David Cook & Kimberly Caldwell: Still Going Strong!

American Idol couple David Cook and Kimberly Caldwell hold hands after sharing a romantic lunch together on Thursday afternoon in Santa Monica, Calif.

David, 25, recently sat down with EW.com to talk about his self-titled debut CD that hits stores on Tuesday, November 18th.

On his ‘rivalry’ with Idol runner-up David Archuleta: “Hopefully, because that means Archie and I are hopefully still doing well! In a sense, it’s fun that that whole rivalry thing got created. If you put me in the same sentence with David Archuleta, I’ll be fine.

On his single “Light On”: “”Light On” is an interesting song. It encompasses almost all of my range. It’s all over the place. That’s Chris Cornell at his finest. It’s got some Zeppelin influence in it; it’s got some ’80s hair-metal influence; it’s got some grunge influence. To me it’s like a rock history lesson put into about a four-minute lecture. It’s fun to play, but it is definitely an intimidating song.”

On his comparison to Daughtry: “I didn’t let it get to me on the show, and I see no reason to let it get to me afterward. I just think this record is me, and if people want to compare it to Daughtry, awesome.”

To read the full article, check it out at EW.com.

15+ pictures of David Cook and Kimberly Caldwell after their romantic lunch…