David Cook won American Idol by 12 million votes – and it appears many of them came from a fan base he might not have expected.

During a visit to the Today show on Thursday, the Idol champ chatted with Meredith Vieira, who told the 25-year-old singer: "A lot of [your fans] are older women, right ladies? It's the 'Cougars for Cook.'"

"In fact, my friend, who's my age, is here," Vieira, 54, continued. "I'm not going to rat her out and say her name. [But she said] 'Should I be embarrassed?' I said, 'No, look at him!'"

Cook soaked up the adoration with a modest "Aww" as the cameras panned to the crowd – largely female, as Vieira said – focusing on signs emblazoned with messages of love. One read simply: "Will you marry me, David Cook?"

The singer said that he's dealing with the success day-by-day, but played it humble when it came to questions of his sex appeal.

"As far as people thinking I'm pretty or something," he said, "I don't know. It's amazing what a haircut and forgetting to shave will do."

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