David Cook/The Script/Green River Ordinance

Although you don't have to win American Idol to have a viable singing career — heck, for some contestants, losing the show has been a reputation boost — the exposure certainly doesn't hurt. Just ask Kansas City resident David Cook, who made the entire state of Missouri proud after being crowned Idol's seventh-season champ. His influences are akin to hard-rocker/fellow Idol heartthrob Chris Daughtry — some of Cook's song choices on the show included Collective Soul, Our Lady Peace and Bon Jovi — and his range also extends to sensitive-dude ballads (i.e., the windswept hit "Light On," which Chris Cornell cowrote). And although Cook's Jimmy Fallon-esque looks and serious face-scruff make him a pinup for the PTA set, he's not just a pretty face: During a May 5K run, his team raised nearly $100,000 for the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure, in honor of his late brother. Irish mellow-rock dreamboats the Script and Fray-esque, swooning piano rockers Green River Ordinance open the show.