On June 28, 2011, Cook released his second major-label studio album, entitled "This Loud Morning". Produced by Matt Serletic, the album consists of 14 tracks penned by Cook along with co-writers David Hodges, Ryan Tedder, Kevin Griffin and Marti Frederiksen, among others. The album title comes from a line in the song “Rapid Eye Movement” – “Give me one more quiet night, before this loud morning gets it right, and does me in.”
On May 10, 2012, Cook debuted a new, independently released single, The Last Song I’ll Write for You, on American Idol. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Cook denied this was written with his former record company in mind, despite the fact it was his first new song after losing his recording contract with RCA. He insisted it was a break-up song that came together very quickly.
Early Music Career: David Cook formed a band with his friend Bobby Kerr while at high school. The band was initially named Red Eye, later Axium. He wrote his first song titled “Red Hot” when he was fifteen. He was encouraged by Evan Sula-Goff of 8stops7 to make an album when he went to Cook’s school to judge a contest, Mr. Jaguar, where David Cook and his band performed Guns N’ Roses’ “Paradise City”. The band had some success when one of their songs, “Hold”, was selected to be played in movie theaters across the country, and they were named one of the top 15 independent bands in the country by “Got Milk?” contest as well as the best Kansas City band in 2004.
Axium however broke up in 2006 and David Cook moved to Tulsa where he joined Midwest Kings, a band he once opened for. Members of that band Andy Skib and Neal Tiemann later became part of David Cook’s post-Idol band The Anthemic. He recorded and self-released a solo album Analog Heart in 2006, which sold well regionally.He worked as a bartender prior to appearing on Idol.
In 2006, after obtaining a degree in graphic arts, Cook had to decide whether he wanted to be a musician or a graphic designer. “I gave myself every opportunity not to do music,” he says, “but it was always there. I couldn’t ignore it.” He moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma, and was in the early stages of recording his second album when his younger brother Andrew asked Cook to accompany him to Omaha and lend moral support while he tried out for American Idol. Andrew didn’t make the cut, but he encouraged a very reluctant David to try out. After Cook made it through the early auditions, he reportedly told his brother he’d drop out if Andrew didn’t want him to go through with it. “He threatened to beat my ass if I didn’t, so it’s entirely his fault that all this happened to me,” Cook says with a smile.
One week after being declared the winner with a record-breaking 56 percent of the nearly 100 million votes cast, Cook rewrote chart history when 11 of his songs debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart — the highest number of new entries in a single week by an artist since the Beatles in 1964. Topping the list was “The Time of My Life,” which debuted at No. 3, making it the highest new entry on the Hot 100 of 2008.
Cook’s self-titled major-label debut was released on November 18, 2008. His debut album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association for America (RIAA) for sales exceeding one-million units in January 2009.
In January 2009, Cook announced he would be embarking on a national tour in February. The Declaration Tour began on February 13, 2009 in Tallahassee, Florida, and was originally set to end in Tulsa, Oklahoma on April 25, 2009. Due to strong ticket sales, the tour was extended several times, finally wrapping up on December 1, 2009 at The Fillmore in Charlotte, North Carolina, after 154 concerts in the U.S. and Canada. During 2009 Cook also took his show overseas to the Philippines, and performed for troops in Iraq with the USO.
On April 30, 2013, Cook released a new single, “Laying Me Low”, through XIX Recordings, the record label of American Idol creator Simon Fuller. The song was written by David Cook, Chris Reardon, and Andy Waldeck.
Dream Big
David Cook Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I swore that I would change the world when I grew up.
Nothing else would be enough
Back then it all seemed black and white
But these days I just cant seem to find the child in me
Who always believed
We settled for safe
And lose ourselves along the way
Coz if u dont dream big whats the use of dreaming.
If u dont have faith theres nothing worth believing.
It takes one look to make the stars worth reaching for.
Took a well perfected plan
For me to finally understand
But its not me
Faith is something I can see
I lose the reigns and let them go
I broke the chain of fear
That had their hold on me too long
When all I felt was wrong
Ive wiped my tears away now its time for a change
No I cant waste another day
Coz if u dont dream big whats the use of dreaming.
If u dont have faith theres nothing worth believing.
It takes one look to make the stars worth reaching for.
So reach out, for something more
The song "Dream Big" by David Cook portrays the experiences and struggles of growing up and learning to rekindle the spark of hope, faith, and ambition within oneself. In the opening lines, we hear the younger version of himself vowing to do wonders when he grows up by transforming the world, which seemed straightforward back then without any nuances. However, as he grows older, he realizes that the world is more complex than he thought, and he struggles to find the child within him, who still had the audacity to dream big.
The lyrics delve into how we often settle for what seems safe and comfortable, but in doing so, we forget to pursue our dreams and goals. The song reminds listeners that if we don't dream big, there is no point in dreaming at all. It talks about how faith is an essential ingredient in making one's dreams come true and how just one glimpse of the possibilities ahead can be enough motivation to reach for the stars. The song highlights redemption and the importance of taking control of one's life and breaking free from the chains of fear, all for the sake of chasing bigger dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was a little boy
When I was a child
I swore that I would change the world when I grew up.
I promised myself that I would make a difference in the world when I became an adult.
Nothing else would be enough
I knew that just being ordinary was not going to be sufficient.
Back then it all seemed black and white
I thought things were simple and straightforward when I was younger.
But these days I just cant seem to find the child in me
As I've grown older, I've lost that sense of childlike wonder and optimism.
Who always believed
Which used to be such a big part of who I was.
I see it everyday
I witness it constantly.
We settled for safe
We've started to accept only what's comfortable and familiar.
And lose ourselves along the way
But that has led us to become disconnected from who we really are.
Coz if u dont dream big whats the use of dreaming.
Because dreaming small defeats the purpose of dreaming at all.
If u dont have faith theres nothing worth believing.
Without faith, there's nothing worth putting your trust in.
It takes one look to make the stars worth reaching for.
All it takes is a single glance to remind us of what's truly worth aspiring towards.
Took a well perfected plan
It took a carefully thought-out strategy
For me to finally understand
For me to come to a realization
But its not me
But it's not about me.
Faith is something I can see
I can perceive faith in action, even if it's not directly visible or tangible.
I lose the reigns and let them go
I stop trying to control everything and let things happen as they may.
I broke the chain of fear
I refused to let fearconstrain me any longer.
That had their hold on me too long
Which had been limiting me for far too many years.
When all I felt was wrong
When everything seemed to be going awry.
Ive wiped my tears away now its time for a change
I've moved past my sadness and am now ready for a transformation.
No I cant waste another day
I'm not willing to squander any more time.
So reach out, for something more
So we must reach upwards, towards something greater.
Contributed by William V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
jenriquec
This song should have been on his album, it's amazing.
cougar40n
An under-rated performance if I ever saw/heard one. I've been listening to an MP3 of this snippet for 2 years now -- still think he did amazing things with this song, no matter what Simon said. Grueling schedule of multiple performances, medleys, *2* never-heard-before songs to learn -- unreal what they put the Davids through that season.
Shan Javier
Listening 🎧 🎵🎙2020, one of my favorite singer of all time 🙏
Christine Lynn
Same here in 2021... perhaps more than ever.
Ozzy Akram
What a voice David cook is one of the best singers I’ve ever heard perhaps because I’m a big rock fan and he’s got the perfect rock voice
NyCArole426
David Cook is LIVING The Dream because he took risks and reached for the stars! The Best AMER IDOL ever!
jackie pai
I wish he would have recorded this. It's great, I keep singing it, even now. He deserved to win.
Criticizer123
in this performance i thought he was just a special guest and not a contestant anymore, he just sound so good and professional.
BOSS OGENA uragon
Yes
jessi kim
My favorite American Idol of all time! David Cook rocks!