"American Idol" Contestant David Cook Tops Amazon MP3 Chart, Then Vanishes

After enjoying last week as the top-selling album at the Amazon MP3 store, American Idol contestant David Cook's 2006 album Analog Heart was pulled from the digital music service. No reason was provided by AI producers or Amazon as to why the album was made unavailable, but web-based rumors that Cook was actually an AI-installed "ringer" in the competition began to swell following Cook's top-selling week (he even edged the debut of Mariah Carey's E=MC²). In reality, Cook is not the only contestant this season with some sort of history in the music biz: Eliminated Michael Johns and Kristy Lee Cook were both major label signees, and two contestants' records — Carly Smithson's (then Carly Hennessey) 2001 album Ultimate High and Brooke White's 2006 Songs From the Attic — are still available on Amazon. So why did Analog Heart get the ol' "Not Available?" Was this a plot hatched by AI producers to quell the David Cook fervor, or did Mariah Carey have some hand in this to ensure a number one placement for her new album? Let the conspiracy theories commence.

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Song Stories

“Weird”

Hanson | 1997

Accomplished tunesmith Desmond Child co-wrote "Weird" with the three brothers that make up Hanson. Credited for dozens of cuts, including songs by Kiss, Cher, Bon Jovi and Aerosmith, Child told Rolling Stone that "Weird" holds a special place in his heart, "because it's about being different--and I grew up poor, I grew up being Latin, I grew up being gay, and now I'm fat!" The song was included on Hanson's 1997 album Middle of Nowhere, which sold more than ten million units.

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