Fear of Death Pushed David to Idol Win!

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David Cook says that he won American Idol because he was scared of dying!

According to the 2008 champ, he developed the laid-back stage persona that won the audience over, not because he's a natural rock star, but because he didn't want to "have a coronary".

David suffers genetically from high blood-pressure and he was even rushed to hospital after one show because he had been so nervous about forgetting his lyrics that it went through the roof.

The 25-year-old told Rolling Stone magazine that, over the years, he has learned to deal with the problem by staying in control of his emotions and not letting himself get flustered.

He told that magazine that he has learned "to take the yin with the yang. If not, I'll die!"

"I was never in it to win it," he said, "and that took some pressure off me... If I'd gotten caught up in all that, I would've had a coronary."