TMZ has learned that <i>Idol</i> David Cook has been under wraps and out of sight this week because the rocker has suddenly sprouted... wings.

As we first reported yesterday, Cook has been mysteriously missing from the usual <i>Idol</i> photo shoots and extras, and even most of the staff have not reported seeing him. We're told by a friend of a fellow Idol contestant, who spilled the beans over a whispered phone call and sent along this EXCLUSIVE PHOTO, that Cook has been in hiding because of the wings, which appeared out of nowhere shortly after the near-shocker of Wednesday's elimination round, where teen favorite David Archuleta ended up in the bottom two with Brooke White.

Other sources on the show confirm seeing unusually large white feathers in the hall, and one of our more reputable spies tells us, 'Jason Castro has been looking really freaked-out since Wednesday night! He burned his entire stash of weed the other day. You couldn't walk past his front door without getting high.'

Experts tell us wing-manifestations are rare and usually the result of some kind of curse or spell. 'The Idol compound is highly shielded and secured against any kind of attack like this, of course,' one source at Fox Studios told us. 'It has to have been an inside job.'

The only official comment from <i>Idol</i> so far is a terse, 'David Cook is doing just fine, and will perform in the semifinal on Tuesday as scheduled.'

Story developing ...

Note: I have no actual affiliation to TMZ, American Idol, or David Cook, only Photoshop and a dream.

Comments appreciated, if, in this case, slightly feared.

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