David Archuleta

Not everyone knew David Archuleta could sing. Not like America knows now.

On a parched June day in 2006 before the 17-year-old “American Idol” phenom became a household name, David and dozens of other teens were on their way home from an LDS Church youth conference in Martin’s Cove, Wyo., when friends started pestering him to sing.

“He was being bashful. He said, ‘No, I haven’t warmed up,’ ” youth leader Julie Lundberg remembered. “They were giving him all kinds of crap. I said, ‘They’re not going to leave you alone until you sing.’ ”

David finally relented, grabbing a microphone from the bus driver, and his airy voice resounded through the static-filled intercom system. He sang Robbie Williams’ hit song, “Angels,” the same inspirational ballad he would later perform on “Idol.”

“It was cool. It was dead silence on the bus,” Lundberg said. “It’s like they all went, ‘Wow!’ ”
Two years later, David Archuleta is inching toward stardom. Since first stepping on the “American Idol” stage two months ago and stunning 25 million TV viewers with his interpretation of the 1961 Miracles’ hit, “Shop Around,” David has come to be viewed as the “Idol” contestant to beat.

With just five singers left, the Murray teenager known for his soft ballads and sweet, bubble-gum demeanor is virtually guaranteed to make the final two, likely with rocker David Cook, a raw power singer from Missouri and David Archuleta’s polar opposite.

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Seemingly all of Utah and half of America is rooting for David Archuleta to be the next “American Idol.” But one of the Murray teen’s best friends wouldn’t be completely heartbroken if he’s not. “I miss him a lot, so it’s OK with me if he comes home,” Jessica Judd said, with a laugh.

The signs of how big a deal this is are all over Murray High — literally. Not only is the school Archuleta attends plastered with posters, but they’re selling “I voted for David Archuleta” T-shirts.

And the media have descended on the school to find out what the “Idol” favorite is really like.

(One friend, Mietra Aarabi — the girl who looked so uncomfortable on camera when “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest was teasing Archuleta about the upcoming Murray High prom — said she’s signed an agreement with Fox that prevents her from giving interviews.)

“He’s exactly the way he seems on TV. He’s sort of shy,” said one friend who asked that her name not be used. “But then everyone is surprised the first time they hear him sing.”

Archuleta’s friends use words like “sweet,” “genuine” and “humble” repeatedly — something that comes across on TV but seems too good to be true to some viewers.

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Say cheese once again!  And who’s that girl that can dance!!! Do you’re thang.

Teen Is Favored to Take ‘American Idol’ Crown

David Archuleta, who began singing around age 7, comes from a family of musicians. His father is a trumpeter; his mother is a vocalist and salsa dancer.

The 17-year-old hadn’t yet entered his teenage years when his vocal coach Dean Kaelin recognized his talent six years ago, the “very first time I heard him sing.”

By the time Archuleta turned 12 he already had won the juniors singers’ competition on the televised talent show “Star Search,” but in the process, Archuleta lost half his voice when a virus attacked his vocal chord. It left one chord paralyzed.

“I said, ‘OK turn your head and sing.’ One vocal chord was doing all the work,” Kaelin said.

The shy boy with the big voice had to deal with a medical problem that permanently changed his voice.

It took months of work and vocal training for Archuleta to heal, but Kaelin said the he never fully recovered. Ironically, the damaging illness gave the teen his unique textured sound, which has been much praised and lauded.

Kaelin said Archuleta, who was raised in the Mormon Church, chooses all of his songs on the popular singing show, which reveals facets of his personality.

“What you see is genuine. He’s very honest. He’s very unassuming. He’s very humble,” he said.

Friends said the Murray High School student, who cited Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin and Bryan Adams as musical influences, is the same whether he is before 35 people or 35 million.

The seemingly gentle demeanor of the shy boy isn’t the only thing attracting attention. Some critics have questioned whether his father, Jeff Archuleta, is pushing his son too hard to be a success.

But, Archuleta’s friends said there’s nothing unusual about the pair’s relationship.

“Like any dad would be supportive and helping him telling him to practice and trying to get him do his best,” said Archuleta’s friend Jessica Judd.

“I really am really grateful for his friendship, not just his stardom that’s gotten me on ‘Good Morning America,’” Judd said.

…source

David Archuleta and the other contestants were featured in a recent US Weekly article titled “Before they were idols.”

Today they’re wowing millions On Fox’s ‘American Idol,’ but the top 12 were once just kids making music - and mischief.

“I love to play outside,” says Archuleta (age 5 at Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, CA, with, from the left, cousin Chason, mom Lupe Archuleta, brother Daniel and sister Claudia). “I’d catch bugs, ducks, frogs, and snakes.”

David Archuleta’s singing was an unstoppable force of nature. Somewhere in the family’s genetic chemistry, the music seeped right into his bones, and then fate or providence or whatever you want to call it lent a hand.

What if his father hadn’t left a “Les Miz” record lying around the house?

What if his mother, a singer and dancer, hadn’t emigrated from Honduras to Florida, where she met his father, who was there only to do temporary sales work for a summer?

What if his sister’s boyfriend hadn’t stumbled into a legendary voice coach, or what if the voice coach hadn’t needed help with his computers?

“So many things have happened along the way to make this happen,” says Jim Archuleta, David’s grandfather.

David, the sweet-faced 17-year-old “American Idol” sensation from Salt Lake City, was drawn to singing the way most boys are drawn to football and video games. As fate would have it again, the 5-foot-4 teen developed a big, full voice that belies his stature. And with the soulful voice, he sang with purpose.

“Since David was 8, his goal has been to achieve enough celebrity that he would be able to reach many people with the gospel message through his music,” says his grandfather. “He is very LDS.”
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No wonder the young favorite on American Idol an stare down the judges and the cameras and perform so well. Star Magazine reports that if not for his voice coach, his singing career could have ended before it even began. The report notes that Archuleta’s dreams of hitting the big time were in tatters when one of his vocal cords was paralyzed in 2003 while he competed on CBS’s Star Search.

But David didn’t just overcome the problem – he went on to win the show and $100,000. Now David, who just turned seventeen, stands on the brink of stardom, thanks to the voice coach who helped him beat the affliction, which is usually caused by a virus.

“Normally, both vocal cords come together tightly and neatly when you speak,” the coach, Salt Lake City, Utah-based Dean Kaelin, tells Star. “But David’s paralyzed cord was just sitting there doing nothing while his good vocal cord had to come all the way over so that they could join. This overstressed his voice, causing swelling and pressure in his cords.”

According to the report from the weekly entertainment magazine, Dean immediately started David on a rehab program based on a unique set of vocal scales and breathing exercises Dean learned while studying under Seth Riggs, who has coached superstars including Stevie Wonder, Barbara Streisand and Josh Groban.

Then David was faced with another challenge, one common to all boy singers. “His voice began changing just as we started our program!” says Dean, who still works with David.

“We had a one-week window between Star Search performances, so the therapy was on the fly. But we worked our way through – David really kept it together.”