» David Cook: You Had Me at "Hello" Options

[TWoP Bayliss]

This is neither a fan club nor a support group, it's a discussion website about television. This thread is about David Cook -- not what's going on with your junk, or lecturing everybody that disagrees with you about how amazing he is. Get a blog. If you are interested in starting a fan club on this thread about how much fun we're all having talking about how great David is, you need to take it somewhere else. This thread is for David. Not for fandom, not for shilling your CafePress merchandise, not for bullying people with different opinions or misusing the FTC/TP or dogpiling on them, not for discussing other boards, and not for fandom grudges. David.

If you want to make a wiki about David, or a list of words that he has once said, go do that. If you want to "squee" and talk about your ovaries, go do that. If you want to wax philosophical about things that have reminded you of David, no matter how strained or ludicrous the connection, or how commonplace those things are, feel free. But do it somewhere else. If your post mentions your age or how silly you feel being so very much in love with David, contains the terms "squee" or "Mavid" or "DC=42," arranges off-board forums, communities, IRL stalking, RPS and shipping, or lists of random crap, reconsider. If your post otherwise attempts to sandbag the thread into a de facto fan forum, you're breaking the rules. Break them in this thread, and you'll be banned from the site. Thanks.

From TWoP Gadget: Just because this thread is in "Old American Idol" and not in the current season -- doesn't mean the rules have changed. This is not a place for a virtual pissing match between fans and non-fans.

This post has been edited by TWoP Gadget: Oct 12, 2008 @ 12:04 pm.

[Madcap Jester]

So I'm going to chime in with Jacob here and ask what the hell is up with the eyeliner? Has Cook been wearing it regularly, or is it just that the commercial's make-up artist needs her eyesight checked?

Seriously, guys, this is a problem that needs to be fixed immediately. Cook was smokin' HOT last season, and now he looks like a transvestite raccoon who's been punched in the face several times.

[waving feather]

Seriously, guys, this is a problem that needs to be fixed immediately. Cook was smokin' HOT last season, and now he looks like a transvestite raccoon who's been punched in the face several times.

BWAH! Yeah, the eyeliner is a bit much, eh? Guess the make-up artist went a little crazy.

Don't worry, he's still incredibly pretty.

This post has been edited by waving feather: Jan 16, 2009 @ 8:08 am.

[Song of Roland]

The guyliner was very amusing during the AI tour, but yeah, it's really not needed for TV and small venue performances.
However, that scene in the 'Dave's year backward' promo where his purty eyes pop open at 'COOK' wouldn't have the same drama without the makeup, IMO.

In other news, here is a critical yet very fair review of the album, from a musician's perspective via Tune Lab magazine:
Tune Lab Review

'D to tha C', heh.

[SybilTrelawney]

The amount of guyliner he wears seems to fluctuate along with the amount of bling. I thought it worked for the commercial. What distracted me more than the guyliner was the eye tattoo on his wrist staring up at me even while his eyes were closed.

I hope there is more David Pimpage next week. It seems to have helped the sales of David's album this week.

Also, would someone please tell the cameramen filming the auditions to use an angle that ensures that the shot of David is visible behind the contestant? I don't need to see Taylor Hicks over and over again.

[StillCookin]

This does not happen everyday... David's album is predicted to have a 58% increase in sales this week and re-enter the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 200. In January sales are down across the board and sliding weekly - other than DC, the rest of the Top 10 all had declines this week.
The reason for this immense bump is obviously Idol related, which does not make it any less exciting IMHO.
A little bit closer to Platinum...

[JustADream]

David's album is predicted to have a 58% increase in sales this week and re-enter the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 200.

Check, and check. The final HDD numbers are in, and he was only one of three (or four) to increase, but his was by far the largest

[Snaphappy]

Go David! His is the Little Album That Could. It just keeps chugging along, doing solidly well, even without a massive radio hit. I calculated that he is at roughly about 895,000 albums sold. Not bad!

This post has been edited by Snaphappy: Jan 20, 2009 @ 9:20 pm.

[LutherMahoney]

Joel McHale started last week's The Soup with "David Cook, your reign of terror is over." With the huge increase in sales, I'm thinking not quite yet, Joel! Good for David, he can almost laugh at those who found his dream of platinum sales laughable.

[two dogs]

Good for David, he can almost laugh at those who found his dream of platinum sales laughable.

Yeah. He is very talented person, singing in the most popular genre in music, fully backed by the Idol machine. On top of all that, he is well-spoken and comes across as a nice guy. If he can't succeed, labels truly are dead. Personally, I would have wished for something less generic from David, but in retrospect, RCA and David probably played their cards exactly right.

[blinkeye]

There isn't a single Idol winner yet who hasn't had their album certified platinum. And when his season ended, Cook was seen as their most commercial male winner in years. He sold almost a million downloads in a single week and many predicted his sales would equal Carrie, Kelly and Daughtry. So I don't think too many people were laughing at the thought that he'd sell a million albums. Which he still hasn't, just to keep it factual.

[superconnected]

Yeah, I'll never understand the logic that because the accomplishment of selling a million albums was expected of him, that somehow diminishes the accomplishment or the future accomplishment itself, but okay.

And if we really want to keep it factual, Taylor Hicks was only certified platinum but did not sell platinum, which is not something I think RCA or anyone wants to see repeated. Actually, I don't think Jordin has sold platinum yet either, though she may get there still (last I heard she was at 900K+). I do remember, though, when Light On was supposedly a huge radio/sales flop (now a gold radio flop still increasing in spins, I suppose) that many people predicted David would go the route of Taylor Hicks.

It's also interesting to see that a good promo team is also something that we can use to take away from a big-selling album. Now, maybe David should've put out a bad album and see how well it sold; I guess that's the true test.

[blinkeye]

I'm not diminishing his achievement. I just don't think there were many doubters that David Cook would be a commercial winner for them. That was the CW when he won the whole thing. It wasn't like the media was predicting doom and gloom after his win. Archie, on the other hand, was seen as someone with little or no chance to make it in the current biz.

But selling one million albums is a terrific accomplishment in this market. And when Cook actually does that, I promise I'll be back to officially congratulate him.

[two dogs]

It's also interesting to see that a good promo team is also something that we can use to take away from a big-selling album. Now, maybe David should've put out a bad album and see how well it sold; I guess that's the true test.

No matter how talented you are, and David is talented, having a ton of well financed industry experience and promotion helps. A. Lot. The true test? How well David was doing before Idol. Before Idol, he was making some pretty good music and doing bar gigs. Add the power and skill of Idol and RCA? Now you have a bona fide hit album with David on his way to being a superstar. Having excellent promo does not diminish David's talent -- it was his talent that helped him win Idol and get RCA truly behind his promotion. But, IMO, I don't see David as just another struggling debut artist who is snatching platinum sales out of obscurity based solely on the strength of his material. Those kind of self-made rags-to-riches stories do happen on occassion and when they do are truly a testament to a new artist's ability to bring something really new and special to the table.

Don't get me wrong. I think David is an appealing artist who put out a solid, enjoyable ablum that is worthy of selling well. I bought the album, am happy for him and am glad to see a good guy come out on top. But, there is no way this would have happened without Idol and the related, massive promotion he got/earned. It doesn't diminish his success, but without a doubt, it does help explain it. That really is the lure of the whole show.

This post has been edited by two dogs: Jan 21, 2009 @ 5:39 pm.

[howmanywords]

The pimping last week was a bit much but his increase this week and overall sales are still really impressive to me. Blake had a performance spot last year and Break Anotha was used at one point in one of their montages and he barely saw any sort of gain. You can flash something in peoples faces but they have to want to buy it, especially given how terrible the economy is right now. Obviously judging by the amount of votes he got back in May he must have had a lot of fans. AI was smart. Any that may have forgot about him were given a reminder.

And if we really want to keep it factual, Taylor Hicks was only certified platinum but did not sell platinum, which is not something I think RCA or anyone wants to see repeated.

Taylor is probably the only winner who got virtually zero radioplay..that couldn't have helped his sales. I don't really follow airplay stats so I don't know if Light On is seen as a flop but here in NY I hear both that and TOML a lot on multiple stations. Even the almighty Z100 I've always heard him on. They're normally a tough nut to crack.

This post has been edited by howmanywords: Jan 21, 2009 @ 9:32 pm.

[Rehabno]

You can flash something in peoples faces but they have to want to buy it

Thanks for putting that in perspective. I've always been a little wary of the pimpage and might have snarked, but I do remember seeing Blake last year perform and I thought he was terrible. I don't know if that had anything to do with his performance or not since I am not a fan. But if there is a demand people will buy if not goodbye.