David Archuleta

Music career

In 2003, Archuleta sang on several episodes of Star Search, becoming the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2 but losing the Junior Grand Champion title to Tiffany Evans. On one episode he competed against Alexandréa Lushington, who later became a top 20 semi-finalist on American Idol alongside him. Around his second year on Star Search he began focusing on the lyrics, having previously not paid attention to them. His competing on Star Search was preceded by an appearance on The Jenny Jones Show, where he met the finalists from American Idol's first season and performed an a cappella rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls.

He received praise from Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson, and the episode led to appearances on CBS's The Early Show. The year after Star Search, he learned he had partial vocal paralysis but declined risky surgery and feels he is almost fully recovered, limiting his singing to specific occasions such as Stadium of Fire. He made initial attempts at songwriting and arranging after Star Search, writing at least three songs. His first singles in 2002, written by his father and Sunny Hilden, were "Dream Sky High" and a song he had written by Yani Gileadi, "Don't Tell Me".

2007–2008: American Idol and David Archuleta

At the San Diego tryouts for American Idol in July 2007, he received his ticket to Hollywood with a performance of John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change" as judge Randy Jackson spontaneously joined in to sing the background "waiting". He was sixteen during Hollywood auditions and attended school while on the show. A parent or guardian was required because he was a minor. He accompanied himself on piano for performances of "Crazy", "Another Day in Paradise", and "Angels".

During the 1970s themed week he sang John Lennon's "Imagine", omitting earlier verses in favor of the last one; Los Angeles Times columnist Ann Powers speculated he avoided singing "no religion too" because of his Mormon faith. However, he did sing the entire song on "Good Things Utah" when he was 13. Asked by judge Randy Jackson why he did not sing the first verse, Archuleta said the third verse was his favorite because it has "a great message".

After his performance of "We Can Work It Out", which judge Simon Cowell called "a mess", Entertainment Tonight reported that Archuleta was feeling pressure from his father, Jeff, who "reportedly yelled at" his son after a recording session. Jeff Archuleta denied the claim. A May 2008 Associated Press article reported that Jeff Archuleta had his son add a lyric from the Sean Kingston song "Beautiful Girls" into an interpretation of "Stand by Me", increasing licensing costs, and that this resulted in Jeff Archuleta being banned from American Idol backstage rehearsals.

Archuleta defended his father, calling him "a great guy" who keeps him grounded. During the Top 7 results show, Archuleta was the only contestant not sorted into a group; he was declared safe, then asked to choose the group he thought was safe. He refused and sat down on the floor of the stage. In the finale he sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "In This Moment" and "Imagine".

Judge Simon Cowell declared that Archuleta won the evening, and even David Cook, who ultimately won, thought Archuleta would win: "I have to concede it, the kid came out all three songs and nailed it", said Cook. In the final tally, Archuleta received 44 percent of the votes. His first appearances on music ranking charts were with the three songs he performed in the finale: "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me", "In This Moment", and "Imagine" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart the week of June 7, 2008.

"Imagine" entered at number 36, "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" at 58, and "In This Moment" at 60. That same week he had three songs on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart as well, where his versions of "Longer", "Think of Me", and "Angels" debuted at number 15, number 19, and number 24 respectively. Archuleta signed with Jive Records in June 2008. His self-titled album, David Archuleta, was released in November 2008.

His first single, "Crush", was released in August 2008 on Z100, a New York radio station. On August 12 "Crush" became available on iTunes. It debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, beaten only by Rihanna's "Disturbia". It was the best chart debut in more than 18 months.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, the track sold 166,000 downloads in the first week in the United States. It has sold 1.92 million digital copies in the US.

Along with American Idol winner David Cook, Archuleta placed second on Forbes' list of "Breakout Stars of 2008". The two co-presented an award at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards in August 2008. Archuleta also received the Teen Choice Award surfboard for "Most Fanatic Fans".

Philanthropy

After the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, he joined a two-hour fundraising telethon, answering phones and staying afterward to continue. He was among the Latino singers who participated in Somos El Mundo, the Spanish version of "We Are the World 25 for Haiti".

Artistry

Archuleta's mother is from Honduras, and much of the music he heard as a child was Latin-influenced, including watching his mother sing at events with her sisters and being made to dance to traditional music. He also listened to jazz from his father's collection, as well as gospel, pop, rock, and soulful music; his father was a jazz musician.

He enjoys Broadway musicals. His tenor vocal range has been described as a once-in-a-decade pop voice, with a silken quality and gentle vibrato. A Billboard writer noted that fans might miss his unadulterated tone best showcased by ballads on earlier releases.

Personal life

Archuleta was born on December 28, 1990, in Miami, Florida, to Guadalupe Mayorga, a salsa singer and dancer, and Jeff Archuleta, a jazz musician. His mother is from Honduras and his father is of Spanish, Danish, Irish, and German descent. Archuleta has stated that his surname is of Basque origin. He speaks fluent Spanish and has four siblings.

His family moved to the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah, when he was six years old. He began singing at the age of six, inspired by a Les Misérables video. "That musical is what started all of this", he said. He started performing publicly at the age of 10 when he participated in the Utah Talent Competition, singing "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton; he won the Child Division.

He attended Murray High School before appearing on American Idol. Archuleta was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and completed the final requirements to achieve the rank of Eagle Scout in 2008, three days shy of his 18th birthday, while competing in American Idol; he did not formally receive the rank until two years later. He is a graduate of Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Salt Lake City.