I was reading some other site and apparently David is taking undue credit for the arrangement of the songs he covers.

Apparently, the version of "Hello" he performed was based on an arrangement done by Incubus. They occassionally cover it on their live performances.

A recent one is the cover of "Billie Jean" although Ryan said it was based on Chris Cornell's version, David was still praised for it. Chris Cornell wasn't pissed about it, but something in Chris said stood out . . .


What happened to making a song "your own"?

I also read that the arrangement of Eleanor Rigby was done by another band, but I didn't get the band's name.

I don't like his performances at all. He really bugs me and I have no real idea why!

Because no one else on the show has used other people's versions of songs and they're all highly original...

He is taking credit for stuff he didn't do. They judges think it is his arrangement, no one else gets so many comments about the arrangment of their song, he could correct them.

Simon Cowell knows that David Cook's arrangements are not original. I read it in an interview somewhere. Simon called David very clever.

To be fair to David, he didnt take credit for the Billie Jean arrangement. When Ryuan introduced David, Ryan said: "With chris cornell's version of Billie Jean..."

Well this is the quote

http://hollywoodinsider.ew.com/2008/...cowell-on.html

Why should he? It's their job to know what's going on.

I acknowledged Ryan's comment in my original post.

Simon might know David's arrangement isn't original, but I don't remember him saying anything about it on the show. The average voter tuning in to watch would think David is some musical genius. Till I read about it on another forum, I really thought "Hello" was David's idea.

Why should he take credit for stuff he didn't do?!

Who cares if it is his idea or not if it works and he does it well?

Surely none of them do anything on their own? I thought there was a whole production team, probably including Cowell himself, behind each contestant's effort each week.

I care and so do other people on the website I read this on.
Would you still be okay with it if it was someone you weren't a fan of?

I've heard the Incubus version of Hello. David's was better.

That's not the issue here, everyone of them gets some help. The issue is the fact that he is taking credit for stuff he didn't do and he isn't even trying to be original with it. He copied Chris Cornell's "subtle vocal nuances", he should have at least tried to add a bit of himself to it rather than ripping him off chord for chord.

You still seem to be under the impression that he's the only one doing other people's versions of songs on this show...

How exactly he's taking credit for the song when it was mentioned numerous times on both shows that it was Chris Cornell's version is intriguing...

I have just listened to Chris again. Although it is the same version, the interpretation is different, and I can tell you that I know David's by now. It is certainly not the same down to the T.

All he did was accept the judges' comments without saying anything.
Do people expect him to say, 'Sorry, Simon - I really must point out that I deserve no credit for this at all - it's all XYZ's work'
Doubt whether that would gain him any votes.

I only heard the Cornell comment once from Ryan.
My problems with David is not the fact that he is doing someone's version of the song, but the fact that he is taking credit for the arrangement. When he gets the chance to speak he could comment on the fact that the arrangement isn't his idea.

If I heard a similar news story about any other idol contestant, I would have posted it.

Why can't he say something like. . . ."I really have to thank Chris Cornell, Incubus . . . because my version is based on their arrangement"?

If his fans are any good, they would still support him.

He didn't realize that there was an issue. After all, Ryan did mention the version. The contestants are in a very stressing situation, and they sometimes receive comments that surprise them. I think that he was worried about Simon's opinion, and was waiting for it. It was good, he was overjoyed.
Even if the version wasn't original, his rendition was anyway.

It was mentioned in the results show extensively too because Ryan said Chris Cornell had contacted them to say how much he liked it. It was mentioned before the actual performance too so why exactly did David need to mention it again?

How can he be taking credit for something when it was said it wasn't his before the performance?

The judges know it is not his arrangement but they didn't comment on it after his performance of "Hello" because they hoped that those likely to know the Incubus version are not likely to be AI viewers. Unfortunately it was spotted and mentioned on various sites. Since then they have mentioned who originally came up with the arrangements that David is performing each week. They must have learnt from their mistake with Chris Daughtry where it wasn't spotted and/or mentioned until several weeks into the competition and his votes dipped as a result.

They still alter the facts to suit though. Ryan said that Chris Cornell had loved David's performance when in fact his comments sound more like criticism for being virtually an impersonation.

That's why I don't get the fuss about David. Yes, Chris D did perform already existing versions but he also put something into the performances and did not perform a note for note copy. His stage performances were also a lot more natural and believeable than David's whose performances come across as forced and contrived.

David C is a bit of a joke as far as I'm concerned.

But this is a matter of opinion. I don't think that David's performances are contrived, I think that they are brilliant, and his interpretations are definitely original. His Billie Jean with it's rock edge it is more different from Chris interpretation than any of the other contestants from the original.

i couldnt care less what you think,i think dave is great and the people on this thread who are slating him are simply hacked off that hes a threat to their favourite.i didnt even notice dave that much until the live shows and then he blew me away.now his fanbase is really growing and some people dont like that.tough!

As a performer I can't knock him. He's far more confident and on stage and gives us a better show than the likes of Ramiele, David A, Kristy etc...

The show has actually been lucky this year in that they've got many more who are good on the stage unlike last year's shambles where most of them were very amateurish.