David Archuleta

We were thrilled when we were told that we were interviewing David Archuleta in his hotel suite!  He’s here for a showcase this afternoon and he had time to met some of the press people and we were fortunate to be part of the lucky ones who got up close to the unassuming young lad from Utah.  We’re big American Idol fans, so it was quite a treat to meet one of the more successful alumni of the ubiquitous franchise.  First thing he noticed was my Thailand t-shirt, and he remarked how much he loves Thai food.  We were surprised at just how gentle and humble this kid is!  We all know the David Archuleta image we see on TV, right?  We see him as shy, easily embarrassed, even awkward sometimes, but when you meet him in person, you realize just how genuine this guy is.  Cut from a very different cloth as most of the celebs we’ve met.  There’s no disingenuous bone in his body.  The reluctant star shtick…isn’t a shtick.  From the first time he opened his mouth, to the last thing he said to us, you can see that he means it, no matter how sanitized his image may seem to you.  He’s a rare kid, who still accentuates the positive, who actually thinks he’s gotten out of his comfort zone by fighting for positive messages in his music that most people find ironically off-putting.

We did a Top Ten on him, giving him the Top Ten questions fans want David Archuleta to answer.  We gave him your questions, ranging from questions involving American Idol to questions involving Justin Bieber.  He was very game to answer the questions, so game in fact, that we went way over our 10 minute limit.  We really tried to keep it under 10 minutes, but David seemed like he was really enjoying answering the questions.  His handler would make signs to wrap up the interview at least 3 times, but he kept on going.  He was really light to talk to, like it was the most stress-free conversation you’ve ever had.  Now I understand it when people say someone is “maagan kasama“.  David Archuleta was exactly that.

I don’t want to give away details of the interview, because we’ll be airing the full interview on RX.  We’ll make sure to announce when.  Delle and I still couldn’t believe that we met David Archuleta, such a wonderful person, practically beaming with light (you won’t understand it unless you meet the guy) and we wish him all the best in his career.  He’s passionate about his music, but at the same time acknowledging that  sometimes he can be too cheesy for his own good; he’s self-aware but not neurotic.  We know that when it comes to success, deserving has little to do with it.  But you root for David because he’s really one of the good guys.  And it’s nice to see that every now and then, some good guys finish first.