Chris Cornell (now solo, formerly of Audioslave and Soundgarden) did that version of Billie Jean on his 2007 album "Carry On". Check out a snippett of the song on Amazon HERE. Seacrest even announces the song as "Chris Cornell's version of Billie Jean" at the intro, which I missed while watching the first time. It's not a big deal. It was still a great performance, it's just that it was not quite as original as I first thought.

Very interesting. I missed the Chris Cornell mention, too. I wonder if he lifted the idea to rock out "Hello" from another source, too?

A major part of successful pop/rock is borrowing good stuff and repackaging so it sounds fresh ... it helps to hide your sources. But I give David Cook props for revealing his source.

Regardless, Cook floored me with that "I" that he stretched way too far -- then took it higher -- then immediately and effortlessly glided into the next phrase, when most people would be gasping for breath.