Anyone watching last night’s American Idol — anyone with a beating heart, anyway — had their knee socks charmed right off after watching 16-year-old David Archuleta adorably sing his way through Bryan Adams’ "Heaven." Granted, he hasn’t quite pulled out the vocal fireworks that several of the other semi-finalists have during Hollywood Week, but can any of them claim to have torn the roof off of "And I Am Telling You" in front of Kelly Clarkson herself? No joke; check the clip below:
And that’s not even scratching the surface — after the jump, we’ll dive into the rather overwhelming amount of YouTubage on this freakily talented kid…
There are still some clips floating about the internets of Archuleta’s tenure on the 2003 reboot of Star Search, where he won the Junior Singers competition. While it’s all really impressive for a 12-year-old, his take on Alicia Keys’ "Falling" rates pretty high on the Do You Really Know What You’re Singing? scale of Makes Me Uncomfortable, and the shot of his parents mouthing the words along with him just makes it worse:
Much more impressive, though, is Archuleta’s sweet and subtle take on John Lennon’s "Imagine":
Oh, and Vanessa Carlton’s "A Thousand Miles":
And the Christmas perennial "O Holy Night":
You get the idea. We’ll see tonight whether all this, er, practice was enough for David to make it to the Top 24 — oh, who are we kidding, of course he makes it to the top 24 — but, is it just me, or do you get the feeling there’s a VHS tape stashed in the Archuleta family attic of a sonogram of David singing "Broken Wings" in his mother’s womb?
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This young man is ready for the big time. Good move to audition for AI. Talk about confidence? He’s got it in spades.
holy cow.
i liked him on AI bec of his personality and nice tone. but he didn’t impress me as much as the irish girl and the australian guy did (even the guy that lived in his car that cries a lot).
but wow. impressive, that clip. and yes even in front of ms. kelly clarkson herself. even tamyra was groovin’ at the end hee…
What an amazing talent. I expect big things.
Assign him an 866 number and hand me cell phone.
What is most annoying is that FOR SURE the judges have all the background info on all these characters, and have a major leg up on the viewers in that respect. Ones with backgrounds like Johns, Carly, and David always make it to voting rounds.
Michael Johns looks as if Bret McKenzie (Flight of the Conchords) and Freddie Mercury were combined to form one person. He sings well, but a little too well.
Carly can’t hit the high notes but is acceptable.
Danny and Kyle both are Broadway singers. I already found out that Danny made it to the 24 but he is going to have the same problem as Lisa, that girl who was in the Lion King from season 6. The vocal does
not scream recording artist.
Amanda also made it to the 24 and I just hope that the viewers out there will get the message that there is a huge difference between pop 40 and rock. My guess is that she will be given a Pink song to sing.
Call me a cynic, but his constant smile kinda creeps me out. I’m definitely impressed by his talent, but I can’t get over the smiling and the Thank You’s. He’s got Melinda Doolittle syndrome.
I really enjoyed his performance last night, but in that clip he sounds like a girl. As in, I thought for a second that Kelly was singing.
No one finds him a little affected? And a little creepy in that Star Search clip? He’s, like, 11, and doing that whole fake growl thing through “Fallin’.” Really good as an older kid, though, when he’s not forcing that silly growling. I’ll look forward to seeing him on Idol this season – he’ll surely make the top 12, I’d think.
The best thing about him is he sings the songs how they are written. I hate hate hate when people change the tune of the song by holding out notes or going faster/slower. The best example is obviously the National Anthem. But SOOOOOO many of the American Idol peeps did it yesterday. ugh. Especially that girl who did the Doors song and slowed down the “Come on baby light my fire” part. AH stop the madness.
How many Davids ended up in the final 50 because I am getting somewhat confused. I think you’ll have to assign them all a number or something. And Amen Sari!
I agree with Sari, I hate when people try to alter every single note within one song…just sing it how it’s written for crying out loud. David does a fabulous job of it and he’s very talented and entertaining.
Singing songs “how they’re written” is called Karaoke. Making a song your own is what a talented person does when forced to sing a song they didn’t write.
I agree, when singing the National Anthem it’s a bit much, but in a competetion when you want to stand out… don’t do a Bryan Adams impression unless you’re ready to go home.
Love him!
If he does not make the top 12 then there has been a crime!
Three Davids are in the 24:
Cook
Archuleta
Hernandez
lil dave is the shiznit. i love him, and have a feeling he’ll be winner or runner-up. you heard it here.
Wow. Jaw…dropped..on…floor. Prodigy is right.
This will be an interesting season, to say the least!
He’s adorable. But “And I Am Telling You?” At that age? “You’re the best man/ I’ve ever known?”
Still, a Josh Groban crooner in the making. There’s a place for big voices (though I tend to look for those mumbly crumbly bard types.)
Clay Aiken with better skin
Uh……did nobody notice his awful breathing technique? It irritated me to death. Is it too much to ask for a singer to not gasp every three seconds?
OMG!!!!! YOUR SO HANDSOME!!!
To a degree you are right. But some songs are even better when they’re tweaked by another artist. I do hate when singers put too many runs in songs, sounds stupid. But don’t knock artists for putting their own spin on a song. Heck, artists do it with their own tunes all the times. Imagine singing a song the same exact way over and over and over and over over and over… you get my drift?
To a degree you are right. But some songs are even better when they’re tweaked by another artist. I do hate when singers put too many runs in songs, sounds stupid. But don’t knock artists for putting their own spin on a song. Heck, artists do it with their own tunes all the times. Imagine singing a song the same exact way over and over and over and over over and over… you get my drift?
That aside, this kid deserves a recording contract.
I say that he does good and make it to the top 3. He may even win this. this is an early prediction. I know I will vote for him. He is young, He has a chance to grow in the industry and will get better. So, if he does not win the title. I know that he would get a record contract deal. American Idol will do a lot for him and it’s promotion to boost his singing carrer…
I just love him , he sings great..may he make it all the way and become our next idol…..
I say Kudo’s to David, he is young, clean cut, handsome and wholesome. He is a very talented young man who probably will surprise everyone in the end. This year will be very interesting to say the least.
I love David. He has a gorgeous voice, seems genuinely nice and I think he’ll go far.
He is my favorite already and he is so cute.
I loved him instantly! He has a great voice, good looks and an endearing personality. Real idol material. I hope he makes it to the top 3.
I’m just glad somebody did their research. I looked several of the finalists up on Youtube. At this point, you have to assume they’ve all been recorded singing. I came across these same videos. Archuleta’s performances on AI so far haven’t even skimmed the surface of what he is capable of. If he can approach what he reaches on these videos, the title is his. But my question is, has the paralysis damaged his voice? It is still amazing, but different. I sense a great story behind this. He seemed to have more range before. Is this simply the story of a boy’s voice changing to a man’s or was damage done? Was he pushed to hard by his parents as “child prodigy”? Or has he now become a deeper, richer singer capable of maturity beyond his years? Whatever the case, he is my fave to win.