David Cook

David Cook, American Idol's season seven winner, has come a long way since languishing in obscurity with a Midwestern rock outfit name Axium. Cook started the Missouri-based group while a junior in high school, giving him his first taste of the spotlight that would bathe him after his Idol win over fresh-faced runner-up David Archuleta. Born in Houston and raised in Missouri, Cook has a big, versatile voice, which helped him sail though the competition singing songs by acts as widely disparate as Dolly Parton, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Our Lady Peace, though his ease in donning an electric guitar and crooning a post-grunge hook clearly shows his inclination for the latter. His first single, the sentimental rocker "The Time of My Life" (notably different from the Dirty Dancing theme) was released in May of 2008 and is expected on his debut full length, which will call in the talents of OneRepublic songwriter Ryan Tedder.