Idol 9 - David Archuleta

9. David Archuleta

Season 7, Runner-up

Wow! After nearly four months, we are down to single digits!! 

I pretty much loathe the teenage boys, there I said it! Haha. Throughout the first 6 seasons, every teenage boy that made it to the Top 12 has been pretty worthless - as far as vocal talent goes. Every single one of them made it further than they deserved - maybe because of the "cute" factor. So, when I learned about David Archuleta as a possible Top 24 contestant of Season 7, I was groaning.

Seriously. Can you blame me for assuming the worst? Out of 100 contestants, the second highest placing teenage boy was at number 89, with Aaron Kelly! Haha. They suck. But I knew David actually had some vocal talent - he was a Star Search finalist, for crying out loud - and he was especially cute. So, I was somehow excited to watch him, and knew that he'd be around for.ev.er. Ha! Oh, and this was before they even aired his audition.

Now, when the San Diego episode aired and I got to see Archuleta's audition, I was pleasantly surprised. Quite frankly, I wasn't blown away, but he was definitely someone that I could be happy with making the Top 24 of the season, and doing slightly well. Then, he performed Heaven during Hollywood week and declared myself a fan.

So, when the Top 24 started, I was already rooting for him. He performed Shop Around and I instantly knew there was no stopping this kid. The next week, he delivered a heartfelt rendition of Imagine and the competition - that time - was over. Ha! That performance, I believe, made him pretty untouchable for the rest of the season. I had seriously never been so positive that a contestant had the whole thing wrapped up, like I was with little David.

He turned in a couple of outstanding performances after that and I actually enjoyed most of his performances. It was extremely frustrating though at times when he would completely butcher a performance like, say, We Can Work It Out, and still get almost positive reviews from the judges. Plus, I never really thought he sold an upbeat number.

I have to admit though that the kid have a great tone. I mean, at the beginning I thought he was extremely stage school and over-rehearsed, but as the competition continues he'd do very slight things on the melody of the song that would win me over. Every time he would sing a run that had an ounce of soul behind it, he earned respect in my book. There was a bit of inconsistency with David Archuleta's performances though, and I do think we saw the best of him during the second week of the semifinals round, but other than that, he seemed to SLOWLY improve during the competition.

I had no problem with him making the Top 2. I actually thought he did pretty stellar during the Finale and I would be fine with him beating David Cook since Simon Cowell almost crowned him as the winner when he said it was a knockout in favor of little David. I'd get over it. But, personally, an Archuleta win - at that moment - would've been a less than satisfactory ending for one of the best seasons on American Idol. That's just me though. Ha!

Now, David Archuleta's career after Idol has been relatively good. His debut album was surprisingly a solid effort with a huge hit single, Crush. However, it was his second album, The Other Side Of Down, that made me really appreciate him more as a recording artist. I thought that album was leaps and bounds better than his self-titled album.

Album Review: The Other Side Of Down

Favorite performance(s): Truth be told, when he sang Imagine, I was speechless. Some people saw that performance as a bit overrated, but I do not agree AT ALL. To me, it's one of the best Idol performances EVER. I mean, every single phrasing worked perfectly well with the beautiful subdued arrangement. It was practically sensational. I really loved the vibe of his Stand By Me performance and I thought David definitely has the best version of Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me. I also thought his rendition of Robbie Williams' Angels was stellar.

Imagine

Stand By Me

Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me

Angels

Crush

A Little Too Not Over You

Something 'Bout Love