No more "David Who?"

Before his stint on American Idol, David Archuleta thought that he was never going to make it in show business. Things have certainly picked up since then. The 20-year-old American pop singer-songwriter was propelled into the limelight during the seventh season of the popular TV talent show in 2008, where he emerged runner-up.

In the same year, Archuleta released his self-titled debut. The first single “Crush” was so well received that it hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 the week it was released and has since sold more than two million downloads. Archuleta’s sophomore record The Other Side of Down was released last October, showcasing a variety of tracks from upbeat tunes like “Elevator” to slow-tempo melodies like “My Kind of Perfect”.

Archuleta was in Singapore for a promotional visit last November where he spoke to the media at The Ritz Carlton, Millenia hotel. Clad in a grey tee, black jeans and striped cardigan, the baby-faced crooner flashed his mega-watt smile at a roomful of journalists. Archuleta abandoned his usual shy and soft-spoken demeanour and amidst lots of laughter and even some good-natured tickling, opened up about his music, his family and his future plans.

Reader’s Digest: It’s your second visit to Singapore. Did you get a chance to sample more local food this time around?
Archuleta: It’s interesting because it’s hard for me to have seafood. Last year I wasn’t able to do any seafood, this time I’ve been more open to prawns so it’s, like, slowly but surely. I had some [seafood] when we were at Longbeach [seafood restaurant] and [in a sing song voice] I had chicken rice yesterday. That was good.

Your mum used to be a Latin dancer. Have you ever tried Latin dancing?
Yeah, I have actually. I love Bachata. I like to try Salsa. I just love that music. It makes me move.

Is that why you’re planning to do a Spanish language album?
That is something that I’m really hoping to get to do in the future – a Spanish album. Half of my family is Hispanic, so it’d be really great to be able to get back to those people and connect with them.

How would you describe your relationship with your family?
My relationship has actually gotten stronger the more I’ve been away from them. I appreciate them more. It’s like I had to have them not there to realise how important they are to me ’cos before, it was so easy, they were always there. And now, it’s like “Man! I really miss my family.” I realise how big a part of my life they are.

Do you feel like you are missing out on quality time with them because of your career?
Nope, because I really make an effort to go home as much as I can even if it’s just for a day or two sometimes. There was a day when I just flew in that morning and I had to leave that night. But it’s worth it. If you’re gonna spend money, that’s a good thing to spend it on.

Have you written any songs for your family?
I’ve written some songs about my family. A lot of them didn’t make it on the album though [laughs].

If you do have a relationship with someone, would you write about it in your songs?
Probably. There are so many love songs [out there] because that’s what really motivates people. That’s kind of why I decided to stay away from love songs this time. I don’t know how long I’m not gonna have those experiences for so I want to talk about other things. I’m sure I’m not the only person out there who hasn’t been in a relationship. So I would want to be able to relate to that audience too.

So do you have a time frame for when you want to settle down eventually?
Right now, family is the most important thing to me. Whatever future family I’m gonna have, it’ll be very important too. It’s a matter of making sure that I prepare myself for whomever that person is. I want to be ready so that I am good enough for whoever it is.

Any plans for the future?
The future’s wild, that’s for sure. [This year] I’m hoping to focus on touring. I like to go do shows live; it’s just a very different connection with the audience. It’s been fun doing a bunch of appearances like radio shows back in the States. I’ve gone to do a couple of [radio shows] with artistes like Natasha Bedingfield, Bruno Mars and even The Gin Blossoms.

How long do you think you will last in this industry?
A few years ago, I just kind of felt like, “Well, maybe it won’t happen to me.” But life had different plans. You never know how long something can last. It can all end in six months, who knows? Whether the success or that kind of notoriety still lasts, I’d still always do music because that’s what I love.

From Readers Digest Philippines