He was released a few hours later.
The 25-year-old Missouri-born rocker — who suffers from high blood pressure and initially said he couldn't perform — still managed to belt out Dolly Parton's "Little Sparrow" on the show.
His entire family stood up during his performance, which was well-received by the judges. (Paula Abdul couldn't stop raving about Cook's new shorter haircut.)
Later in the show, Cook was notably absent when last year's champ Jordin Sparks pre-taped a duet with Chris Brown for the April 9 Idol Gives Back special. The rest of the Idol wannabes cheered from the bleachers.
See Idols as kids here.







Kelly Clarkson
Chris Daughtry
Jennifer Hudson
Ruben Studdard
Taylor Hicks




