David Cook
Photo: MTV News

If David Cook has learned anything on his whirlwind trip from obscurity to "American Idol" celebrity, it's that, sometimes, it's best to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Which probably explains why — despite the fact that he's standing on a deserted football field on a rather frigid (well, at least for Los Angeles) Thursday night in October — he's still got a mile-wide grin on his face.

He's here to shoot the video for "Light On," the first single from his self-titled album, which hits stores November 18. And though he realizes the video is a fairly big deal (it's directed by Wayne Isham, the guy behind Metallica's "Enter Sandman" and Britney Spears' "Piece of Me"), Cook will freely admit that he's rather starstruck by the entire process. Which is odd, considering he's the star.

"We did the first run-through, and I felt real timid because, obviously, I don't have any experience. It's not like I grew up shooting music videos," he laughed. "It's weird, man. Little things keep happening along the way that drive the point home that I'm doing something that's both insane and really fulfilling, and this is one of those things. To be able to shoot a music video is kind of rad — especially something on this scale. So, you know, I hope I don't blow it."

We suspect he's just being modest, because when MTV News was on set — er, field — at L.A. Valley College last Thursday (October 16), Cook looked every bit the pro, rocking out on the 50-yard line and joking with Isham, all while giving off an approachable, decidedly everyman aura. But that's just the way he's wired.

"I was pretty much an open book on ['Idol'], and that's how I am. For me, I take music really seriously — the stuff that I write definitely comes from a serious place — but I don't really take myself all that seriously," he said. "I mean, at the end of the day, I'm out on a football field at 1, 2 a.m. There's a very kind of absurd undertone to most of the things I do, and I'm usually the first to try and get somebody to laugh — but, yeah, I do take some things seriously."

And that includes "Light On" — a song that was co-written by none other than Chris Cornell and one that has already attached itself to the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. It's one of Cook's favorites on the album (along with tracks like the piano-laden ballad "Permanent," a "heavy riff-rocker" called "Bar-ba-sol" and "A Daily AntheM," a song he wrote about his brother, Adam, who is battling cancer), though he'd be lying if he said a lot of that didn't have to do with Cornell's involvement.

"I did [a version of Cornell's cover of Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean'] on the show, and Chris went into the media and said some really, really nice things," he explained. "And this song actually got pitched to us, which I take as another huge compliment, the fact that he saw something in me with a song of his ... just the fact that somebody of his caliber takes the time out of their day not just to mention my name, but to say something nice, it's kind of out of this world."

The video for "Light On" is expected to premiere in early November, and until then, Cook will stay busy with a string of high-profile gigs — including a November 1 performance on "Saturday Night Live." And he's already accepting ideas for his next music video, like the one we proposed to him: Why not a cameo by Cook's former "Idol" competitor, David Archuleta?

"Actually, that's not a bad idea, why didn't I think of that?" Cook laughed. "I'd make him the male lead. He'd have to win the girl, and he'd be horribly uncomfortable with that."

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. And relive six seasons of "Idol" hot messes and high notes in six minutes with our video timeline.

• David Cook

"American Idol" finalist David Archuleta
Photo: FOX

"American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta doesn't shy away from the tough questions.

Want to know what kind of album he hopes to release? How he felt about the controversy surrounding his dad? Whether he has time for a girlfriend? (We know a few of you are wondering ... ) Read below for that and more.

Q: Backstage after the finale, you said you felt a sense of relief. Can you explain that?

A: It was such a relief to just feel good about what I did [on Tuesday's performance night] and the fact that that was the last impression I gave on the show. The competition's all over. Now it's time to really focus on music.

Q: What do you want to say to your fans who are disappointed that you didn't win the show?

A: To the people who've been supporting me so much, I just want to thank them. It means more than anything to know that people are appreciating the hard work that we put into this. I want them to know that I'm feeling great about it. The fact that Cook won, I think he deserved it so much. He just proved it week after week. He deserves to be the American Idol! He's such a great guy too. My main priority wasn't to win the competition; it was just to do my best. You can suck and people can vote enough for you to win, but that wouldn't feel very good. [Laughs.] We both gave it all. We just poured it all onto that stage on Tuesday night. And we both feel really great about it. I don't think I could have done anything better or change anything to make me feel any better about what I did.

Q: Was it hard to hear all the criticism about your dad throughout the season?

A: I hadn't really heard much of it until later on. I tried to stay away from the press. I didn't like to hear anything going on in the news about me, good or bad, just because I didn't want it to distract me or let it go to my head. I just wanted to stay myself and how I was at the beginning of the competition. ... In interviews, it started coming up, and it was just kind of strange, because they're really weird things, like that he refused to give me water. That's the weirdest thing. I'm 17, and if I want water I'm pretty sure I would just go get it! [Laughs.] And then another thing was that he made me cry during one of the recording [sessions]. He's a great guy. There isn't really anything he's done that's bad like the things that have been spoken about him. My family has just been such a great support, and they're the ones who've kept me grounded and allowed me to be who I am today. No one understands what I'm here for more than they do. They get what I love about music and how it's changed my life.

Q: What kind of album do you hope to make?

A: I'd love to still do the pop thing, just because I'm still a teenager, and on the show, I was getting a little mature with my songs, even though I love to do that stuff. I still want to be able to relate to the kids my age, so I like the pop, but I still wanna have meaning in my music. I'd still like to do some fun stuff, along with songs that have more meaning in them. John Mayer and Sara Bareilles are examples I use of people who have done the more pop side of music, but their music is still real. It has meaning and depth to it. They're respected as real musicians and artists.

Q: You have a lot of female fans. Now that the show's over, do you have a little more time to date someone?

A: Now it's really time to focus on making an album and writing songs and all that. I just feel like, being 17, I'm not really mature enough to understand those feelings yet. I've watched so many of my friends, like, "Oh, we broke up. I can't live without them!" It's like, "You're 17! What are you talking about?" ... I so don't want to deal with the drama right now. [Laughs.] I just wanna be able to focus on music and then, when I feel like I've met a girl who has a great personality and I can connect with and has really good standards for themselves and has respect for themselves, but not like in an arrogant way, someone who cares about others as well, you know, it's not all about them. It's just something I'll want to focus on later on in life, when I'm ready, but I just feel like I'm so young. I'm still learning so much.

Get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. And relive six seasons of "Idol" hot messes and high notes in six minutes with our video timeline.

• High Notes From The 'American Idol' Finale Red Carpet
• 'American Idol' Season-Seven Roundtable

• 'American Idol' Finale Results Show
• 'American Idol' Results Show Red Carpet
• 'American Idol' Finale: David Vs. David

• David Cook

David Cook and David Archuleta on May 20's finale night
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

It became obvious early on in the seventh season of "American Idol" that Wednesday night's Super Bowl-like finale would come down to two men who ostensibly share nothing in common beyond a first name.

But which of the Davids would it ultimately be? Would David Archuleta, the 17-year-old talent with the pinch-worthy cheeks, walk away victorious, as expected, or would David Cook, the token rocker with the perennial 5 o'clock shadow and a penchant for post-grunge hard rock, shake things up, capping what was arguably one of the heaviest seasons — talent-wise — with a shocking groin-kick of an upset?

It certainly was unexpected when "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest crowned the comb-over-sportin' Cook this season's champ — especially when you consider that, after Tuesday night's performances all signs seemed to point to an Archuleta trouncing. Of course, it wasn't Archuleta's time to shine, and Cook — who went to the "Idol" auditions to support his brother, with no intention of going before the judges — pulled off an epic surprise victory, winning the title by a margin of 12 million votes.

In the weeks leading up to this week's finale, MTV News surveyed a number of established artists, celebrities and fans to find out who they'd forecast as the nation's best undiscovered talent.

Last year's champ, Jordin Sparks, told us in early April that she thought the winner would have a Y chromosome. But while she favored Jason Castro's style and approach to the competition, she eventually admitted that a Cook/Archuleta showdown was more likely.

"I like David Cook," she said. "I think the guys are where it's at this year. I love you, girls — please don't get me wrong — and I could be totally wrong because the show is so unpredictable. [But] it's going to be either David Archuleta or David Cook. ... I guess I'll go with David Cook."

The Jonas Brothers, on the other hand, were split on which David would dominate. "We don't really know who to go for," Kevin Jonas said. "One's the rocker and one's, like, more all-American. You just don't know." But brother Joe, when pressed, did reveal his pick for "Idol": "For me, I would say David Cook."

Actress Denise Richards told MTV News this week that she's a huge fan of the show and, ultimately, a "Cougar for Cook."

"I hope David Cook wins 'American Idol,' " she said. "First of all, both of them are so talented, and they'll both have huge careers, but David Cook is my style of music. I like a bit of an edge. I'm a rocker at heart, and he's very sexy, and he has a great voice."

During a recent visit to Miami, some of our MTV News producers came across quite a character: Paul Martin, a 79-year-old former corn and soybean farmer. The self-proclaimed "Idol" fanatic liked David Cook before the results came down because he felt Cook was a more rounded performer.

"He knows what's going on," Martin said. "[But] I hear [the vote is split] 50/50." He said he thought Archuleta was too young and was taking too much bad advice from his dad.

So, while Archuleta seemed like the early favorite, it looks as though Cook's triumph wasn't that unexpected after all — at least not for Sparks, Joe Jonas, Richards and Martin.

What did you think of the finale? Head to YouRHere.MTV.com to upload your video reactions to Cook's big win, and check out what other "Idol" fanatics are saying!

Plus, you can get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. And relive six seasons of "Idol" hot messes and high notes in six minutes with our video timeline.

• 'American Idol' In 60 Seconds

• David Cook

David Archuleta on the "American Idol" finale
Photo: Frank Micelotta/ Getty Images

If you are a fan of David Archuleta, you probably went to bed Tuesday night feeling pretty confident that he'd be crowned the next "American Idol" champ. After all, he'd just delivered a trio of knock-out performances on the show's penultimate night, drawing raves from the "Idol" judges, winning over the studio audience and getting his fellow finalist — former bartender David Cook — to admit defeat.

Things were looking pretty good. Arch showed up, blew 'em away and closed big time. All that was left to do on Wednesday night was fit him for his crown and send him off into the stratosphere. Only, things didn't exactly play out that way.

In a shock to pretty much everyone, it was Cook who walked away with the "Idol" title, and his margin of victory wasn't even close. The Comb-Over King trounced Archuleta by more than 12 million votes, leaving many Arch-aholics to clutch their Precious Moments figurines tightly, gaze heavenward and wonder just what went wrong.

Well, we're glad you asked. Because we were about as shocked as you were. So we convened an emergency meeting of the MTV News "American Idol" brain trust, and came up with the following list. It may not lessen the pain of his defeat, but it may get you through the tough times. Or it may just make you mad. You know, whatever.

1. He Was the New England Patriots
More than 97.5 million people tuned in to watch Super Bowl XLII, which featured the undefeated, incredibly hyped (and heavily favored) Patriots take on the New York Giants. And of that audience, do you think more people wanted to see the Pats win and secure their rightful place in history, or lose epically, in a big, bursting ball of flames? Basically, ever since February, when he took a seat behind the big black piano and belted out a version of John Lennon's "Imagine" Archuleta was the "Idol" version of the Patriots: constantly hyped, shoved down everyone's throats and crowned long before the season was over. Also like the Patriots, none of this was really Arch's fault. Still, the damage was done. America hates a front-runner, which is why there was much rejoicing when the Giants upset the Patriots, and why, in the end, 12 million more people decided to cast their vote for David Cook.

2. He Was Incongruous
David Archuleta mid-note? Graceful, skilled, soulful and powerful. David Archuleta mid-conversation? Gawking, stammering, awkward and goofy. In the history of "Idol," there has perhaps been no other contestant who displayed such a disparity between the personal and the professional, and in the end, that cost him. We all loved Archuleta the performer, but after his 47th "aw, shucks" interview (highlighting his bizarre breathing pattern), we were ready to show Archuleta the person the door. This is basically the same thing that did in Melinda Doolittle last season.

3. He Was Al Gore
Or, more specifically, his supporters were Florida Democrats. During the 2000 election, all five major networks called the state of Florida for Democratic candidate Al Gore at 7 p.m. EST, despite the fact that the panhandle of the state actually falls in the Central time zone, meaning that polls there would remain open for another hour. Theoretically, the fact that Gore was the presumed winner could've discouraged Democrats in the panhandle from heading out to the polls, since their candidate had already carried the state. Gore ended up losing Florida by a total of 537 votes. Could Tuesday night's "Idol" telecast — in which all three judges basically crowned Archuleta as the "Idol" champ before polls had even opened — have had the same effect? Were Archuleta fans discouraged from voting because they assumed he already had the competition in the bag?

4. He Has a Creepy Stage Dad
There's no nice way to say this: Arch's dad gave pretty much everyone the heebie-jeebies (the goatee, the hat, the resemblance to Kevin Pollak in "The Usual Suspects") and his constant presence — not to mention the rumors that his brazen careerism made Joan Crawford and Dina Lohan look like concerned, caring parents — ruined the whole "diamond in the rough" thing for his son. Instead, many came to see Archuleta as a robotic singing machine that had been trained (forced?) to perform since the age of 12 (you know, when he was on "Star Search") by his taskmaster father. And when "Idol" producers banned his father from the backstage area, well, let's just say that didn't help matters any.

5. He Was One-Dimensional
In the end, the biggest knock against Archuleta was that he never showed he had range outside the majestic world of balladry. His choices of songs never strayed much from tried-and-true schmaltz (Robbie Williams' "Angels," the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road," Neil Diamond's "America"), and when he did try to stretch things a bit, the results were disastrous, like his take on Chris Brown's "With You." While all this may have made him a mortal lock for the cats-and-cardigans set, it didn't endear him much to anyone between the ages of 12 and 40. There's a reason the show isn't called "Adult Contemporary Idol."

But even though he didn't win "Idol," that doesn't mean that the future isn't bright for Archuleta. His demeanor and looks seem tailor-made for the Miley Cyrus/ Jonas Brothers/ tween machine, and his big, booming voice could also make him a Josh Groban-level hit with older fans, as many industry insiders agree. So, while today might seem dark, we urge you to step back from the ledge, Archie fans. We suspect the kid will end up all right.

What do you think went wrong for David Archuleta? Let us know in the Newsroom Blog!

What did you think of the finale? Head to YouRHere.MTV.com to upload your video reactions to Cook's big win, and check out what other "Idol" fanatics are saying!

Plus, you can get your "Idol" fix on MTV News' "American Idol" page, where you'll find all the latest news, interviews and opinions. And relive six seasons of "Idol" hot messes and high notes in six minutes with our video timeline.

• High Notes From The 'American Idol' Finale Red Carpet
• 'American Idol' Season-Seven Roundtable
• 'American Idol' In 60 Seconds

• 'American Idol' Finale Results Show
• 'American Idol' Results Show Red Carpet
• 'American Idol' Finale: David Vs. David

• David Cook