’s still getting. My guess is that he made a lot of friendly press contacts after Idol and during that tour by being good with the press and giving them good interviews. He really seems to be an interviewers dream… open, tells stories, can be funny, etc.

I really love that he still feels like he’s paying his dues, touring with the band, and trying to build his audience,

I finally get to seem him perform live in August for the first time since last year’s Idol tour, and I can’t wait to see the difference in him. I’ve seen a lot on YouTube, but it’s just not the same.

#So I twirked on stage today. Ha And were making some changes on my wardrobe cuz these pants are TIIIIGHT. Ha ha. BG’s would like it though#about 1 hour ago from TwitterFon

Ok, should we worry about possible wardrobe malfunctions during Matt’s set?

I looked up “twirk” on urandictionary.com, and …uh-huh…pretty much what I thought it meant, LOL!

Thanks for bringing over that video of Ryan Star singing TOML – too cute. Ryan opened for David at the show I went to in Radford and he was really awesome, and a super nice guy who spends a ton of time signing autographs and meeting fans. Even my mom liked him, lol. (I also love David’s comment at the end about not having to sing TOML since they already heard it – he’s definitely way, way over that song).

And ‘Til I’m Blue… wow. I love the original, and I LOVE David’s take on it. David, if you’re lurking (hehe)… can I pretty please have that song at Birchmere? And I think I asked nicely before for an acoustic set but I’m not sure you got the message

David didn’t struggle hitting those big notes. The beginning of the song may have been shaking, but the big notes were all there and well done.

Well, IMO he struggled througout the whole thing. I thought it was kind of an uncomfortable performance all around…

If it was, he wouldn’t struggle hitting big notes a cappella like he did when he sang the National Anthem last year.

David didn’t struggle hitting those big notes. The beginning of the song may have been shaking, but the big notes were all there and well done.
David’s main problem was his low register and he has improved a lot there. Btw, he sings a cappella sometimes in his tour and it’s pretty amazing.

Tonight they are playing in Thackerville, OK, & its Star’s last night (I think) as the opener.

Tomorrow is the last night, I think.

The others all had strengths in their own way (Archie had a very sweet, fine voice, Carly had a powerful belter voice), but Cook is an excellent, excellent singer.

The Oregonian article is just one of many pieces in Portland about the upcoming concert that almost completely focus on Adam.

I hope that all 10 are great on Sunday so that there is a bit more balance in the coverage. OK 9 — I just can’t quite root for Sarver because IMVHO he has Alexis’ spot. And I know that Alexis did it to herself by just oversigning.

oh – and Cook can’t just sit & listen so he gets up to play the drums. Enjoy.

But, when you look at all these aspects together along with with vocal versatility, vocal interpretation, phrasing etc., Cook is the best singer overall of the group, in my opinion, not just the best ‘package artist’  (tm Kara). And that’s also why he won.

Oh wow, noctem I respect your opinion and like reading your posts, but I disagree with you here. I would put Cook in the “good” category of singer when compared with the guys in Nickelback, Lifehouse (whose voice sounds exactly like Cooks, IMO), and other similar bands. He does have a good voice but I don’t see anything too unique or memorable about it, and it’s certainly not a great voice, IMO. If it was, he wouldn’t struggle hitting big notes a cappella like he did when he sang the National Anthem last year. I think Cook won the competition because of his re-arrangements, “cool rocker” image, pretty good voice, guitar playing and of course…the cougars :cool_wp:

David is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I would have to respectfully disagree with him, at least as far as the five he mentions here are concerned. Syesha had a bigger range, but a better singer? Not by a longshot. Nor were the others, IMHO. Some (especially David Archuleta) arguably had prettier voices, but I much prefer Cook’s voice, in all its various presentations.

I concur. Syesha has more range. Carly has more power. Archie has more vocal purity/ pristineness (and he has more of this than most singers on the planet). Michael Johns has a better lower register.

But, when you look at all these aspects together along with with vocal versatility, vocal interpretation, phrasing etc., Cook is the best singer overall of the group, in my opinion, not just the best “package artist” (tm Kara). And that’s also why he won.

‘That was the one thing that kept me in it,’  he said. ‘I was not the best singer on the show that season. Carly (Smithson) and Syesha (Mercado) and David (Archuleta) and Brooke (White) and Michael (Johns), they have better voices than I do. They did more with their instruments than I did, but I knew what kind of music I could do, what my niche was, so it was just a matter of catering songs to that.’ 

Very late to the party here, but I just have to say, David is certainly entitled to his opinion, but I would have to respectfully disagree with him, at least as far as the five he mentions here are concerned. Syesha had a bigger range, but a better singer? Not by a longshot. Nor were the others, IMHO. Some (especially David Archuleta) arguably had prettier voices, but I much prefer Cook’s voice, in all its various presentations.

And while he’s certainly not notable as a guitarist, I don’t think he’s a bad one. I do imagine that his early musical training on the violin, even if he never really accomplished anything noteworthy, had to have enhanced his overall musicianship. (Much as I would imagine Kris Allen’s viola playing helped make him a better guitarist and singer.)

The voice is a musical instrument. David Cook was blessed with something that, from my vantage point, has the qualities of an old cello. David Archuleta’s, for me, is more like a flute. Not sure what Adam Lambert’s is (something brass?), but he sure does know how to play it! They’re all lovely instruments, and have their diehhard fans, but I love the tone of David Cook’s voice and how he uses it. As endearing as I find him personally, I don’t think I’d be nearly as interested in him if he didn’t have that voice and he didn’t use it the way that he does.

Maybe it’s me but I totally think that Kelly can pull off a duet with any of the idols because she is so versatile! Something like “Ready” with Kris and “All I Ever Wanted” with Adam.

I consider DC a musician first, but not b/c he’s a particularly good instrumentalist. I think a singer who doesn’t play any instruments can be a musician first and singer second, because being a musician encompasses all the other things that encompasses what DC does with music: the songwriting, the arrangements, the setlists, the performance aspects’ ¦

Good distinction between “musician” and “instrumentalist”. Because if you broaden the definition of “musician” to include composing, lyric writing, arranging, performing, etc.– then, yeah, he’s excellent overall, despite his pedestrian instrumental skills.

So, I see what you mean about seeing himself as a “musician” first above being a simple “singer”– the label “musician” basically encompassing everything he’s been doing in bands since high school that is involved with the creation and performance of music. However, as we’ve all been saying, he still doesn’t give himself nearly enough respect for how good he is at the purely vocal aspect of what he does.

By the way, smallie, I agree with you with regard to your views regarding what makes a musician vs. a good instrumentalist.

lavender1960 Jul 3rd, 2009 at 7:24 pm

Now I have to listen to Jared Leto,I am intrigued.

30 Seconds to Mars is really good.

http://www.oregonlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2009/07/pop_talk_idols_live_buffy_vs_e.html

Sounds like there are still tickets available.