CHRIS CORNELL Sales Soar After Performance By 'American Idol' Contestant

April 1, 2008

According to The Pulse of Radio, Chris Cornell's version of the Michael Jackson smash "Billie Jean" has gotten a huge boost after "American Idol" contestant David Cook did an almost "note-for-note" version of Cornell's recording last week. The track, which appeared on Cornell's 2007 solo album, "Carry On", saw a 300% sales jump in the past week and is currently Number 12 on iTunes' Top Alternative chart.

The former AUDIOSLAVE and SOUNDGARDEN frontman has been getting a lot of attention ever since the performance. He told Billboard, "You can clearly see that the judges are giving this guy credit for it on national television. My fans were like, 'Wait a minute! That's Chris Cornell's moment."

Cornell is happy about it, saying, "Don't get me wrong. He sang it great. But it was literally a note-for-note take on what I came up with. At the end of the day, it's all good. It's a good thing for me. There was a moment when I was sitting there writing this new arrangement thinking, 'Is this a good idea or a bad idea?' Watching the response from the judges was really gratifying. They were signing off on it right there." Cornell says he always gets a great response from the crowd when he plays it live.

Host Ryan Seacrest introduced Cook's performance as "Chris Cornell's version of 'Billie Jean'."

Cornell is working on his next solo album with producer Timbaland, and says "it's going fantastic."

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