"American Idol" winner David Cook is set to release his self-titled debut album, due November 18.

On "Idol," David Cook received rave reviews and millions of votes for his hard rock makeovers of pop songs like Lionel Richie's "Hello" and Mariah Carey's "Always Be My Baby."

With the covers game out of the way, David Cook says he wants this new record to be a reintroduction of sorts to his fans.

"I came from a background of playing original music," Cook says, "and I really wanted to get back to that."

 

"We were able to pull together what I think to be a very accurate representation of who I am musically within a three-month period, which is kind of hard to do," Cook says of the quick turnaround time.

The sound he was going for was an "eclectic rock" record, with "rhythmic songs, heavier tracks and sparse instrumentation."

David Cook's post-"Idol" single "The Time of My Life" debuted at No. 3 on the Hot 100, the highest entry of 2008, and has sold 970,000 digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan. 

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