With a superheroic calm and a growly approach to hits by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson, rocker David Cook creamed his competition on American Idol. The singer-songwriter-guitarist did it with old-school style and grace, never once relying on his brother Adam’s brain cancer as a plot point to earn the weepy vote. Ryan Seacrest might have brought it up; Cook never did.

Post-Idol, the 26-year-old has had a smash platinum album (2008’s David Cook, produced by Green Day knob-twiddler Rob Cavallo), hot celeb girlfriends (Idol’s Kimberly Caldwell) and an even hotter nine-month tour. He has also suffered heartache: On May 3, Adam Cook succumbed to brain cancer. David continues to play with an “AC” on his guitar, which are also the initials of his younger brother, Andrew.

Cook will perform at 8 p.m. Friday with the Script and Green River Ordinance at the Mahaffey Theater, 400 First St. S, St. Petersburg. Tickets are $30-$35. Click here for details.

But first, Cook chatted with Sean Daly about his fan base, the so-called "Cougars for Cook," and the art of trashing a hotel room.

"I’d probably glue the furniture to the ceiling," he said, though he notes that he never has actually trashed a room. "You gotta get the Gorilla Glue for that. Then maybe I’d have a good ol’-fashioned food fight."

Click here for Sean's full interview.