David Archuleta

Our hopes are confirmed! David has officially signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings/Jive Records and in even better news, his album is expected later this year!

In an official statement released today, Archie said, “Signing a contract with 19 Recordings/Jive Records is truly a dream come true. Being a fan of American Idol since season one and admiring the alumni, I am honored and humbled to be a part of that group. I’m really excited to start working on everything.”

Simon Fuller, American Idol creator, was the one who offered the deal, calling him a “genuine pop star”.

This statement couldn’t bear anymore truth, as Jeff Archuleta has stated that David is already busy writing his own songs.

More.

According to various media outlets, the Utah solo show the Archuleta’s were holding this Friday at the E Center has been cancelled due to “contractual obligations”.

“They’re just going to reschedule the event for a later time, When all the minds met, everyone concluded this wouldn’t work out for this particular weekend, and they just want to reschedule it for toward the middle or the end of the [”American Idol” summer] tour. This is the only chance he’s going to get to just thank people, and it seemed appropriate to do so,” Jeff Archuleta told the Salt Lake Tribune.

The proceeds from the “thank you” concert were to go to charities  Make a Wish and Multiple Sclerosis Society

David can still be seen as part of the American Idol tour which stops in Utah on July 14th and 15th. Tickets are still on sale for the second date, the first is sold out.

Moments ago this was reported tonight in a Fanblast chat by Brett:

David will be singing and speaking  to a crowd of around 20,000 people @ the E-Center in Salt Lake City, Utah this Friday June 6th at 7:00 PM.

As a special thank you from David and the Archuleta’s, tickets are just $1.00 and go toward a charitable donation.

The news comes before it was released to the general public. More details will hopefully be announced soon and Fanblast will cover the event.

David shared some thoughts with Sponkit about his hopes for the future, what he thought about the American Idol judges, and offered advice to next season’s contestants.

Simon Cowell: “He’s a pretty tough guy. You never know what he’s going to say.”

The biggest lesson he’s learned: “Always be yourself.”

On advice to the next season of Idol hopefuls: “Remember what they love about music and to just enjoy it…Be prepared for the work…[But] it’s so worth it.”

Future plans: “I just hope to continue working on music. I want to start on an album…I would love to write my own stuff.”

And the next ” American Idol” is David. But David who? Not everyone agrees on which David will win Wednesday night.

The winner: David Archuleta. There’s no question David Cook is a far more original and versatile performer than his young opponent, but as Randy has told “Archie” so often, “Dude, you can sing the phone book.” Add to that Archie’s devoted legion of prepubescent and postmenopausal fans. And then there’s this year’s coronation song, which is bound to be more syrupy than a bottle of Mrs. Butterworth’s. No one serves up syrup sweeter than Archuleta. We can already imagine his dad saying, “Pour it on.” - Daniel Bubbeo

The winner: David Cook. “Idol” missed its shot with Chris Daughtry two years ago. Sure, 19 Entertainment still makes money off him, but it would have been so much sweeter if the “American Idol,” not the fourth-place finisher, had been the biggest-selling artist in 2007. Cook’s potential CD sales could even overtake Daughtry’s. He’s über-talented and can sing “Phantom of the Opera” with as much ease as Phantom Planet. The stylists have exposed his raw sexuality and - surprise! - he’s also a nice guy. The perfect “Idol” package. Make no mistake, it’ll be Cook singing the assuredly icky “coronation” song Wednesday night. - Ronnie Gill

David Archuleta is a nice, seventeen year old kid with an overbearing father. He has a good singing voice with which, it could be argued, he adds too many runs and vocal gymnastics then need be. He is innocent, naïve, modest to a fault and, as a result of these things, lacks a distinct personality. He is a blank slate, which may actually be a reason for his season long success on American Idol. With no clearly defined persona, David Archuleta can be anything for anyone who watches American Idol. Perhaps you, teenage girls, see him as the perfect boy – talented, cute and pliable. Perhaps you, grandmothers, see him as the boy you wish your grandkids were. Perhaps you, 30 year old hipster, see him as a talented and un-ironic foil to your typical likes. David Archuleta, blessed with a distinctive voice and cursed/blessed with a father who systematically constructed him a path to stardom, is one night of voting away from winning American Idol. These are the reasons why he will emerge triumphant on Wednesday night:

Inevitability

You don’t always need reasoned, logical explanations for things: it just seems right that David Archuleta will win American Idol. It may not be just in your mind, but the sweet air of inevitability is clearly in Archuleta’s corner. For the entire American Idol season, Archuleta has acted and been judged like the golden boy destined to win. It’s felt like this since the Top 12 began, and that feeling has not gone away.

Voting Fanatics

Stories have floated along on the internet tubes for the last couple months regarding David Archuleta’s fans. How the rabid fanatics have had “voting parties” where they text or call in as many times as humanly possible within the voting window. It’s possible that Archuleta has less fans that the voting results might dictate, simply because his fans vote more than any other group of fans. If this is the case, then expect their efforts to peak on the night it matters most next week.

The Judges

If you keep saying something over and over and over and over again, eventually people start to believe it. The American Idol judges anointed Archie the prohibitive favorite early in the season and their enthusiasm continued throughout. Although Simon has taken his foot off the Archuleta praise pedal oh-so slightly, Randy and Paula still blindly sing David’s praises. If I have to hear Randy say “he could sing the phone book” one more time I will puke in my soup. Nonetheless, the judges have conditioned the audience to like all of David’s performances whether they were actually good or not.

He’s Cuter than David Cook

If you don’t think a significant portion of the voting audience doesn’t just vote for who they think is the cutest, you are kidding yourself.

…source @ buddytv

Just thought I’d post a random image from his hometown visit.  Say “HI!”

Listen to David Archuleta’s Top 03 studio version of “Longer” in the audio player.

David Archuleta - Longer