Pop Music Notes

From RCA Records comes word that David Cook’s new CD is arriving in November (like that was in question):

NEW YORK, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire/ — American Idol winner David Cook’s debut album will be released on November 18th, 2008 on 19 Recordings / RCA Records. Cook has teamed with Grammy winning producer Rob Cavallo (Green Day, Kid Rock) on the album.

Today marks the launch of DavidCookOfficial.com, Cook’s official social networking site where fans can interact with David, his music and each other. Fans can create their own profiles, make friends and contribute their own blogs, photos, videos and connect with other fans in their towns by various search functionality.

Cook describes the site as a place where he and his fans can communicate with each other. Cook will be hugely involved in all interactive aspects of the site. He personally welcomes fans to his site via video blog and fans can communicate with David by sending him email to David@DavidCookOfficial.com, Cook’s personal mailbox. Those that sign up to his newsletter will be the first to be notified of the title of his first single in the coming weeks. Additionally, Cook will regularly message his fans so they are the first to know breaking news and album updates.

Color me intrigued…many artists have attempted to utilize the web to connect with their fans, but David seems to be even more proactive than many of his contemporaries. This actually sounds a lot like KylieKonnect.com, where fans are encouraged “to make friends, upload pictures, send messages and more.”

It will be interesting to see how successful the website is, given that DC has a pretty wide range of fans (including yours truly, if I’m working on a full disclosure basis). From pre-teens to their moms, the base is pretty impressive for an artist releasing their first album, and the seasonal timing (right before Black Friday) sure doesn’t hurt, either. Rumor has it that the first official single will hit in the next couple of weeks, so we’ll just sit here and wait patiently for it to hit. [FYI…”The Time of My Life” is over 860,000 downloads since its release. Not too shabby for a debut single, eh?]

So what is it that I like about Cook? As a guy who always fantasized about being a pop star, David Cook is living a dream that I’ve harbored for almost as long as I can remember. I can relate to where he came from and how he struggled, and I can actually see aspects of myself in him. Maybe it’s just a front, but he strikes me as a bit of a dork (uh, have you met me?), and he’s got a solid, grounded attitude about everything that’s going on around him, which I admire. Check out this blog post from last month if you have any questions about what I mean. For those of you who are cynical about it, I can’t blame you, but it isn’t like he hasn’t been working at his craft for years. Truthfully, that entry sounds just like something I would write myself.
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Speaking of Kylie, she recently announced tour dates in…wait for it…the Americas! Well, South America, but it says “America”, right? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Okay…it’s a whole lot of wishful thinking, but a couple of dates in major US and Canadian cities with a set that’s already more than paid for, and what’s the harm? Someone even decided to start an online petition. Nice thought…honestly. It’s an optimistic idea, but let us know how that works out for you, mm’kay?