I'm a fan :) I have the album.
I wasn't a fan until I saw Casino Royale. Cornell performed (and I think wrote) the title song "You Know My Name". I had to have that song and the MP3 versions available at the time weren't full length. That was only available on his CD--not even the movie soundtrack had the song.
So I bought the CD and that's how I knew about his version of Billie Jean.
I'm listening to it now :)
Just by listening to the lyrics of Billie Jean, that version is sooo much better. It is really a kind of tortured song. Michael Jackson whooping and yipping through it just doesn’t work when you really read the lyrics.
I thought David Cook was amazing. He is fast becoming my favorite.