I was just the casual watcher of AI, had not felt inclined to pick up the phone and vote since Season 5, Chris Daughtry. And Season 6, thought it was ridiculous. I wasn't even going to watch Season 7. Just about lost all interest.

Fast forward...January 2008.. walking from room to room doing laundry, hubby has Idol on, (LOAP audition week - & I love Bon Jovi). I heard it and came flying from the other room...

Me: "Who's THAT? He's incredible! - he did a freakin' awesome job on that song!"

Hubby: "some kid named David Cook from somewhere out Midwest - he's really good. Hey, they better watch him"...

Okay, well, from that point on...DC had us both... hook, line & sinker. Little did I know, it was about to become the musical ride of my life! We both voted relentlessly for the duration of the season. Phone contract expiring soon, so - Yep, you guessed it... new AT&T Go Phone with unlimited text package... now we're set till the end of the season.

I loved ARN! - Charisma - oozing all over the place! And Simon - WTH show was he watching... "you don't have a lot of charisma???"... please... Like Randy said, "Like a real rock show..." I loved the confidence, throwing the guitar picks, etc. That performance is highly underrated, it's still one of my all time favorites!

It was amazing to watch David grow and evolve as a performer each and every time he took the stage. Then the unexpected...Hello...OMG! That did it!

Hello & Billie Jean - just absolutely freakin' amazing! How he changed it up, It kept us glued... we couldn't wait until TuesDave & WednesDave rolled around! Then, as his personality began to emerge more and more, the heart on his sleeve, big bro w/Archie... Geez...how can you NOT be a fan???? David has a heart of gold. Integrity, Compassion.

I began looking up everything I could find on DC Pre-Idol. Analog Heart, bought it from Amazon before it was pulled. MWK, Axium, got my hands on anything and everything I could find... and I drank it all up... it was a "new sound" - refreshing, and totally different than anything I had heard in years. How DC went under the radar struggling on the indie circuit all those years is beyond me...

I joined forums, AI, DC.org, IDF, TWoP, all I could find...you name it, I joined it. Facebook, MySpace, scoured the net for every little morsel of info, had to have ways to connect with others because I was so amazed (and relieved!) that there were other like minded people out there... People that "got it" beyond the fan girly stuff.

I found myself listening to new music, digging into artists I had never heard of, those he listened to & spoke of as his favorites and influences. OLP, Foo Fighters, Augustana, Big Wreck... on and on.

And by the time the season ended and David sang TWIK, I realized the process had culminated for me as well. I had been reborn musically. TWIK was and still is, my favorite performance of the entire AI7 season. It was just beautiful. Any other song choice for that point and time wouldn't have fit the moment. For once, I totally agreed with Paula. David was standing in his truth. He took us all along for the ride.

I attended the show in Tampa, with my brother. The concert was amazing. All the Idol kids were great! I was fortunate enough to meet David, get signatures & pictures with him, and see him interact with Lindsey Rose. A memory I will always cherish.

David Cook is the REAL DEAL. A total class act.

So now, the AI "tewer" is over, and we wait.. for THE RECORD to drop...and for the DC SOLO TOUR - all Dave, his band, his music in the spring!

November can't get here soon enough for me. (Thank you, David! - It will be the BEST Birthday present EVER!)...

Hoping a single will emerge sometime this month as rumors seem to indicate... I need another Cookie Crumb, please...

Eagerly awaiting to see where the next phase of the journey takes us all...