More Praise for David Archuleta’s Performance Last Night

DAVID ARCHULETA: Remember back in Season 7? When there were actual “moments” on the Idol stage? David Archuleta came back to remind us. On the piano, Archie reprised his performance of “Imagine.” Oh, the good-ole-days of American Idol. I’m wistful. And he is still just so adorable.
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They’ve tried their hands at the storied song catalogue of John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Now, the contestants of “American Idol” have another famed twofer to face: David Archuleta and Adam Lambert. Sure, neither of them could be classified as music legends — they’re both still under 30, after all. But in the annals of “Idol,” few contestants have made their mark the way these two have.

First up is Li’l David, the diminutive crooner who shot to fame during season seven, powered by a froggy voice, a poised performance style and a face that seems tailor-made for grandmas to pinch. (He made a Christmas album, for crying out loud.) He makes his first appearance this season during Wednesday night’s broadcast. More on that in a moment.

… But there are a few things this year’s Idolites can learn from these two “Idol” heavyweights just by watching them: how to cultivate a personal style, how to earn an audience and how to keep a career going after an “Idol” season ends. Oh, and that it doesn’t necessarily matter who wins the coveted “Idol” title. Both David and Adam were runners-up, and it doesn’t seem to have hurt them one bit.

REMAINS OF THE DAVID
I’m pleased as punch to see David Archuleta return to the “Idol” stage, and I’m as fond as everyone else of his famed, much-lauded interpretation of John Lennon’s “Imagine.” But I’m still a little disappointed when I realize he’s about to play it again. I’ve seen this on “Idol” already. Twice. The only thing different this time is his Ken doll haircut.

As expected, it’s a superlative performance. Eyes glisten. Children of all shapes, sizes, colors and ice cream preferences join hands and dance. Angels cry. Michele Bachmann and Nancy Pelosi hug and give each other pedicures. It’s all very touching.

In all seriousness, though, David‘s voice — which was pretty darned good when he was on the show two years ago — sounds clearer and more striking than ever. Stardom has been very good to him. And he still gets tongue-tied during his interview with Seacrest. It’s just like old times.
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The Lennon/McCartney songbook delivered a pretty good night of performances overall. As a result, we’ve been promised a shocker in this results show. Is it shocking enough to force a judges’ save, even with a month to go before it expires? Or is the shocker a good-for-once guest performance, like by David Archuleta or Rihanna?

… And now, for a good guest performance. Here’s Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta singing one of his best songs that happens to be a John Lennon creation, “Imagine.” Two years later and he still looks prepubescent. After he’s done singing, David talks to Ryan and tells us he was still nervous for this performance, though not as much as the performance for his finale. He’s working on a new album with singles to be released soon.
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Video: David Archuleta Performs “Imagine” On American Idol Results Show

With this week’s American Idol theme being Lennon/McCartney songs, true Idol fans thought of one thing: season 7 runner-up, David Archuleta’s rendition of Imagine. Sitting at his piano, the talented young star returned to American Idol to remind fans of his epic performance and show the new contestants how it’s all supposed to be done.
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‘American Idol’: David Archuleta does ‘Imagine’ proud

David Archuleta returned for the perfect “American Idol” week that celebrated Beatles songs, which meant he dusted off “Imagine.” He attacked the song with his typical earnest enthusiasm, but this time, it was old-school John Lennon-style with the piano accompaniment Archie really worked well with the simplicity of the song, and it’s easy to see why his fans are still devoted to him.
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Filler included a performance by Jason Derulo, David Archuleta and Rihanna. Never heard of Jason Derulo but he’s the first unknown performer (to me, anyway) on Idol this season that I actually liked. The backup dancers were a little distracting at times but between the split, the mic-toss and the Michael Jacksonesque dance moves, the performance was great. Simon agreed. Meanwhile, David Archuleta returned to sing his signature version of “Imagine.” An appropriate song choice as it was one of his best performances in his season.
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We still haven’t announced the bottom three — and we’re still not going to. Instead, we’ll hear David Archuleta sing Imagine, including the first verse that he decided to forego during his competition performance. I don’t know that I’ve heard him sing this song since that year, and I’m impressed with just how much his voice has matured. It’s much fuller, much richer, and much more facile. Ryan and David talk about all the writing and recording he’s doing. David says the new single and album should be coming soon, though he doesn’t give anything resembling a date or even a general timetable.
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Next, David Archuleta from season 7, beautifully sang Imagine while playing the piano. He let everyone know that he has a new album and single coming out very soon. After David performed the bottom 3 were revealed: Aaron Kelly, Michael Lynch and Andrew Garcia.
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Tonight’s American Idol results show also featured three performances. Jason Derulo gave us a great show with his hit “In My Head”. Former contestant, David Archuleta stopped by to perform “Imagine”. He played piano while he sang. It was a very nice performance and it fit the theme of the week. Rihanna performed “Rockstar 101″ and was promoting an upcoming tour. All in all, it was a great show!
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David Archuleta, as beaming and breathless as ever, returned to show how Beatles night should be done, sitting down at the piano for his much-lauded “Imagine” cover that blew the judges away in season seven.
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David Archuleta I don’t think the season 7 runner-up missed a single note tonight while sitting at the piano and delivering a tender, haunting ”Imagine.” Still, why did the producers have young Archie repeat the seminal performance he gave back in the season 7 semifinals? Why not let the kid try something different? I did enjoy the way the SwayBots malfunctioned during the performance — falling out of sync, turning to bizarre stretching and clapping exercises. A-

[Editor's Note: Slezak gave Derulo a B, Rihanna a B-, and the group medley a D.]
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6:26 The break is all about Derulo as he heads over to the “Idol” hopefuls for a quick hello and the judges come on stage to say goodbye. Aaron looks surprisingly cheery considering it was he who many thought was going home. Andrew and Big Mike, on the other hand, wear a look of concern as David Archuleta‘s piano is wheeled on stage. Maybe they were trying to “Imagine” being somewhere else at that very moment.

6:29 Archie gets situated at the piano and looks a little nervous, but still gives a quick wave to the audience.

6:31 The sway-bots kick into gear almost the second David launches into John Lennon’s “Imagine,” which was one of his defining moments while competing on “Idol.”

6:32 Casey’s mouth is agape in awe of all that is Archuleta. He’s also the first to give the Season 7 runner-up a standing ovation.

6:35 Time to dim the lights as David meanders offstage, giving the hopefuls two thumbs up.

On our way out, we ran into David Archuleta and spoke a bit about his performance (a special request by Simon Fuller himself) and this year’s crop of contestants. More of that interview coming up shortly, but tell us in the meantime: Is season 9 connecting with you? Are any of these contestants comparable to Archie or next week’s mentor, Adam Lambert?
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American Idol Top 9 Results: Music from Rihanna & David Archuleta, Plus “Hello Goodbye” to a Finalist Who was Later Saved

Following in the footsteps was Season 7′s Runner-Up, David Archuleta, who played the piano beautifully to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” I loved hearing his rendition. Afterwards, he chatted briefly with Ryan informing the audience he is working on his album and upcoming single where he is also writing many of the songs.
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David Archuleta and Rihanna Perform on American Idol

While the American Idol community is buzzing over the judges’ decision to save Michael Lynche from elimination (do you think it was the right call?), we’d like to focus on the two acts that graced the stage last night. First, what can even be said about David Archuleta at this point? Young, cute crooners such as Alex Lambert and Aaron Kelly have won over many fans this season, but neither compares to this former finalist. He showed why again last night, serenading the audience with a rendition of “Imagine.”
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One thing’s for sure: David Archuleta’s presence this week was more than welcome. The Season Seven runner-upbroke out his version of “Imagine” while sporting a Fab Four bowl cut. Two years have given his take on the song a fair amount of gravitas, and, well, the fact that he could actually carry the tune the whole way through not only made him the true winner of the night (Rihanna and Jason DeRulo, like so many other big-name performers this season, were both torpedoed by the songs they performed being better-suited to the radio than to live performance), it outclassed a good two-thirds of the performances from Tuesday’s episode. Was 2008 really only two years ago?
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Has Andrew Garcia’s “Straight Up” really left that big of an impression? After watching David Archuleta sing “Imagine” this week, do you really think Aaron Kelly and Tim Urban are in that ballpark right now? How many of you can tell me now, without peeking at the Tuesday recap, what Katie Stevens and Casey James sang this week?
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David Archuleta delivered a piano-led encore of his rendition of “Imagine,” this time including the lyrics “Imagine there’s no heaven” that he cleverly skipped when in competition. It was good and the best guest performance of the night. Has he dyed his hair?
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Next up, David Archuleta, the Aaron Kelly of ‘Idol’ Season 7. Baby Elmo once again tackles “Imagine,” like he did in Season 7, and with an authority Aaron can only dream of. Aaron, wake up!
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Don’t sweat it: Well-meaning teenager Aaron Kelly needs to stop over-thinking his onstage choices. His decision to deliver “The Long and Winding Road,” a song that David Archuleta made an instant “Idol” classic, was ill-advised, not only because of the inevitable Archie comparisons (David easily trumps Aaron), but also because the arrangement was way too ponderous. When you’re the youngest singer in the field, it would make sense to capitalize on your youth and exuberance. It’s time for 16-year-old Aaron to swing for the fences and allow himself to have a little more fun. When he does so and stops being such a worrywart, the rest will take care of itself.
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David Archuleta, Rihanna Breathe Life Into ‘Idol’

But the contestants got a dose of undeniable talent when Rihanna and Idol alum David Archuleta paid the show a visit. Archie who now looks older and huskier at age 19, performed a smooth rendition of “Imagine,” and has seemingly ditched his habit of licking his lips between each note. Apparently, Tim Urban whispered to Lee DeWyze, saying “He’s really good.”
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And then there was the usual results-show filler: a lipsynched group Beatles medley; a ’60s-psychedelia-themed commercial featuring the top nine and some kaleidoscopic Fords; a reprise of Season 7 runner-up David Archuleta‘s signature performance, “Imagine,” which was actually superior to several of Tuesday night’s Lennon/McCartney top nine performances; and guest appearances by Rihanna and Jason Derulo (because, you know, when I think “Lennon/McCartney Week,” Rihanna and Jason are the first artists that spring to mind).
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David Archuleta was on the stage tonight and pleasing the crowds for the Results Show portion of American Idol tonight. Fans from around the world have been waiting to hear this heartthrob once again on the stage and he had his moment. A popular Idol and runner up from season 7, he didn’t disappoint his fans when he hit the stage. Absolutely inspiring it was a great night for Idol music with his sitting in front of the piano and belting the words out. The song Archuleta sang for the crowd for tonight was the Beatles hit “Imagine”. A moving performance, it was nothing less than a perfect.
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They bring back David Archuleta to reprise his magnificent Imagine and he delivers, sitting at the piano. He does a really nice job, what a beautiful voice. Archie is just great in his interview, talking about the new album – should be out soon. And he has grown up a bit, looking more mature. Go Archie!
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And then Ryan warns us that someone named Jason will perform, and Rhianna, and sweet David Archuleta is back, and then the Top 9 do a group sing. I had thought after last week that was dead but no such luck. Forward, fast. … Then David Archuleta reprises Imagine for us, and remember how yesterday I was bemoaning no goosebumps? Got goosebumps. Even though I’ve heard him sing this a thousand times. Even though I have it on my iPod for Pete’s sake. Then he does his adorable I’m-going-to-pass-out-from-lack-of-oxygen interview thing with Ryan and now we are back to grouping.
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Shock No. 4: All three of tonight’s guest performers were entertaining. Jason Derulo was fun and apparently borrowed a jacket from Adam Lambert. You know where his song’s going to be for the next couple of days, don’t you? Yeah – “In My Head.” David “Archie” Archuleta filled the sensitive singer-songwriter role with ease, reprising one of his best performances from the 2007 season with “Imagine.” He still looks 14 but acts much more confident. And Rihanna – yes, girl, you are a rock star. Muy jealous of your hair.
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In a move that can be made only once a season, judges Simon Cowell, Ellen DeGeneres, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi unanimously voted to pull Lynche from elimination in the same episode that saw searing performances from Rihanna, David Archuleta and Jason DeRulo. … As the show gets down to the wire, one thing’s for sure: Every week will continue to delight and captivate us. Even as David Archuleta performed as an alum, he indicated that he still gets nervous around the judges, even though they’re not judging him anymore. We’ll be tuning in next week to see which two aspiring singers are sent packing.
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