David Archuleta Will Win American Idol 7
For the past couple of weeks, when asked who I thought brought it and who left it on American Idol, I’ve consistently said “the kid” as my pick to beat.
The kid is David Archuleta, and after Tuesday night’s rendition of John Lennon’s “Imagine,” I suspect all those who shrugged when I issued those sentiments will understand why I think he’s the favorite to win Idol Season 7.
In fact, I think his performance was not only the first “moment” of the season, I think it was comparable to Carrie Underwood’s “Alone” performance in Season 4, the one in which Simon Cowell proclaimed that she would win the title and sell more records than any other Idol in history. It’s probably more accurate, spatially, to compare it to LaToya London singing “All By Myself” in Season 3.
Here’s the deal with “the kid” though. Not only do I think David Archuleta wins American Idol, I think he becomes the show’s first legitimate male pop star.
He’ll do Broadway. He’ll have a legitimate hit record on mainstream radio. He’ll be on TV. He is essentially a perfect pop star, and here’s why I think this competition is o-v-e-r.
1. He will dominate the tween and teen vote. Tweens and teens will vote a billion times for him. One look at DialIdol.com tonight, and I saw that David had a 30 share while second place had like a 7. Unless somebody from the girls’ side of things picks it up and fast, David is going to build up an insurmountable edge in teenybopper girls.
2. He will win the grandmama vote. Grandmamas like good voices, good personalities and clean-cut kids. The Kid’s got it all in that regard.
3. He will at least partially pick up the musician vote. Yes, Jason Castro can play a guitar, although it’s unfortunate he’s yet been able to tune it. And, yes, David Cook can play the chords from Free’s “All Right Now.”
However, Idol is still a singer’s competition, and David Archuleta is far and away the best male singer. Based on all that I’ve heard, he’s far and away the one singer I’d pick to work with, to record a demo for me, etc.
What’s scary is that it’s early.
Fact is, the reason Archuleta didn’t sing the first verse to “Imagine” is because it referenced the notion that there is no heaven and hell. David’s family is uber-religious, and that doesn’t bug me one iota, nor does it sway me toward his camp relative to the show.
However, the way he handled the question from the judges was brilliant, focusing on the positive instead of making it a point to preach to 33 million people, which would have been an enormous turn off to voters. So, if I could add a No. 4 to my list, I’d note that David’s obviously a savvy kid. He’s been in this parade before.
Now, if I didn’t review everyone else this week, it’s because THE story when you wake up tomorrow will center on Archuleta. And what could make him all the more of a phenomenon this year is that it’s not only becoming clear that he’s the most talented of this season’s Idol crop, but he still looks like an underdog. At his stature, he’ll always look like an underdog.
But with that voice, I assure you, he will be crowned Idol champ come May.
March 1st, 2008 at 3:59 pm
That’s interesting about the verse choice stuff. Very insightful. I appreciate your intelligent analysis, and I agree that he’ll win, but like you said, it’s still early. It is his to lose.