Good news for tennis fans who like a little side of beautiful music to go with their high-stakes matches: American Idol season 7 champ David Cook has been booked to perform “America the Beautiful” at the 2010 U.S. Open men’s finals on Sept. 12, EW has learned exclusively. Cook’s performance will be included during CBS’ coverage of the event*. Now hopefully, Novak Djokovic can take home this year’s U.S. Open crown, and complete my fantasy day of music and sporting awesomeness. Who else is completely stoked about this news? And can anyone tell me if it’s possible to program my DVR this far in advance? Sound off in the comments!

*Because, c’mon, failure to do so would have to result in an FCC fine or something, right?

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Make sure to tune into American Idol tonight to see David return to the Idol stage! The show airs at 9PM EST.

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Say what you want about David Cook, but don’t call him lazy. After taking home the American Idol season 7 crown in May 2008, Cook spent that summer and fall writing and recording his self-titled debut album during breaks in the “Idols Live” concert tour. The resulting CD has now gone on to sell 1.3 million copies (according to Nielsen SoundScan), due in no small part to Cook’s relentless touring schedule; he played 153 shows in 2009 (not counting trips to Iraq and the Philippines, nor corporate and promotional gigs). But there was no extended vacation for Cook when he finally sent his tour bus to the garage in December. Instead, he headed back to the studio to start the writing process for his sophomore disc, which he hopes to release in mid-2010.

While visiting New York City for a recording session in late January, Mr. Cook took on one more task, stopping by the Idolatry studios and spilling a little scoop on his work-in-progress: We got some details on his dream collaborators (Max Martin), heard about some “lofty ideas” (like going the Imogen Heap route), and were treated to four separate titles of songs he hopes will make the final album cut (!!!).

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David will be appearing on CNN’s Larry King Live on Monday, June 15, at 9PM EST, for an exclusive interview discussing both his career and life after the death of his brother. Go to the Larry King Live Website for more details.

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Tune in tomorrow to see David Cook’s first television appearance since American Idol last month, performing his latest single ‘Come Back To Me’ on the Ellen DeGeneres Show on NBC! Find out when Ellen is airing in your area!

After a long and valiant struggle with brain cancer, “American Idol” winner David Cook’s brother Adam died at 1 a.m. this morning at a hospice in Terre Haute, IN.

A family friend told RadarOnline.com exclusively, “Adam passed away peacefully.

“He was surrounded by his family, including his wife Kendra, his children, his father and his step-mom, among others.”

David was rushing back on a jet when his beloved brother died.

“The family thought that Adam would go much sooner than this, actually,” said the Cook family friend.

“That’s why David left his tour a few weeks back so that he could be with Adam.

“They said their goodbyes then.”

But Adam, 36, rallied briefly after that…and David returned to his concert tour.

“He took a turn for the worse this weekend and David rushed to get home.”

But sadly he couldn’t make it in time.

Last year, friends of the stricken lawyer arranged a $45,000 trip on a chartered medical jet to Los Angeles so Adam could see David perform on Idol.

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I have no words Rest in peace, Adam. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Cook family.

The guys are heading out on their college tour and they’re filming their hijinks along the way! On David’s official site, there’s two ‘webisodes’. They’re hilarious, so be sure to check it out here. Episodes will be posted whenever they feel like filming, hehe!

David will be appearing on Live with Regis and Kelly on February 13th. It’s a brand new episode so be sure to set your recorders/Tivo!

Reigning American Idol winner, David Cook, has announced plans for his first ever solo tour to promote his debut self-titled album. This will be first time that David has been on the road since headlining the American Idol season 7 tour. “The Declaration Tour – 2009” will kick off February 13, 2009 in Tallahassee, FL and will travel nationwide, hitting various college campus and major venues – see below for a complete list of confirmed dates.

Said David of the tour: “I’m more than excited to hop on the road and support this record. This tour represents both a new beginning and a return to form for me. It’s our first full tour, and we’re all ready to pour whatever blood, sweat, and tears that we can muster into making this show, and every show from here on out, an experience. Part of that experience is bringing back this college tour idea. There’s something inherently nostalgic about playing college shows. So many amazing acts used to do it, so it’s nice to be able to bring that ideal back, in some small way. And besides, touring on a bus beats what we used to do, which was cram five guys into a 7 passenger van for one show, 13 hours away… ”

David kicked off 2009 by performing for troops during a USO tour, taking in seven different bases, and on February 12, Walt Disney World Resort will host the world premiere of their new blockbuster attraction, “The American Idol Experience” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. David will perform live from the attraction on GOOD MORNING AMERICA (ABC) that morning, and will headline a special guest performance during the night’s event. Also worth mentioning is the fact that David’s first single, “The Time of My Life,” recently went platinum with over one million tracks sold – congrats, David! This feat makes the single the highest selling coronation single in the show’s history, and David the 34th “American Idol” contestant to appear on a Billboard chart.

As always, be sure to visit and log into DavidCookOfficial.com in order to get all of the latest David Cook news.

Now for those tour dates:
Friday, February 13th – Tallahasee, Fl – Florida State University
Saturday, February 14th – Biloxi, MS – Beau Rivage
Sunday, February 15th – Oxford, MS – Ole Miss
Wednesday, February 18th – Eau Claire, WI – University of Wisconsin
Thursday February 19th – Cedar Falls, IA – University of Northern Iowa
Friday, February 20th – Green Bay, WI – University of Wisconsin
Saturday, February 21st – Valparaiso, IN – Valparaiso University
Monday, February 23rd – Waverly, IA – Warlburg
Tuesday, February 24th – Fullton, MO – Westminster
Wednesday, February 25th – Conway, AR – Central Arkansas University
Friday, February 27th- Portsmouth, OH – Shawnee State University
Sunday, March 1st – Newburgh, NY – Mount St. Mary
Tuesday, March 3rd – Carlisie, PA – Dickenson
Friday, March 6th – Morgantown, WV – W Virginia University
Sunday, March 8th – Willimantic, CT – Eastern Conn. State University
Tuesday, March 10th – Poughkeepsie, NY – Marist College
Friday, March 13th – Niagara Falls, NY – Seneca Niagara Casino
Saturday, March 14th – Elkins, WV – Davis and Elkins
Monday, March 16th – Bloomington, PA – Bloomington University
Thursday, March 19th – Mansfield, PA – Mansfield University
Friday, March 20th – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata
Saturday, March 21st – Atlantic City, NJ – Borgata
Monday, March 23rd – Selinsgrove, PA – Susquehanna University
Tuesday, March 24th- York, PA – Penn State York
Thursday, March 26th – Blues Creek, NC – Campbell, University
Friday, March 27th – Pemberton, NJ – Burlington Community College
Monday, March 30th – New London, NH – Colby Sawyer College
Tuesday, March 31st – New Haven, CT – So. CT State
Thursday, April 2nd – Wilmington, NC – Azalea Fest at Wilmington Univ.
Friday, April 3rd – Towson, MD – Towson University
Sunday, April 5th – Radford, VA – Radford University
Wednesday, April 8th – Macon, GA – Mercer University
Tuesday, April 14th – Malcomb, IL – Western Illinois University
Tuesday, April 21st – Searcy, AR – Harding University
Wednesday, April 22nd – Kansas City, MO – Ameristar Casino
Saturday, April 25th – Tulsa, OK – University of Tulsa