American Idol: David Cook's Hospital Visit

Concerned American Idol fans across the country tuned in to television and radio stations to learn the fate of American Idol David Cook, who went to the hospital after last night's show. He wasn't feeling well during the show, feeling light-headed and experiencing heart palpitations, and was concerned enough to get checked out. The Los Angeles Times reports that he was later released with a prescription for medication to lower his anxiety-related high blood pressure and is now back in his hotel room.

The Times reports American Idol insiders told E! that David Cooks's anxiety may be partly due to his concern about his brother, who has cancer. I have to wonder if there is another factor: his rapid weight loss. Since the season began, David appears to have lost quite a bit of weight. If he's not eating properly, he could be more susceptible to anxiety, whereas he may normally be better equipped to handle stress. Is he using the notorious Lemon Detox diet in order to look more like a rock star than his formerly fluffy self? It's hard to say. Other American Idol contestants seem to handle the stress of being on the show, so why is David heart palpitations?

Will this hospital visit hurt or help David Cook?

Many American Idol fans may be pondering whether David Cook's hospital visit will hurt or help his chances of winning. It could be said that an American Idol should be handle any form of stress handed to them, and this incident shows that he's not up to the rigorous schedule of a rock star...although his performance on last night's show did not seem to be adversely affected by his health problems. Although this concern may deflect some of his votes to other contestants, I think it will have the opposite effect.

American Idol fans seem to vote based on emotion and sentimentality rather than singing talent (as evidenced by Taylor Hicks, who certainly didn't win on his singing ability). Often when judge Simon Cowell dislikes a performance, we see a surge in votes for that contestant, in what can often be assumed to be sympathy.

Fans may feel a pang of sympathy for poor David Cook and vote to keep the poor dear on the show. The sympathy factor may even be enough to keep him in the running even if his performances start to wane, especially given his popularity to date. It will be interesting to watch the shows in the weeks to come to see how he deals with the stress of competition and his personal issues.