With the American Idol Top 12 contestants set to perform tonight there can be little doubt that one of those 12 has clearly made a name for himself as the one to beat. Partly through his talented performances and partly through the words of the judges, David Archuleta is clearly the favorite at this point to win American Idol 2008, Season 7. But has David already won?
The Odds Are In David’s Favor
One need not look long before finding that all the odds makers have David Archuleta as the hands on favorite to win it all.
- American Idol odds for betting who will win the 2007 American Idol
- American Idol Betting Odds
- 2008 American Idol 7 Betting Odds
- American Idol Betting Odds – 2008 American Idol 7 – Bet American Idol Lines
Having the odds in your favor doesn’t necessarily mean you will win, of course. David does know what it feels like to win, though. He was a winner on Kids Star Search at the age of 12.
David Archuleta Singing Fallin’ by Alicia Keys
[youtube u5Qx11VZZJM]
Early Indications David Archuleta Was A Potential Winner
A few weeks ago there was a lot of buzz about a video (which was later shown on-air by the producers of American Idol) showing David singing to a bunch of the Season 1 Contestants. The 11-year-old David was channeling Jennifer Hudson (before Jennifer Hudson was channeling Jennifer Hudson) when he impressed them BIG TIME with his rendition of “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going�
Even way back then it was obvious that David had incredible talent and was destined for some great things. Was he destined to be an American Idol? A lot of people think so.
There’s No Denying His Talent
Even on Pop Critics we’ve had David in our top picks every week of the live performances. His voice is almost flawless and his song choices have been quite good. You don’t have to listen to him very much to figure out that he’s loaded with talent. Check out some of the videos that are on YouTube.
David Archuleta – A Thousand Miles
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David Archuleta – O Holy Night Christmas 2007
[youtube xIg5D7aAtic]
David Archuleta – On Good Things Utah
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David Archuleta – Christmas – Mary Did You Know
[youtube vQxi9UjqfKQ]
David Archuleta – I’ll Be
[youtube wYQaquuvmdE]
Even if none of these videos impress you, keep in mind that all of them have hundreds of thousands of views each. “A Thousand Miles” has over 930,000 views! None of the other Idol finalists can even come close to showing these kinds of numbers for their online videos. It’s obvious David has already built up a huge following all over the country.
If you have any doubt that his fans are committed, just check out some of his fan sites:
- Arch Angels of IdolForums
- the Archies of americanidol.com
- Vote For David Archuleta America Idol on MySpace
- Archangels Online – a David Archeleta fan forum
- ArcheletaFans : David Archuleta Fansite
- David Archuleta Fan Blog
- Fansite…David Archuleta
- David Archuleta. Fansite For American Idol David Archuleta
- David Archuleta Online
- David Archuleta Forum – Message Boards
There Are No Guarantees
Of course, nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to the fickle tastes of the American public. Although David has pretty much been the favorite up until this point, I don’t think it means he’s won it just yet. The odds are definitely in his favor and it’s an uphill climb for the other contestants, but I think there are a few things that could cause David to lose the whole thing:
- Judges’ Criticism – Look for the judges to start finding harsher criticisms for him. There’s no way Simon is going to let him dance into the final round without a scathing remarks. How David handles the criticism will probably help determine a lot about how much of a favorite he remains. A bad attitude would probably lose him a lot of fans quickly.
- Underdog Factor – The American public loves to root for an underdog. David is not an underdog at this point. We KNOW he’s going to make it in the business whether or not he wins American Idol. If one of the other contestants can really win over fans they could have an outside shot at taking advantage of some David backlash late in the season and emerging as the victor.
- Talent Doesn’t Always Do It – This is a controversial argument, but the most talented Idol contestant doesn’t usually win. Cases can be made for almost every winner, but there’s also at least one or two other singers in almost every season that had more talent than the person who actually won (remember how everyone thought Melinda Doolittle had it in the bag?). If David has the most talent, he might not end up as the winner.
- History Of Upsets – American Idol history over the past six seasons is filled with upsets – people leaving earlier than everyone thought they should. We can go all the way back to Season One’s Tamyra Gray who was booted at number four or Chris Daughtry who left in the same spot in Season Five. Every single season has had at least one upset so far. David would certainly be the biggest upset of all, but anything can happen.
- Voter Turnout – This is actually part of the reason for the last thing I mentioned. American Idol doesn’t have a problem getting people to vote. What happens is that people think contestants such as David are safe because they sang so well and always do so well that they’re bound to have tons of fans and get lots of votes…so, they vote for other people they like instead, hoping to save someone else who they truly feel might get kicked off. The contestants like David then end up without the needed number of votes and end up near or at the very bottom. it could happen to David very easily seeing how much of a favorite he already is.
Conclusion – Has David Already Won?
I don’t think David has it wrapped up just yet. He’s definitely on the right course, though. If he keeps singing at the same level he has been and keeps picking the right songs he won’t have a problem remaining the favorite.
In order to win David should make sure that he keeps a pleasant personality no matter what happens or what the judges say and he should always be humble and respectful. If he gets a big head we’ll see the backlash coming a mile away. Above all, he somehow has to perform so well that people wouldn’t consider NOT voting for him just because they think he’s safe. He’s going to have to convince them that he was so good they should vote for him because it deserves it whether he’s safe or not. And that’s not going to be easy.
So, what do you think? Has David Archuleta already wrapped up American Idol 2008. Has David already won Season 7? Should the other contestants pack it in and go home? Let us know what you think.
He’s got talent, I’ll give him that, but watching him, it’s more like he’s auditioning for the next generation of New Kids on the Block….if I’m being honest (insert Simon accent here).
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I would guess that would be the exact kind of comment we’d hear from Simon.
He’s got skills – no doubt. I have been saying, and will continue to say, it is his competition to lose. I do not really think that in the past seasons, this early in the competition, there has been such a clear front-runner.
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I think the kid is good – he picks the right songs and sings them well – but I have to admit that he kind of bugs me. I watched all the YouTube videos (he’s been on every singing challenge as well as morning show in America), and his child-star status has influenced me negatively. Also… and this sounds nit-picky… but he is almost too humble, like Melinda Doolittle, which tends to get annoying for viewers after awhile.
So… I still think that it is anyone’s game.
I think he can sing, but he bores me…give me Michael Johns or Jason anyday!
(Jason from American Idol that is)
He’s okay. I don’t think he’ll win though. Jina’s right about the Melinda Doolittle thing, it does get annoying after awhile. Go David C and Jason C!
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After last night….not so sure anymore!
Trust me, the irony isn’t lost on me.
Wow talk about crash and burn. That was horrific. Had it been anyone else I think the judges would have totally ripped them. He’s lucky.
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Yeah, I agree. Anyone else would have been ripped big time. They were pretty nice to him.
Terrible…
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[...] Archuleta – How incredibly ironic that I would write an article entitled Has David Archuleta Already Won American Idol 2008, Season 7 on the same day he has maybe one of the worst public performances of his life (I’m guessing – [...]
[...] Last week American got rid of the gay strip club dancer and this week they got rid of the rocker chick whose sexuality was, can we just say it, ambiguous, and who said a curse word. Who knows, maybe next week they get rid of Carly for having too many tatoos? Maybe the little kids and grandmas are the only ones voting and David Archuleta really has already won American Idol. [...]
I’m a fan of David rchuleta. I’m a music lover and I love all good music that’w well done. To imply that only granmommies and such will like David Archuleta, is the thoughts of a shallow and ignorant person. Young people enjoy ea beautiful son as much as anyone else and moreover a beautufil voice to sing it. avuid A. also possesses what I have no doubt is an authentically profound soul – a deeply feeling individual who has as much heart as any old blues singe I’ve ever heard …(Listen to him during his Star Search trials doing MoTown songs. This young man isn’t a phoney. It was suggested that he reamin humble and friendly no matter what – but I don’t think this is advuiice he evefn needs. I think he’s an “old soul” as they say and ligtht years ahead of many from a spiritual standpoint. I believe that he chooses sings which he feels and son’t (unless forced to) sing songs that his insides don’t connect with. He’s not a sell out. He is gifted – no question and he is an authentic paerson as an atist. Nis humility is the real thing – not an act for the judges, the cameras, or for anyone else. I believe that he would NOT do anything asked just to win this competition. He again is not a sell out …I DO believe that it would help secure his spot fi he chose one of his earlier pieces taht involved blues and gave him the oportuniyty to show poeople his bigge voice and its many dimensions . I hope he winsI think he’s an extrardinary person even beyond his music and as a writer, if I could, I would LOVE to interview him and his family and write a book about this very special young man. But back to whether he will wior not 0 he is a winner already – I beieve any label would sign him gladly whether he becomes the Idol or not – but, sine he is obviously copeting, so must have some desire to win, I hope he will bust out of the gate a few times with something big and bluesy so that Michael Johns (who I think is ,in his way very good), doesn’t wind up overshadowing Davud. He neds to rise above Michael John’s voice and performance and he can and I hope that he will. Good luck avid – Thank you for sharing your beautiful voice in soong fo us – you are wondeful and we love you – every generation of us here!.
Sincrely – Shari aka OhMyPsi111@aol.com
PS from Shari (aka OhMyPsi111Aol.com)
Please forgive all of the typos in my blog. It reads like ancient heiroglyphics I know. Hope you could make sense of that mess. Trouble is that I just recently returneds from an eye exam and have goop in my eys, plus a half cast on for a fractured elbow, so typing is quite a challenge right about now.
I write full time fo a living, so obviously I’m not illiterate as my blog made me seem (I am dictating this to someone who is typing this apology for me – hence the readability. However, I didn’t have any help available to me when I wrote my blog about David beofer this. Hope that explains it all. Sorry again – and thank you for reading and considering my thoughts. Please vote for him!
From when he first sang “Heaven” in Hollywood I knew David A. was going to have an impact. His first AI apperance in the top 20 told me that the fans loved him, his second apperance told me the judges loved him. Since then nothing has changed. I picked him to win after “Heaven” and see no reason to change that prediction. I was surprised to see some of his more talent competition leave early. It seems to me his only real competition left is David Cook. Cook is to full of himself and frankly he seems to take every song and sing it the same way, slowly then screaming at the end. I have been wrong about many things but I don’t think I am wrong about David A winning. In the history of Idol there have only been two dominate contestants, Kelly who grew stronger with each week and Carrie who was favorite from the first show, now there is a third, David A. The demographic tell me David A will win. I might vote once, 14 year old girls will vote 20 times, and he has that locked up. By the way, demographics aside, he is hands down the best singer, and as Simon says, this is a singing competition.
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[...] Archuleta – How incredibly ironic that I would write an article entitled Has David Archuleta Already Won American Idol 2008, Season 7 on the same day he has maybe one of the worst public performances of his life (I’m guessing – [...]