Journey to the American Idol Finale: David Archuleta

David Archuleta has made it all the way to the American Idol finale tonight and I thought it would be fun to look back at his journey on the show (due to heavy traffic, some of the videos are not loading right away but should be working soon). 

• Audition – He sang “Waiting on the World to Change” and blew me away.  He also explained his vocal paralysis.
• Hollywood Week – He sang “Heaven” and, again, he wowed the judges.
• Top 24 – David sang “Shop Around” and, while I would not have chosen that song, I thought he sang it well.
• Top 20 – For the first time, he sang “Imagine” and this was one of my favorite performances of the entire season.
• Top 16 – He sang “Another Day in Paradise” and I thought it was a good pick for him.  He accompanied himself on the piano which I loved!
• Top 12 – Oh boy…. this was the week David forgot the lyrics to “We Can Work it Out” and it was slightly devastating.  Up until this point, he was basically flawless but it was also a relief to know that he is human just like anyone else.
• Top 11 – He sang “The Long and Winding Road” which is one of my favorite Beatles songs. 
• Top 10 – David sang “You’re the Voice,” a song that I really like but wasn’t particularly fond of as a choice for him.  Simon went so far as to suggest that David did not pick the song himself.
• Top 9 – When he sang “Smoky Mountain Memories” it almost moved Dolly Parton to tears.  She felt he really captured the emotion and has the voice to become “a great, great singer.”
• Top 8 – This week, David sang “Angels” and it was really great! 
• Top 7 – He sang “When You Believe” and I thought it was phenomenal.  I wasn’t sure how a male voice was going to sound singing this but it was great!
• Top 6 – David performed “Think of Me” during Andrew Lloyd Webber week and I was astonished.  Again, I thought this was going to be a tough one but he just nailed it.  He forgot some words but it seemed to get overlooked so I’m not going to complain…
• Top 5 – He sang “Sweet Caroline” and “America” for Neil Diamond week and, while I wasn’t as big a song of “Caroline” I really liked “America.”  Neil called him a “prodigy.”
• Top 4 – He sang “Stand by Me” and “Love Me Tender” and I was astonished.  I could not believe he turned those oldies into modern-sounding hot tracks!  I especially loved “Tender.”  It was incredible!
• Top 3 – David’s three performances included “And So It Goes,” “With You” and “Longer” and I liked the first one the most.  I wasn’t particularly blown away by any of these performances but they were still good.
• Top 2 – For his final night performing, David sang “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me,” “In This Moment” and “Imagine.”  He really hit the ball out of the park on all of them – it was great!!!

©2008 Fox Broadcasting Co. Cr: Frank Micelotta/FOX