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Golden Archuleta
'Idol' star living the 'American' dream

David Archuleta is still taking it all in.

Most of us know him as the adorable teen runner-up on season seven of "American Idol" - the "other David," who lost to David Cook.

Archuleta, now 18, has already parlayed his reality TV success into a viable career: he opens for fellow teen sensation, 16-year-old Disney star Demi Lovato, at Agganis Arena on Friday. But he's still adjusting to his newfound fame.

"With 'American Idol,' it's like going through a tunnel where you don't see what's going on around you outside, but everything's changing," Archuleta said from his aunt's house in Huntington Beach, Calif. "You're in a bubble. You're just worried about the next song next week. And then you come out of the other side once the show ends and it's like, boom! It hits you that now everyone knows who you are. Now you're getting signed to a record label and going out on tour. And it's just so hard to believe that everything's actually happening."

Well, David, everything is actually happening.

After Archuleta's "Idol" almost-win, he signed to "Idol"-connected 19 Recordings. His self-titled album dropped last November and made its debut at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. After touring with fellow "American Idol" alums, he ventured out on a solo tour, playing small clubs.

His fans - known as Archies or Arch Angels - are maniacally in love with him. So much so that he nabbed the Most Fanatic Fans trophy at 2008's Teen Choice Awards.

But Archuleta is still getting used to his celebrity. The Utah teen say it seems "really weird" to have his own music videos. He was sure only "30 people" would show up to see him on tour.

"There are definitely still some things that take some getting used to," he said. "When I'm going to events where there are other people that are musicians and artists, I just feel so out of place. It's like, 'Why am I here with these people? I don't belong here.'

"And the fans are always interesting because it's like you never actually thought there'd be people who'd be having your face on their T-shirt and holding signs up for you and coming to all the shows and yelling, 'David!' That's always weird. That part still seems unrealistic, because it's like, why would people be doing that for me?"

When Archuleta isn't busy being a pop star, he's a surprisingly average teen. He spends time hanging out with friends and family, practicing piano, listening to music, even visiting old folks in his neighborhood. He's never had a girlfriend, but feels the time will come when a relationship will enter the mix. And he's a recovering Twitter addict.

"I felt like Twitter was taking over my life for a little bit," he said, "but I've gotten better."

In addition to his 45-city tour with Lovato, Archuleta's hard at work on his second album, due out early next year, as well as a Christmas release slated for fall. And, like most teens, he's still searching for his identity - musically, anyway.

"I just want to really define my sound as an artist and as a writer," he said, "because I still don't have this absolute sound that I can say, 'This is my sound and this is who I am.' I want to figure out how to tie all the little things I like in music together so people can say, 'That's David Archuleta's sound. That's who he is.' It seems like with 'American Idol,' the fans are so diverse and I don't really want to exclude a certain age group. I don't want to be teenybop David Archuleta forever, but I'd like to be able to relate to as many people as I can."

Demi Lovato and David Archuleta, Friday at Agganis Arena. Tickets $39.50-$49.50; call 617-353-4628.

credit:BostonHerald