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By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – David Archuleta lost out on the “American Idol” title in May but the baby-faced teen released his first album this week hoping to capitalize on his young female fan base around the world.

Archuleta, 17, wowed audiences during the “Idol” concert tour and on the popular TV talent show with emotional piano ballads and renditions of standards like “Imagine” and “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me”.

But in his first, self-titled album, the Utah singer delivers new songs in a variety of styles. Archuleta talked to Reuters about the album and what he has been doing in the last hectic six months.

Q: This first album was put together pretty quickly. How much does it reflect the real David Archuleta?

A: “We didn’t have a ton of time. We were experimenting with different things. There is something for everyone. People are expecting a Josh Groban thing from me but I didn’t want to get stuck in that category, especially since I am 17. I wanted to prove that I wasn’t just someone who sings only standards and covers. I wanted to show that I am still young and fresh and that I’m a teenager and I don’t want to grow up too fast.”

Q: You’ve been rehearsing with a band for your upcoming performances. What has that been like?

A: “The band is great. They are very talented people. It is such an honor to be able to play with them because they have so much experience and I have never really performed with a band. I’m getting really excited about the album release and all the TV appearances and shows. Sometime I get a little nervous about it all, but it’s so exciting.”

Q: You don’t turn 18 until December. What’s happening about school?

A: “I’ve not really had time to go back to Murray High School (in Utah). I’ve still been trying to do some school work online. It’s really difficult trying to keep up with both things when you’re recording and rehearsing and been on tour. It’s been a bit of a challenge but I need to find some way to complete school because I think that is really important to do, being so young and not knowing where life is going to take me yet.”

Q: How has your life changed in the past year?

A: “The weirdest thing is being not at home. You don’t have your siblings around you. It’s great to have texts and the phones to keep in touch with them. But it is weird to not have them nearby to talk to, not being able to hang out with my mom and sisters and play Nintendo with them. My dad is here with me while my mom watches over the rest of the kids.”

Q: You have millions of female fans. Are you dating yet?

A: “I’m not, like, seriously dating. I’ll go on fun dates. I’m all about getting to know people, trying to figure out how girls are different from each other, what I like about girls and what I don’t like … I think there will be that girl who I really feel like, wow, she’s special. But I still don’t know a lot and I’m still getting that idea of what kind of girl I’d want to be with for a long time — if that makes sense?.”

Q: Your album came out a week ahead of “American Idol” winner David Cook’s first album. Is there any competition between the two of you?

A: “Not from what I’ve seen. I think we have wanted to extinguish that flame because we want to be separate artists and musicians. Even during the ‘Idol’ competition we weren’t that competitive. No one really understood what was going on, watching this dream grow. Cook understands that more than anyone else because he went through the same thing. I still talk to him and text him every now and then. He’s always checking up on me. He is like a brother and that shows that he is awesome.”

CLICK IT UP

IDOL runner up David Archuleta is poised for record debut: Click HERE

David Archuleta set to move beyond Idol: Click HERE

New David Archuleta Album Predictably Terrific: Click HERE

Review of CRUSH from NeuFutur Magazine:

While the music you would expect me to obsess over wouldn’t usually include a pop ballad, I will state this with pride. I have been following David Archuleta from the moment he sang his first note on American Idol: Season 7. His humble nature, and amazing story about how he goes from the possibility of never singing again to his incredible talent absolutely won me over. His first single with Jive Records does him perfect justice, and he shows the world that at the young age of 17, he is not in over his head. He is a natural.

The lyrics are not too loaded; they suit him perfectly to keep his young fun spirit evident in his first album. I don’t find the track too poppy either, as Archuleta stays true to his roots including piano and acoustic guitar and laces his vocal performance with conviction and emotion. Archuleta himself impresses me each time I hear him. His range and control is top-notch, including gorgeous falsetto that is hit flawlessly in the chorus. After hearing this single, I am even more excited now to hear the album, which I didn’t think was possible!

Jam Shawna

Lyrics “A Little Too Not Over You”

It never crossed my mind at all
It’s what I tell myself
What we had, is coming on
You’re better off with someone else
It’s for the best, I know it is
But I see you sometimes

I try to hide
What I feel inside
And I turn around,
You’re with him now
I just can’t figure it out

Tell me why you’re so hard to forget
Don’t remind me I’m not over it
Tell me why I can’t seem to face the truth
I’m just a little too not over you
Not over you – Ooh

Memories are supposed to fade
What’s wrong with my heart
Shake it off, let it go….

Not over you
Maybe I regret everything I said
No way to take it all back – Yeah
Now I’m on my own
How I let you go, I’ll never understand
I’ll never understand

David Archuleta: “I Was Nervous” Acting!

published in US Magazine Dotcom under Celebrity News -

If singing doesn’t work out for David Archuleta, he can always turn to acting!

The American Idol runner up recently shot a guest spot on Nickelodeon’s iCarly (to air next Feb.) – and show star Miranda Cosgrove can’t stop gushing.

“He is pretty close to my age so it was fun getting to hang out with him,” Cosgrove told Usmagazine.com at the 10th Anniversary of Yoplait’s Save Lids to Save Lives event in L.A. Friday.

“He was really good,” continued Cosgrove, 15. “He said it was his first big acting part and he just kind of came in and we didn’t even rehearse or anything. We just went for it and it went really well.”

Cosgrove admits even she was a little star struck to meet the Idol she voted for.

“It’s funny when you watch American Idol, the people seem like such a big deal so it was weird getting to meet him in person,” she said. “He is totally normal.”

Remember these David Idol moments?

Archuleta, 17, plays himself on the show – but doesn’t sing.

“I have a web show, and he came on the web show as a special guest,” Cosgrove explained.

Archuleta says playing himself made it easy.

“I was nervous and thought I’d be awful at acting, but the whole experience felt really comfortable and came pretty easily since I was allowed to play myself,” he told Us.

Does he want to do more acting?

“You do need a good memory for the dialogue, and I’ll have to work on that, but it would be fun to continue acting,” he said. “With iCarly, I also got to hang out with kids my own age for a change, and that was a real bonus.”

Plus, Archuleta says “I’m a huge fan of Nickelodeon….so it was especially cool to make my acting debut on a Nick show.”

JUMP2REPLAY (Oct 3rd video): David talked about his experience on the set of iCarly, etc… just click on this!

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DEAN KAELIN REVISITED:

Originally featured on MTV: it was written by Yasmine Richard and published on Friday, February 29, 2008 at 6:43 pm -

When I got the call to fly out to Salt Lake City, Utah and hit up the hometown of “American Idol” contestant David Archuleta, I have to admit that I had NO idea what this kid was about.

I had a similar chance to do a “homecoming” piece last year, for Idol champ Jordin Sparks, but by that time she was already in the top 10, so we were optimistic she was going to be star-worthy. We weren’t even there yet this year but there’s something about this Archuleta kid…

It was a sort of a homecoming for me, as I had attended college at Brigham Young University (a million years ago). When we arrived at David’s high school, Murray High, we were pretty impressed. Nice campus, well kept although we were disturbed by the kids that were rocking shorts and sandals when its 35 degrees in the middle of February. But hey, who am I to judge?!

I want to tell you about meeting David’s principal and his friends and all their confessions about some of Archuleta’s best-kept secrets. I want to tell you about how, on our first night in Utah, like the rest of the country, we were blown away by David’s performance of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” But first, I need to share with you the amazing thing that happened on the second day. After the jump.

So Day 2. We caught up with David’s vocal coach, Dean Kaelin. Now this guy has a story: he’s a trained musician, has worked with music giant Seth Riggs (who himself has worked with Michael Jackson), and has already turned out Idol-worthy talent (remember Carmen Rasmussen?).

Dean shared some really interesting things about David that we didn’t know, like David’s father is a jazz trumpter and his mother is a singer. Dean was the one who helped David strengthen his vocal chords after vocal-paralysis nearly derailed his singing career before it began. Dean showed us around his office then escorted us downstairs to the studio (on Cribs, this would be “where the magic happens”).

But this is what blew us away: Dean shared a clip of a 12-year old David singing “Imagine,” the SAME song that David sang the night before on “Idol” that won over the nation. I couldn’t believe my ears. All I could think was, Wow, this kid was born to do this. Even at 12-years old, he was amazing.

Here’s the footage:

Amazing, right?

So back to Day 1. We met the principal of Murray High, Principal Scott Bushnell. It was pretty strange. This guy strikes fear into the hearts of unruly students but here he is, a little nervous but totally cooperative and filled with nothing but praise for his students, particularly, David Archuleta.

We also got to meet some of David’s friends. Now it’s been some years since I’ve been back in High School so I totally forgot how energetic younglings are. Energetic but focused. We chatted about David and they had no problem putting him and his quirks on blast, spilling the beans on stuff like his fave movie, “Rat Race”.

His fave food: cheese, thai food and LETTUCE (Yes, lettuce. He claims to love lettuce so much, they call him lettuce boy!). They also said that David is a genuine guy and what you see is what you get. He’s even pretty shy. But whatever you do, don’t go driving with him, UNLESS you wanna hear him belt out the hook for Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” (”to the left, to the left…”).

Between that and David’s Idol performance, I’m now announcing my candidacy for President of the David Archuleta fan club. You can see more of my trip to Utah, and what all David’s friends and neighbors had to say about him and his lettuce infatuation, all this week on MTV News. It’ll be great, I promise.

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DAVID ARCHULETA TALKS ABOUT HIS ALBUM, PROM, POLITICS, PHOBIAS, COLLEGE, JORDIN, COOK, ETC…

WOW the life of this 17 year old is anything but typical.  And when you have tons of questions coming at you, it only shows how popular you are.

In his latest interview, David Archuleta talked with Ashley Iasimone of PopEater.  Here is what she compiled:

‘American Idol’ runner-up David Archuleta has been an awfully busy guy. Fresh off the ‘Idol’ tour, the 17-year-old singer has released his first single and video (’Crush’), filmed a guest spot on the television show ‘iCarly’ and got the golden ticket of an invite to Miley Cyrus’ recent Disneyland Sweet 16. As if that weren’t enough, Archuleta is putting the final touches on his debut album. Archuleta took a break from recording to talk to PopEater about his career plans, Clay Aiken, crazy fans and more.

Many ‘American Idol’ alums have gone on to have bountiful careers. Is there one in particular you aspire to have?

Jordin [Sparks] — her being my age — I really look up to her. I think her journey’s been the most similar to mine. She’s an amazing singer, and her style … she understood that she was young and didn’t have to run with a certain type of music so quickly. She allowed herself to have some space, some growing. That’s really cool of her.

What do you have planned as far as your album is concerned?

What we’ve been trying to do is keep a nice mixture of songs, so I don’t limit myself too much. It had to be done so quickly. People can take a year sometimes, just working on songs and thinking, “OK, what direction do I want to go on this album?”

I knew had a few months, and those months were taken up doing a tour, so it was interesting trying to juggle both of those things at once. When I’d have a day off, I’d go record. But I don’t want to keep myself limited with this album

Have you heard from your former ‘Idol’ competition, David Cook, about your single, ‘Crush’?

He liked it. He was like, “Your single sounds awesome.” He sent me a text when he first heard it. On tour, everyone would be singing it, joking around. I was just like, [laughs] “Stop!”

What do you think of David Cook’s new single, ‘Light On’?

I love it! He played us a few songs during tour and it sounded so good. I bought it the first day [it was released]. I’m a big fan of Cook. He’s been a really great guy through this whole thing. He’s always looked after me on tour and on the show, and he’s always giving great advice.

Who was your first celebrity or real-life crush?

I’ve always been kind of weird about the celebrity thing because it’s like, how do you like someone who you’ve never met? It’s just kind of weird for me.

But I guess people feel like they get to know their celebrity crushes. I know there are a lot of fans that feel that way with me! [laughs] It’s so weird how people can get with that kind of stuff.

I’ve always felt like I was too young. It’s like, “You’re not old enough to have a girlfriend.” But lately, it’s been about getting to know the person. There are some people who I definitely want to get to know better.

Have you ever read any of the fan fiction stories written about you?

I’ve actually never gone on the message boards. I’ve always thought it was good to stay away from that kind of stuff.

Like, I read my comments on MySpace and the voice messages and the blog comments, but that’s as far as I’ll go. I’m a little scared.

What was your reaction to fellow ‘Idol’ Clay Aiken’s decision to come out?

I didn’t really think about it a whole lot. Entertainment stuff bugs me so much — they’re just so interested in other people’s lives. Whatever, it’s his life. You have to respect … how he lives.

In the corn maze that’s based on you in Utah, they cut ‘Archuleta 4 President.’ If you were President, what would you do?

Try and change those poor areas in America. We’re always thinking, “Oh, the third world countries,” but there’s some areas in our country where it’s really sad.

I don’t think a lot of Americans realize what’s really going on. It’d be kind of cool to help fix up those areas — help some of our people who aren’t getting a lot of recognition to live better lives.

If you were old enough to vote, who would you vote for in the upcoming presidential election?

I haven’t done a lot of studying on that just because I’m not old enough, and especially since I’ve been working on the album during all the debates. So I don’t really know a whole lot. I just hear about all the YouTube Sarah Palin stuff. I feel bad for her.

Given your age. do you plan on going to your high school prom?

Well, at my school it’s a junior prom, and I’m a senior. But they have senior ball at my school. I kind of missed the whole prom experience, but that’s fine. I mean, it’s like, would I rather be at prom or would I rather be on ['American Idol']?

What’s the first thing you’d do if you could travel without parental supervision?

With the ‘American Idol’ experience, I had to have a guardian. It was like the rules for a minor to have a guardian with you all the time. Now that the show’s over, I pretty much can do whatever. I guess [I'd do] the same stuff as now.

[My parents] are pretty easy-going. They’ve never been really strict on me, but they still helped raise me to who I am. They trust me to do whatever I want because it’s not like I’m gonna go do weird, absurd, crazy things.

Do you speak Spanish well, and would you consider making a Spanish language record?

Oh, yeah. With my grandma — who doesn’t speak a whole lot of English — I speak Spanish to her. I’m not the greatest person at the world at speaking that, and sometimes I have issues understanding. But when I was little, it was my first language.

When I moved to Utah, I kind of forgot everything. I’ve actually definitely considered doing a Spanish album just because it’s been so much a part of my life, even musically.

My mom always played salsa and merengue. It’d just be really cool to give back to that part of my culture because they’ve done so much for me.

What is your biggest fear?

Responsibility, I guess, because [fans] are just wanting you to do your best. You want to do your best for them and also for your family. I just don’t want to let them down.

That’s one of my biggest fears — to disappoint people. But there will always be someone who’ll be disappointed in whatever you do. Phobias … I don’t like needles. It’s something I definitely could get over, but I just hate them.

You have quite the future ahead of you. Is college part of that journey?

College would be really important if things kind of slowed down for me. I’d always want to do music, but if music doesn’t work out, you definitely need education as a back up. Music careers don’t usually last forever.

Something I’ve always been interested in is the ear, nose [and] throat doctor thing, just because it’d be cool to help people who’ve had problems with their voice. I’ve had a lot of problems with my voice in the past. It’s a lot of schooling, but it’s something I’ve found interest in.

When you’re 17 it’s not like, “This is what my life is.” You’re still trying to figure it out, as a person.

Click ahead to participate in the poll on PopEater:

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MORE READING MATERIAL

• People’s article on David’s acting debut on iCarly
• People’s article on CRUSH
• Review after the Fort Wayne concert
• The Ralphie Report from Timesleader.com
• American Idol Buzz on Access Atlanta
• Review by Timesleader.com
• Seattlepi.com Music feature on Eva Cassidy
• Access Hollywood.com interview on Video
• David makes it on the Candorville Comic Strip
• US Magazine Recap from the American Idol finals
• New York Post entitled KID ROCK
• Teen Music.com article on David
• Young David Archuleta on Star Search by TV GUIDE
• Article from The Daily Herald – Archuleta has a bright future
• Fans react to music critic’s review from TampaBay.com
• Billboard.com articles are in abundance here