David Archuleta: Snapshot
- Name
- David Archuleta
- Date of Birth
- December 28, 1990
- Birth Place
- Miami, Fla.
With his powerful vocals and humble stage presence, the "goshing" cutie from Utah won the Junior Division of Star Search at age 12. After making it to Idol's big stage, Archuleta was plagued with fumbling his lyrics and negative press surrounding his reportedly over-bearing father Jeff, whom Idol producers banned from backstage and practices. But in the end, the boy wonder – who lost the Idol crown to Midwestern rocker David Cook – released his self-titled debut album, which spawned the No. 2 Billboard hit, "Crush."
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David Archuleta: Video
Star Talk
Plus: The Idol runner-up – whose self-titled album debuts Nov. 11 – answers your questions
David Archuleta: Five Fun Facts
- David Archuleta's American Idol idol is Season One's Tamyra Gray. "I was like, 'I want to do that!'" he told PEOPLE.
- David Archuleta once serenaded American Idol's first season finalists, including winner Kelly Clarkson, with Jennifer Holliday's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going." "I'd sing that song 300 times a day for months," he told PEOPLE.
- When he went back home to Murray, Utah while on Idol, more than 10,000 fans packed the Murray High School football field to see the 17-year-old junior. Cheerleader Sarah Tucker called him "the biggest thing Murray ever had."
- Clay Aiken's got the "Claymates." Taylor Hicks has "the Soul Patrol." And David Archuleta's fans call themselves, "The Archies."
- Former teen heartthrob and fellow Utah native Donny Osmond gave David Archuleta advice. "Just enjoy the process because it is 15 minutes of fame, so enjoy every [one] of those 15 minutes," he recalled to the AP.
David Archuleta: Biography 
- 1990s
Musical Beginnings
Jeff Archuleta, who plays jazz trumpet, and his wife, Lupe, a singer, raise their five children in a musical atmosphere. At 7, little David begins singing. "They've always been there to give me support and advice," Archuleta tells PEOPLE in 2008 of his parents. "They help remind me what matters in life, which things are important and which things I shouldn't worry about."
- 2003
Star Searching
At 12, Archuleta wins the junior category of Star Search. A few years after his win, he is put under vocal rest to recover from a paralyzed vocal chord. "But that's what gives his voice an interesting quality to it. It's why he has kind of an airy sound to his voice," Dean Kaelin, Archuleta's vocal coach, later tells the AP. "This definitely was an obstacle he had to overcome. But for him, it's a blessing."
- 2007
Auditioning For Idol
Archuleta auditions for the seventh season of American Idol in San Diego. Although he flubs the lyrics of John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change," the 16-year-old surprises judges with his big voice, prompting Randy Jackson to sing background vocals, while Paula Abdul calls him a "sweetheart." All three judges send him to Hollywood.
Photo Credits
Top Left: FOX
BIOGRAPHY (top to bottom): FOX; INF
David Archuleta: Photos
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