David Cook Becomes a More 'Confident' Songwriter for Second Album -- Exclusive Video

While some of his fellow 'American Idol' alums have struggled to carve out a successful career after the show, 2008 champion David Cook has made it look easy. The Blue Springs, Mo., singer-songwriter saw his debut album for RCA Records sell well over a million copies while garnering rave reviews from the music literati. In this PopEater exclusive, Cook invited us into Emblem Music recording studios in Calabasas, Calif., where he's working on his eagerly anticipated third album.

"Working with the talented people I did on the last album was really exciting. I definitely learned a lot from the process," Cook tells PopEater. On his yet-to-be titled follow-up album, the singer wrote with everyone from the husband and wife team of Raine Maida and Chantal Kreviazuk to OneRepublic vocalist Ryan Tedder. "I'm very confident in my own ability to write music, but I think anytime you can kind of bounce ideas off of other people -- you know, two heads are better than one, three heads are better than two, etc."

Tucked away in an unassuming Southern California suburb, Emblem Music studios doesn't look like the kind of place that has hosted recording sessions for rock royalty like Carlos Santana and Meat Loaf, at least from the outside. "They've done some great records here, haven't they?" gushed Cook as he pointed at the various platinum and gold plaques that lined the studio's walls. From the music PopEater heard during our visit there, we don't doubt that they'll have to make room for another plaque this year. Check out more from our exclusive video interview with Cook below.