My colleague Oscar Dahl has made his thoughts on American Idol runner-up David Archuleta quite well-known.  Oscar is enjoying a much deserved vacation this week, so I'm here to admit something to all of you: I like David Archuleta.  The kid won me over the instant I heard his sob story about vocal paralysis during American Idol's seventh season.  I rooted for him during the entire competition, even when I grew completely bored with his insistence on singing ballad after ballad for weeks on end.  If you ask me, little Archie deserved to make it to the final two.

Archuleta's first single, entitled "Crush," appeared all over the Internet last week.  Will it be a smash hit, or will it end up as forgotten as Justin Guarini's first release?

I definitely can't pretend to understand the music business.  It seems completely impossible to predict what will be a hit in this day and age.  I never would have guessed that songs like Amy Winehouse's "Rehab" or Leona Lewis's "Bleeding Love," both of which sound out of another era, would be huge singles.  I also wouldn't have guessed that audiences would get all atwitter over the bland rock stylings of American Idol winner David Cook, so I'm certainly not the authority on popular music.

That being said, I'm impressed with "Crush."  The song doesn't exactly set my world on fire, but I like the direction Archuleta has moved in.  The single has an R&B tinge to it and more of a beat than you'd expect from the king of ballads.  Check it out for yourself:



For reasons beyond my comprehension, E!Online is reporting that albums from both Cook and Archuleta will be released on the same day in November.  Cook is teaming up with producer Rob Cavallo, who has worked with such artists as Green Day and Kid Rock, while Archuleta is collaborating with Rock Mafia Productions, who have created hits for Miley Cyrus and Mariah Carey.

The two Davids are obviously going for different sounds, but who will come out on top in the end?  Comparing "Crush" to Cook's first single, the horrendous "Time of My Life," I'd say that Archuleta has the advantage for now.  At least his song doesn't mention magic rainbows.


- Don Williams, BuddyTV Staff Writer
Source: E!Online
(Image courtesy of FOX)