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THAT adorable little boy whose cheeks you kept wanting to pinch during last year's American Idol?

COME ON, DAVID: Archuleta, who is in town for a promotional tour, didn't know that we can watch American Idol in Singapore. TNP PICTURE: MOHD ISHAK

Well, he's all grown up.

Amid smiles and candid laughter, Idol runner-up David Archuleta was full of wisdom yesterday when he met reporters at the Ritz Carlton hotel.

He is in town as part of a promotional tour in Asia, and will sign autographs at 7pm today at newly-opened Iluma shopping mall, opposite Bugis Junction.

After losing out to rocker David Cook in last year's finals, Archuleta signed a deal with Jive Records, home to Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake, and released his debut last November.

He has been on tour in the US since late February.

While his posts to fans and video blogs on tour are usually perky, he has obviously learnt enough about the music industry in the year since Idol to be realistic about it.

He's had first-hand experience of how dirty the business can be, thanks to gossip mongers who speculated during last year's Idol that Archuleta's father, Jeff, was a control freak.

Among the rumours spread by gossip sites like TMZ were that daddy Archuleta was choosing all the songs for him and wouldn't let him have water until he perfected his songs.

No idea

TNP PICTURE: MOHD ISHAK

Said Archuleta: 'I didn't even know about it until people started asking me about it during interviews.

'I was just being excited about the show and singing for everyone, and then suddenly people were asking me questions about whether my dad was abusing me.'

He added that others may have misconstrued his father's assistance as 'stage managing'.

'I needed him to help, because most of my free time, I was doing schoolwork.'

He noted that singers like Justin Timberlake and Usher are also assisted by their mothers.

At 18, he no longer has to be accompanied by his parents the way it was on Idol.

Teenage girls, if you think that means he's game for some hanky panky, think again.

The singer, who comes from a Mormon family, is very much grounded and has no plans to join the Miley Cyruses and Vanessa Hudgens of the burgeoning tween industry.

'I'm always amazed to meet artistes who are incredibly humble. It's like, 'Wow, you're human!' he said.

While he doesn't bring his family on tour with him, he's not exactly straining at a leash trying to get out and be wild.

Family, he says, is still No1.

'The (record) label looks out for you as long as you're making money for them,' he said.

'My family understands why I do this, and it's not about making money. They'll always be there to look out for me, no matter what.'

Although he states oft-repeated maxims about being a young star in show business - having his parents' support, the importance of having a back-up plan - it is the way he says it, with eyes shining, that makes one believe that he's not just repeating a PR line.

Enthusiasm

He answers questions so enthusiastically that you can hear him panting from lack of breath.

Then, of course, there is that signature lip-licking, which is so well-known that fans have even made video montages and posted them online.

For the first two minutes at the roundtable interview, he tried to talk with his mouth partly closed before he spit out: 'Sorry, is there something in my teeth? I've been so paranoid about that.'

When asked about his impressions of Singapore, he was enthusiastic about our weather.

'I love feeling the humidity,' he said.

It's crazy enough to possibly be true, and for that, we'll forgive him saying other things like 'I didn't know Singapore was so small!' and 'Do you guys even get American Idol here?'

Well, we do, David.

Asked for his thoughts on the current season, he said he doesn't watch it all the time, but was impressed by Kris Allen's performance last week.

He's not too worried about any of this season's talented contestants being booted off too early or not winning the title. After all, winning isn't everything.

'Jennifer Hudson came in, like, seventh, right? People can do their own thing besides American Idol. What the show is that it's a great platform for people to show what they can do, and then move on from there.'

Archuleta can attest to the success of this formula - he recovered from a disappointing loss in last year's final, with his first single, Crush, debuting higher than Cook's single, Light On.

Cook's eponymous debut, though, has sold almost half a million more copies than Archuleta's solo effort.

In Singapore, both albums have achieved Gold status, awarded to albums which sell over 5,000 copies. Sony BMG declined to release actual figures.

Although he is keen to do music 'forever', Archuleta knows that he may not always have it as good as he is getting it now.

'It's always important to have a back-up plan. You see a lot of artistes who are huge, and then after a while, you're like, 'Where are they now?'

Laughing, he answered his own question: 'Maybe working at a McDonald's somewhere!'