‘Idol’ down to the Davids

By DANIELLE RUSH
Tribune staff writer

May 20, 2008 12:19 am

— The son of a Kokomo native will sing for the final time tonight in hopes of becoming the next “American Idol.”
David Cook, whose mother, Beth (Frye) Foraker, grew up in Kokomo and who has many family members here, will face David Archuleta tonight on FOX in the “American Idol” finale beginning at 8 p.m.
His grandmother, Debra Frye of Kokomo, is in Hollywood for tonight’s finals. Foraker, her husband and younger son, Andrew; David Cook’s girlfriend and his father all will be in the audience as well.
Foraker asked those in Kokomo to keep voting for Cook. Phone lines are open for final voting two hours after tonight’s show.
“It’s just important for everyone to continue to vote. It’s their votes that have gotten him where he is in the ‘American Idol’ arena. Now is not the time to quit voting, because votes are what matters,” she said.
Cook, 25, lives in Tulsa, Okla., and grew up in Blue Springs, Mo. However, he spent his summers with his grandmother in Kokomo, playing Little League baseball at Northside for the Martino’s team.
His aunt, Suzie Castner, said about 90 percent of his family is in Kokomo, and his father lives in Indianapolis.
Foraker said she had no idea when David decided to audition, along with his brother Andrew, that he would make it to the finals.
“That was the furthest thing from my mind. It never came into my mind that he would be one of the two finalists. When he got down to the top five, I was feeling a bit more confident about it.”
She thinks his originality has made him stand out from the other contestants, and “how he can take a song and make it his own, and just his maturity.”
Foraker said being on “American Idol” has been a transforming experience for her son.
“I think his life has already changed drastically from what he was before he auditioned for ‘American Idol.’ I think he’s going to have to be very careful wherever he goes. I think great things are in store for him,” she said.
Foraker has commuted back and forth weekly to Hollywood from her home just east of Kansas City, not missing one performance.
“When I’m sitting there, when he’s singing, there could be clowns running around me, because I’m just so intent on watching David performing. Nothing else around me matters. It makes me very proud.”
Her favorite of her son’s songs this season was Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Music of the Night,” because “that showed such a different side of him,” but she says she’s liked all his songs.
“Maybe that’s just the mom in me.”
James Stamper, who graduated from Kokomo High School with Foraker in 1979, said Delphi Electronics and Safety will have a David Cook cookout today, because Frye retired from Delphi and his uncle, Andy Caster, is head of security for the company.
Stamper has never met Cook, but said he’s sent out e-mails to his high school classmates and his contacts through Kokomo Mustangs football, urging them to vote for him because of his Kokomo connections.
“I have to admit, I’ve been on the phone hitting redial for two hours [each week] for the past few months,” he said. “I have watched it every night.”
He said their 30th-year class reunion is coming up, and joked that Foraker will have to be in charge of entertainment.
“All of our classmates expect him to be the entertainment,” he said.
Foraker said she’s proud her son is achieving his dream. Cook told her when he graduated from college with a degree in graphic design that he wanted to take two years to try to make it in music before looking for a job.
“May is his two years,” she said. “There’s really nothing, but to follow your dream. To see something he’s dreamed of finally coming true, it’s heart-wrenching. He’s an example of having a dream and the ability to fulfill a dream.”
Foraker said she appreciates all the support David had had from Kokomo, and she knows he appreciates it too.
“It’s great to see so many different places come together and support someone like that.”
The new American Idol will be crowned during a two-hour finale Wednesday.
Danielle Rush may be reached at (765) 454-8585 or via e-mail at danielle.rush@kokomotribune.com

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