The Latest on David Archuleta

So it's been a little while since I wrote a blog about David Archuleta, last season's runner-up on American Idol. Did I mention before he should have won last season? Ahem ... anyways, David is continuing his hectic performing schedule. After last week's appearance on American Idol where he sang the latest single off his debut album "Touch My Hand," he flew off to the UK where he's the opening act in a number of shows to the group McFly. I am sure many of you reading this blog are unfamiliar with the group McFly, but they are a pretty big act in the UK. Obviously this should end up helping David's exposure in the UK quite a bit. American Idol does air across the pond, but I'm not sure how hugely popular it is over there like it is here. I mean afterall, they have their own version of American Idol called "The X-Factor." So they may be more excited about their version than ours; however, from visiting various Idol and David Archuleta message boards, I've noticed quite a few fans of Archie from the UK as well.

So, what did everyone think of David's performance on American Idol last week? I thought he did pretty good - his stage presence has improved markedly from when he was on the show last season. He was really getting into the performance and interacted with fans in the audience. I don't think it was his best vocal but I heard rumors to the fact that he had been sick. And he was probably super nervous returning to the Idol stage. I know I would be! So, with all things considered, I would give David a solid B+ for his performance on Idol. I noticed from a lot of comments on-line, people didn't necessarily like the song, but they were impressed by his performance as a whole. And I've got to admit, the song "Touch my Hand" is a tad on the corny side. But it is catchy nontheless and David does a good job singing it at whatever venue he performs.

David also makes an upcoming appearance in the popular Disney show "Hannah Montana" featuring Miley Cyrus and sings a duet with the star of the show. In fact, this episode has just recently appeared on many "On Demand" cable features, so if you have On Demand as part of your cable subscription, you can catch it early! Now, I don't profess to be a "Hannah Montana" or Miley Cyrus fan - I actually find her to be quite annoying. However, this is tremendous exposure for David. I believe this particular episode of "Hannah Montana" featuring David Archuleta is set to officially premiere on the Disney Channel on May 3 - be sure to check your local listings just to double check. And for those of you who can't wait, I found a video clip on YouTube!



The song is titled "I Wanna Know You," and usually I don't find Miley to be that great of a singer. However, she sings great with David Archuleta. I do think this song starts off on a rather annoying note with Miley's "whoa oh ah uh oh oh's" but it gets a lot better. It's a much better duet than I expected! And David looks very confident in his acting role, albeit short. Go David! (Update: The official Radio Disney version of the song has David's part in the song cut right out! Instead of David getting a solo like in the TV version of the song, it's basically just Miley's song with David singing in the background. How horrible. I certainly hope this song doesn't get released as a single because Disney and Miley both ruined it for me.)

So what's next for David this summer? Once his tour with McFly ends, he'll next be paired up with another Disney star, Demi Lovato, for a tour across the U.S. this summer. This should prove to be another very successful venture for David as he'll be touring with someone very popular with the tweens and young teenagers. The tour is expected to last for much of the summer and include stops in many of the major metropolitan areas in the United States. For more information on this tour and other David Archuleta information - be sure to check out David's official website: DavidArchuleta.com.