'Idol' Backstage Q&A: David Cook

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ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Was there a piece of advice you've gotten that's carried you through this whole experience?
DAVID COOK: ''Whether you're pleasing or pissing everybody off, you're doing something wrong.'' I have no idea who said that to me, but I've had it for a while. It means you gotta take the good and the bad. Everybody's gonna have an opinion and not everyone's gonna like you, but as long as somebody likes you....

You've copped to a theater-geek background. Did that make the boxing stunt and all those Ford commercials any easier to execute?
It didn't hurt! I've never been one to take myself too seriously. The boxing thing, I gotta admit, going into this week, I thought, It's gonna be goofy. But it was actually a lot of fun and it seemed to go over pretty well, judging from the response we got.

Back to music, give us your top five favorite bands.
Our Lady Peace, Big Wreck, 8Stops7, Jimmy Eat World, and Foo Fighters.

Have any musicians gotten in touch?
I got to talk to Raine Maida from Our Lady Peace, which was one of the highlights of this whole experience. He was just a really down-to-earth, genuine guy, very appreciative that I sang ''Innocent'' on the show. And I actually got a chance to talk to Ed Roland, the singer from Collective Soul today, and he also had nothing but nice things to say. That's the badge of honor for me — to have the people who wrote these songs complimenting you and thanking you, it's amazing.

Speaking of writing, when it comes time to record your debut album, will you be writing your own songs?
Absolutely. I have to be involved. Whether it's me writing by myself or with other people, I definitely want to have my hand in the creative process. That's part of why I got into music in the first place.

Who would you die to tour with?
Anybody right now! [Laughs] Umm...the reunited Led Zeppelin. Or any version of Zeppelin, like Let's Zeppelin, a cover band in the Oklahoma area.

Through this whole experience, what have you learned about television?
That it stops for nobody. [Laughs] Television is a weird thing. One of the things that was really tough for me to grasp was how people can really invest themselves in you as a person, based off of what they see in an hour or two. Why do they cry when somebody gets sent home? Because these are relationships that were created long ago. It's interesting....

One of the things that viewers have noticed about you is your confidence and maturity.
Maturity? You guys don't see me when the cameras are off. I'm a goof and a nerd. The confidence comes in knowing what I can do and what I can't, what works for me and what doesn't. I never tried to fake it. It's been a process, but my family and my friends have kept me really grounded, and that's probably where it comes from.

So, Mr. Bartender, what will you be drinking later to celebrate?
Iced coffee. I'm probably going to take it easy tonight: We've got a long day tomorrow that starts at 4:30 in the morning.

Really, could tonight have been any better?
Tonight was a trip. I got to play with ZZ Top and introduce Bryan Adams and George Michael. And to have it all topped off by me winning American Idol?! It's pretty absurd.

More American Idol finale:
David Cook's Idol journey
David Archuleta's Idol journey
David Archuleta's Idol backstage Q&A
The Idol finale: A photo album