One night I was in the kitchen doing dishes while my family watched American Idol. That guy with the funny hair - that Cook guy - was singing "All Right Now" and I actually stopped and came back into the living room because he sounded that great. He had been on my radar before and I knew he could really sing, but at that point, I was only marginally interested in the show, let alone any of the contestants, even that cute little boy. Then I heard Simon telling him that his film package made him sound boring (which had nothing to do with the song he'd just knocked out of the park, so that made me think I'd better rewind). David calmly told Simon luckily he wasn't the one he had to impress, which I kind of loved. I rewound to the film clip and saw him talking about crossword puzzles and being a word nerd and having a thing for "vocab". That mind and that voice? And the Les Paul?

After that, I was in. Every week after that, I fell a little bit harder. Oh, that voice! I loved seeing what he would do with a song and when he made me love both Neil Daimond and Mariah Carey, I knew it was all over. The night of the top two, when he finished singing "The World I Know", I remember thinking, if this man doesn't win this I will hate everyone FOREVER. Luckily, that did not happen. All is right with the world. I have hope that the American people's taste has not been completely hijacked by bubblegum pop and repetitive nonsense.

And now, listening to his earlier work and anticipating his new solo album, I am more excited than I have been in years about music. I forgot how fun it is to feel this way! He writes actual lyrics! With interesting melodies that burrow into your head like earworms, only not in a horrible "Wrath of Khan" sort of way. I love it.