The Virginian-Pilot
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The 18-year-old singer has a cherubic face, and his breakout moment on "American Idol" was his rendition of John Lennon's ethereal "Imagine." No wonder his fans call themselves "Archie's Angels."
David Archuleta, the little teen with the big voice who finished second in last year's "American Idol" competition, opens his national tour tonight in Virginia Beach.
"Hopefully, I'll be ready, but I can't help being nervous about it," Archuleta told Creators Syndicate about his tour. "It's a really big step, and you wonder whether anyone will come out to see the shows, what songs to perform and all."
He needn't worry. There are tickets left, but very few.
Although he was edged out for the "Idol" crown by David Cook last season, he's acting like a winner.
Perhaps no stage has been as big as when he performed for millions on "Idol" as season seven closed in May.
Of course, he went on the obligatory "Idol" top 10 tour last summer.
Along the way, however, he managed to put together his debut solo album, "David Archuleta." First, he released the single, "Crush," then the album, in November.
The album debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard chart and has sold more than 600,000 copies. The song has sold about 1.5 million digital downloads.
In December, he performed at a number of "Jingle Ball" concerts at radio stations around the country.
Just this month, he sang the national anthem at the NFL Pro Bowl in Hawaii, was grand marshal in a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, and joined other "Idol" alumni to open American Idol Experience at Disney's Hollywood Studios. (It's a mini-"Idol" experience that lets people audition and sing before a live crowd and be judged for possible prizes.)
Archuleta also made his acting debut on the Nickelodeon hit "iCarly." Who knew that Carly (Miranda Cosgrove) is an Archie's Angel herself?
Besides singing "Crush" in the episode, he popped up on other spots with Cosgrove, and his video for "Crush" got an airing for a big audience. When the episode was repeated, Archuleta was able to unveil a video for "A Little Too Not Over You," the second single from his CD.
"I was nervous and thought I'd be awful, but it felt really comfortable and came pretty easily since I was allowed to play myself," he said in a Nickelodeon release. "With 'iCarly' I got to hang out with kids my own age for a change, and that was a real bonus."
Dan Duke, dan.duke@pilotonline.com, (757) 446-2546
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David Archuleta at the Sandler
Hey, Dan,
I wanted to let you know I attended David's concert at the Sandler Center (which sold out a week before the show, by the way) and he was incredible! Did you get to attend? I was blown away, frankly. David Archuleta is known for his stunning and gifted vocals and he delivered. The band was awesome and I loved the songs he performed, which were mostly from his album. The audience loved him. It was pretty interesting to see people of all ages there, not just teens. I met people from Hong Kong, Canada, and across the US who came to see him for his opening night. I think age is irrelevant when it comes to knowing a special and gifted voice when you hear it. I remember when Crush charted on Billboard Records; they were quoted as saying that Archuleta has "the voice of this generation". I couldn't agree more. I'm so glad he came to our town.
How come there wasn't a review in the Pilot after his opening night?