Do you ever wonder what happens to the people who win American Idol? We all know what past victors like Carrie Underwood and Kelly Clarkson are doing these days, but what about David Cook? He took the top prize on Idol in 2008. Now he is looking back at his experience on the famed singing contest TV show. Cook, 42, is dishing about what it did for him professionally, per People. He shared, "My time on Idol was worthwhile and fruitful. I got a career out of it. It was extremely exciting, and all of it was very new."
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Being an 'Idol' Contestant Was Very Demanding
The studio and television audiences only see the end result on Idol - the polished vocal performances, the glittering costumes, the wild applause. But behind the scenes, Cook says it was an intense, non-stop workout. There were many "16 to 20 hour days, most every day of the week." As challenging as that must have been, it bonded the group of eager young hopefuls.
Cook noted, "To go through an experience like that, which is such a unique thing to go through, to share that experience with this small group of people all heading in the same direction, it's impossible not to develop relationships off that. I've been really fortunate to be able to maintain some of those relationships."
Cook Still Communicates With Some of Them
He mentioned, "I still talk to Arch [runner-up David Archuleta] every now and again. Not enough, but every now and again. I just talked to Carly Smithson not too long ago. Talked to Ramiele [Malubay] here and there, talked to Brooke [White]. We had a good group. I think it'd be impossible to walk away from that and not have some new friends."
He continued, "It's a unique fraternity to be a part of and something I'm really proud to be a part of. I don't believe that there's anything else like going through American Idol. To be a part of that particular group is pretty rad."
He Had a Special Wish
Cook wanted to spin the wheel on The Price Is Right. "I remember [when I made] the top five, jokingly saying, 'Hey, if I somehow win, I want somebody to take me down to like the basement of the studios where I was taping, and I wanna spin The Price Is Right wheel.' That's all I wanted to do."
Members of the crew obliged Cook. "We were back over there at the studios packing stuff up, and they took me down to spin the wheel. I landed on a dollar, oddly enough. That was maybe the luckiest day of my life."
Cook Sounds Fulfilled Creatively
He seems to be in a really good place now. Cook has done a quartet of studio LPs thus far, plus an EP, The Hero. Per the outlet, "I've gotten to travel the world playing music and meet some incredible people, and see some incredible places. I would hope that those various experiences have found their way into my songwriting."
The singer went on, "I feel like the stuff I'm doing now is more of a complete synopsis of me. Coming off the show, it's definitely easy to throw some blinders on and focus on moving forward and getting through it. So to feel a little bit more whole and complete now is awesome."
