Check out an exclusive video interview with American Idol’s Season 8 runner-up David Archuleta as he talks about how he is preparing to take the stage NEXT Friday at Z100’s Jingle Ball @ Madison Square Garden!!

The clip:
http://video.msg.com/Videos/MSG-Networks/t1i6ol8WSJ30jPvQuMZDzHqQL7A5GC8U

Tune in for more updates on Mr. American Idol himself at http://msg.com/jingleball/

Have a wonderful weekend!!

-Anna D.

ac: well i thought this year’s American Idol contest had very talented contestants with great potential. i found it very entertaining and i felt like the competition was very tight. I feel that the competitors in the show have become better since last year season because last eason, i felt, many competitors in the show who made it far did not to deserve to go as far as they did. I thought many Americans were voting on people on reasons other than singing talent or performance reasons. This year, however, I felt that many of the contestants who did go far had great musical potential.

K.M: Who was your favotire contestants and why?

ac: I had many that I liked, three in particular. I really liked David Archuleta, David Cook, and Jason Castro. I think David Archuleta has such an amazing voice for being so young. He is so talented and has such a genuine and pure voice.David Cook also is a great performer. It comes to him naturally. He is such a great entertainer and can keep audience in awe, I also thought Jason Castro had a beautiful voice. He has such a soft and calming voice that can soothe a person. I really loved his singing and hid unique person.

K.M: Who was you least contestant out of the top twelve and why?

ac: I didn’t really like David Hernandez. I thought his voice was amateur and many times it was pretty pitchy and unporffesional-like. I thought he thought he was at many times better than he actually was. I also thought Syesha was a mediocre singer. I don’t think she was as good as she thought she was. She thought she had strong vocals but they were not as strong as other contestant’s.

K.M: Who do you with went further in the competition than they actually did?

ac: I really wish Brooke have gone further and have taken Syesha’s place in the top three. She has beautiful vocals with much variety. Her voice was pure and hippy-like. She was very taented with her voice and piano-playing and she would make a wonderful Idol. She also had great stage-presence and a great personality. Many people would easily relate to her because of her down-to-earth stage presence.

K.M: How do you judge the voting process and the fairness of it?

ac: I believe the voting process is somewhat unfair. Because of experioence, I think that many people who call in don’t have thier votes counted beacuse of the busy lines that you often hear. I also think that it is unfair that people who have text messaging have a better chance of casting their votes that people who call in. Also so many people like to mess with American Idol so they vote for the worst contestant and last of all many people abuse speed-dialers to cast and unfair amount of votes for one contestant.

K.M: What do you think of the spin-offs compared to American Idol?

ac: I think many spin-offs of AMerican Idol are very entertaining and I think they are good because they are like American Idol but for different areas of talent. I really like the spin-off Dancing with the Stars because it is so fun to watch celebrities trying to keep up with professional dancers. Many of the spin-offs are pretty good but not as successful as American Idol.

Anna: What’s your opinion on this season’s American Idol?

Almira: I think that American Idol is a very good show however sometimes it is

not fair.

Anna: Who was your favorite contestant from the Top 12 and why?

Almira: My favorite contestant was Brooke White because

Anna: Do you think the judging was fair?

Almira: No because Syesha should have gone home. She shouldn’t have been in

the top in the first place.

Anna: Do you think that David Cook deserved to win?

Almira: He had the same chance as David Archuleta to win, but I think David

Archuleta wanted it more than Cook. Yes, he did deserve to win.

Anna: What did you like the best from American Idol?

Almira: The Bird Man.

Anna: Did you vote by phone or texts?

Almira: I voted by phone. I voted for every blonde as well as David Cook..

Anna: What do you think about the way voting is set up? Do you think that

voting via texts should be available to people using other cellular companies?

Almira: I think that voting is unfair because I can’t vote through texting because I

don’t have AT&T. It is also unfair to all the other Americans that want to

vote by texting.

Anna: How long did you wait until you actually got through?

Almira: Well, I actually waited a couple of minutes before I got through..

Anna: Who is your favorite judge?

Almira: My favorite judge is Simon Cowell because he is very harsh to the

contestants.

Anna: Did you learn anything from American Idol?

Almira: I learned not to only base my opinion on how the person looks, but also

the quality their voice possesses.

Anna: Did you watch last year’s American Idol?

Almira: Yes I did, however I did not like the winner.

Anna: Do you think that American Idol should be so controlling over the

contestants that win, or come close to winning?

Almira: No they shouldn’t because they should not choose what type of music

they listen to.

Anna: What do you think it takes to win American Idol?

Almira: I think it takes popularity and the ability to sing.

Anna: Will you ever audition for American Idol?

Almira: Yes next year! Anna and I will go to St. Louis to audition with the song

“Miracle”.