Once upon a time, a 25-year old Tulsa bartender named David Cook decided to try out for American Idol because his brother dragged him along for moral support. By sheer accident, David Cook found himself in the audition when the producers panned the camera at him. No one thought this guy could ever win…
David Cook’s transformation is best portrayed in his exit interview:
“This show has been great for my diet. I’ve lost probably 10 to 15 pounds. There was definitely a progression for me on this show. Early on, I’m talking third, fourth week in, Ken Leverne, our vocal coach, really hit home with me on a particular lesson: I put up a wall, kind of a protective barrier between me and the audience. It was a little bit of a defense mechanism to try to protect myself. He had to force me to break that down.” Toward the end, I started crying a lot. There was a lot of intensity — as far as what was at stake and all the effort that had been put into it. The crying after I won was like an exhale. This whole experience has been about eight months, including the auditions. And I felt like that whole time I was holding my breath. And to be able to just breathe and enjoy the moment was amazing.
If you check his audition photos, he is a few pounds heavier. Look at him now:
What a transformation from geekiness to gorgeous!
David Cook wins!
Just watching his audition video, you can see how David Cook is different than how he looks today. During his audition, David was a little bigger, his cheeks seems a little fatter, and hairstyle is so different. He looks so gorgeous today.
A David Cook Fan says it very well.
It’s like he had a transformation inside as he did out….even he said in an interview that he had to break some barriers down after a few weeks of performances. What an emotional ride….I really do believe that he became a ‘better person’ (not that he was a bad person before, just he was able to let his emotions & love show) through this experience. It’s almost like he was able to let go of everything he couldn’t control, and just be himself.
Ronda said
May 25 2008 @ 12:54 pm
I think he was gorgeous from the start, actually.
Joanna Garrett said
May 27 2008 @ 11:19 pm
For several days now I have been asking myself why his performances have had such an intense impact on me at the heart level, and yesterday I gained some understanding, it has to do with the what Paula called “standing in Truth,” and what I witness is a total authentic human being, totally human and totally alive with every cell in his body responding to that alive moment. This is the energy that is being transmitted in the performance and it’s electrifying. Some might want to call it sex appeal, but that is far too limiting…..it’s much more real than that as it ignites something deeply human, almost spiritual within.
Suzanne Brombacher said
October 15 2008 @ 03:12 pm
His transformation during Idol–and after–has been nothing short of amazing, magnificent, mesmerizing, inspiring, and every other superlative I can think of. It’s funny, because for a while now I have been thinking that the transformation really seemed more like a spiritual and emotional transformation–a self actualization–than a physical one–and those changes translated into great physical beauty.
I’ve been fascinated with his transformation from the time I first noticed it was taking place–sometime around “Billie Jean.”
I was one of the early fans who loved him from his audition, and watching him grow into the beautiful human being he has become has been incredibly inspiring to me. I feel blessed that I was able to see it all, from the beginning. He’s made me believe the impossible is really possible. You just have to believe in yourself.
That said, I want to share this little poem I wrote today:
it’s all happening now…
Way back in January–about a million years ago–I spied a cute guy in a faux hawk and Blake Lewis sweater vest singing on my TV.
I said to my daughter, “He’s the one to watch, he’s the next winner.”
That intuition didn’t keep me from voting ’til my fingers bled and puking every Tuesday afternoon.
They said he could never win.
I have always doubted my own intuition.
And then this goofy emogeek from Tulsa won American Idol.
And kept growing more beautiful.
And more beautiful.
Inside and out.
And now he’s a star
The “bright, shining star” Paula predicted.
He has two singles out (both very popular), an album in a few weeks that’s going to go platinum and possibly win a Grammy, and every dream I ever had for him way back, way back early this year, is coming true.
This is what I visualized for him, and now it’s all happening.
Don’t pinch me ’cause I don’t wanna wake up from this beautiful dream.
****************
Here is my own take on his transformation. It’s a very long blog post at DCO. Warning: LOTS of pictures.
http://www.davidcookofficial.com/blog/a-real-life-fairy-tale-the-transformation-revisited