David Cook
Reds Turn Blue

David Cook - Red Turns Blue

The former American Idol Season 7 winner, David Cook, is back with a great new single and video for “Reds Turn Blue.” In this track, Cook dives head first into the manic highs and lows of anxiety, and lyrical material solidifies his path to dealing with his anxiety in therapeutic modes such as songwriting. In a recent interview with People, he mentioned that, “This song became a therapeutic process for me, as a way to personify my anxiety and make it something other than me — which in an odd way has helped me navigate my relationship with it.” David Cook is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on his yet to be named next full-length record.

In the first verse, Cook quickly sings over some palm-muted strumming of the electric guitar about what a near-panic attack feels like to him. He sings frenetically, “Flip switch, You got the killer itch / Written on your bedroom walls / Break back, it’s like a heart attack / You’re feeling that forever fall.” As someone who struggles with anxiety myself, these lyrics hit all too close to home as Cook describes the wide range of emotions of being crippled with anxiety. The transitions to the beautiful and melodic chorus of, “No matter where you go / I will follow / When all your reds turn blue / I’m right beside you / When all your reds turn blue,” are well-crafted and makes for a great pop rock hook.

In the latter stages of the song David Cook continues to explore the range of emotions of living with anxiety as he sings cautiously, “Steady, honey, as she goes / It doesn’t matter / What the mirror says / ‘Cause we’re the only ones who know.” His improved songwriting is felt far and wide as he gets right beneath the surface of what makes him tick as a person. The imagery in the music video associated with this song also explores some of the strange and unknown aspects of living with this type of mental difficulty. Cook describes this conscious effort to incorporate these dystopian and sci-fi images in his music video because, “Some of my favorite videos have been animated.  ‘Paranoid Android’ by Radiohead.  ‘Hellbent’ by Kenna.  A silver lining to being stuck at home right now is it opened up the opportunity to have something animated for ‘Reds Turn Blue’.” By finding this musical outlet to help with spending time during the pandemic, Cook is on the right track of not only self-discovery, but also showcasing his maturity as a songwriter.