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David Archuleta may be only 18 years old, but his second disc, “Christmas From the Heart,” has the earmarks of an old pro. Whereas the “American Idol” runner-up’s first record was a thoroughly modern pop production, the holiday disc takes an old-school approach, with heavy orchestration and a classic approach to classic tunes such as “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” and “O Holy Night.”

The smooth-voiced teenager says in a recent phone conversation that he didn’t want to make a young, hip, pop-Christmas record: “I didn’t want to make any excuses; I wanted to be straightforward with it .… The goal was to [keep] close to the meanings of the songs. I didn’t want it to just be light.”

He says that Christmastime has been the time of year he has done most of his singing, and that he’s gotten especially close to the songs on this disc. “And they’re about what I believe in life, so those songs, what they’re about, is how I see things in life. So they’re a big part of me and who I am.”

There aren’t a lot of surprises on the “Christmas From the Heart” song list, but ironically, the rarer numbers — the traditional “Pat-A-Pan” and the Spanish-language “Riu-Riu Chu” — have the most up-to-date productions. But for the most part, Archuleta makes a bid for the big-singing Christmas-music pantheon.

Archuleta includes an explicitly Christian dedication message in the liner notes to the disc, and while he says the message in the music is open to everyone, he takes the literal meanings very seriously, and that meant sticking to the straight and narrow when it came to recording.

“It doesn’t matter what people believe; those songs still have something special about them. And so I felt like I was opening a door into my life and telling people ‘Hey, these songs are important to me, and I’m going to show you why.’ ”

It’s pretty rare to do a Christmas record for your second album, but Archuleta was glad for the chance and takes a long view of the ups and downs of the business that many performers twice his age can’t muster.

“We didn’t have any room to work on a pop album this year,” he explains, and when a Christmas album was proposed “I thought, I don’t know how long I’ll have these kinds of opportunities, of getting to make a Christmas album the way I could do it right now. And so we just ran with it.”

Of post-“Idol” fame, the singer says, “It’s been an interesting year. Things have been a lot more exciting than they ever have before. It’s been a lot of work, and really hard sometimes, but it’s been really enjoyable.”

One of the reasons it’s been enjoyable, he says, is the influence of his family. His father, aunts and grandmother were all in the theater, he says, and his mother sings salsa. They not only influenced his taste and interests in music, but they continue to keep him grounded after a heady couple of years.

“They’re the ones who keep me sane. So many people are treating you in ways that no one has ever treated you before, and you’ve never had this much attention. And so much is going on, and people are trying to take advantage of you sometimes, and fans are excited to see you, and [my family is] the ones who haven’t changed. They don’t treat me any different, and that’s cool. The things they saw in me weren’t about music.…

“And same with friends and stuff — I mean, some friends get a little weird, but most of my friends haven’t changed in the way they see me. And that helps so much, because the attention isn’t the most important thing you can have in your life. It’s just being appreciated for what you’re trying to do and what you’re working hard for. That’s not just music — it’s anything you’re working toward in your life.”

David Archuleta sings Thursday night at the MGM Grand at Foxwoods, in Mashantucket, Conn., at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $40; go to www.mgmgrandatfoxwoods.com or call (846) 646-0609.