Review: David Archuleta

David Archuleta
S/T

It's not easy to take an American Idol winner and make them into a believable recording artist, especially when you're working with a little Muppet like Utah's own David Archuleta. Surprisingly enough, Archuleta's first album isn't half bad.

Fortunately, the producers don't try to push Davey too far out of his comfort zone. The tracks alternate between mid-tempo bubble gum pop numbers and ballads and the lyrics never stray from PG-rated boy-meets-girl fare. While the pop numbers work well, including the album's first single "Crush" and "Touch My Hand," the ballads are real snoozers. The worst is the sleepy "You Can," where the 17-year-old ends up sounding like John Denver.

The album closes with a straightforward cover of Robbie Williams' "Angels." Though it was the safe bet, it sure would have been more fun to hear Archuleta take a shot at "Rock DJ."

For fans of: Clay Aiken, Elliot Yamin
Rating: 2 of 4

On a related note, I now wake up to classical music. No matter what station I put the alarm to, I always ended up waking up to "Crush." What a horrible way to start a day.

David Archuleta - Crush [YouTube]