David Archuleta Fans Germany

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion. It’s a matter of me making a mark. What I’m trying to do is make a mark and leave an impression to the people who want to listen and willing to take time to understand what I’m trying to accomplish,” the baby-faced “American Idol” runner-up told Bulletin Entertainment and other members of the media in a roundtable interview last Nov. 17.

His third album, “The Other Side Of Down (TOSOD),” received mixed reviews from various critics upon release last October. Some praised its commercial appeal and deeper content, while others claimed the young idol seemed to have nestled in the safe zone and put in the shade his solid yet sweet, soulful voice to make way for the use of vocal effects.

David acknowledges that “there’s always been mixed reviews.”

“I’ve had plenty of mixed reviews in the first CD, and with the Christmas album, and with each song that gets released,” he added.

Although “TOSOD” did not debut as high as his first album, and that his new single “Something ‘Bout Love” hasn’t charted in the Billboard Hot 100 (as compared to “Crush” which zoomed all the way to number two in its first week), David maintained that his main aim for the new record is to express his real voice.

“I think people get so caught up in the form and the formula of how to write a hit song, and that the lyrics should be more relationship-y. You can get very technical with the music…

“But especially with this album, my focus wasn’t to be technical. It was very personality-focused. And so many people could say, ‘oh you did this wrong,’ or ‘you did this right.’ But one of the goals was to be experimental and try things, because how am I gonna know if I didn’t try?” he said.

Collaborating with Nashville, Tennessee songwriters like Joy Williams not only contributed to the maturity in David’s music, but also to his overall perspective.

“Instead of them telling me this is who you are and this is who you’re gonna be, they waited enough and were patient enough for me to figure out myself so that I could tell them who I was. And I think that is so amazing. It completely changed my life, and totally changed my perspective about things and what I wanted to share with people,” he enthused.

Before he had those writing sessions in Nashville, David recalled to have simply gone with the flow, because he thought “it was just the way it is.”

“All the writing sessions I’ve had before Nashville were about ‘oh, what’s the biggest hit we can write?’ ‘It’s not catchy enough, we can’t do that,’ or ‘that lyric is not hooky enough.’

“And oh, when I would come up with ideas and song lyrics before, they’d be like, ‘Oh you can’t do that. You have to turn it into a relationship song.’ And I believed them [then],” he related.

The 19-year old idol co-wrote 10 of the 12 tracks in “TOSOD,” which, underneath its bouncy melodies, mostly represents one’s journey towards self-discovery and acceptance.

David also related having learned to be more forward and expressive in his views, as proven by the inclusion of “Good Place” in “TOSOD,” a song which he said almost didn’t make it on the album.

Starting out young in the industry, David finds it challenging to grow as an artist “when everyone’s watching you.”

Even so, he deems it “an interesting challenge.”

“It helps you grow as an artist in a way that you might not have known before. It’s still kind of weird how people are watching you trying to figure it out yourself, but I think it’s good at the same time,” he said.

We did a Top Ten on him, giving him the Top Ten questions fans want David Archuleta to answer. We gave him your questions, ranging from questions involving American Idol to questions involving Justin Bieber. He was very game to answer the questions, so game in fact, that we went way over our 10 minute limit. We really tried to keep it under 10 minutes, but David seemed like he was really enjoying answering the questions. His handler would make signs to wrap up the interview at least 3 times, but he kept on going. He was really light to talk to, like it was the most stress-free conversation you’ve ever had. Now I understand it when people say someone is “maagan kasama“. David Archuleta was exactly that.

There’s been no rest for the adorable, as Archuleta has since released a pop album and a Christmas album, and toured the world. He even made a Manila pit stop in 2009 for a back-to-back concert with “Idol” 2008 first-placer David Cook, yielding the hilarious event poster that read, “Cook David Archuleta.”

He’s back on a promo tour for his third album “The Other Side of Down,” which promises a sound that’s “older, wiser, with faith still on his side, and an eternally optimistic, wide-eyed outlook.” A very young-looking 20, Archuleta is the very definition of wholesome. Asked at a press con on Wednesday about his favorite memory of the Philippines from the first time around, he claimed that mangoes, not girls, stole his heart. “I ate so many! The mangoes we get in the [United] States are really stringy. Here, they’re so fresh!”

It’s not that girls aren’t on his horizon, ladies. But David Archuleta is one of the few people in show business past puberty who can get away with blinking innocently when people ask about “a special someone.” It actually seems refreshing, and he can go on and on in admiration of his favorite female peers—like Charice Pempengco, with whom he has a duet on his holiday album, “Christmas from the Heart.”

“I keep in touch with her,” Archuleta says of Charice. “I’ll see her on Sunday; we’ll be performing in an event. When I heard she’d be there, I was like, great, that’ll be really fun.”

But is he following her into acting? “It’s not something I initially felt I’d be very good at. But when I took roles in “iCarly” and “Hannah Montana,” I had a really great time. I really enjoyed it. So… who knows?”

Fellow tween stars

Fellow tween starlets are also treated with much respect by the “Idol” star. “‘iCarly’s’ Miranda Cosgrove was really nice and sweet, and more quiet than I thought she’d be.” He glosses over the troubles of Disney starlet Demi Lovato, who recently went into rehab for emotional issues, and with whom Archuleta toured in 2009. “At 18, Demi is so talented. She acts, she sings, she plays instruments and writes songs. It was a real treat watching her perform. And she’s really smart.”

He credits this respect for women to being surrounded by women. He has three sisters of whom he feels protective. “They taught me how to care and look after someone. At home, I’m like, ‘Who’s that boy?’ It’s important to have a lot of respect for girls and to value them.” And when he does pursue a girl romantically, Archuleta says, laughing, “I probably wouldn’t wanna tell people.”

Watching ‘Idol’

Now, another thing he’ll be doing when he gets home is watch the new and—maybe-or-maybe-not—improved new season of “American Idol.” For those who just got out of a Chilean mine, the show recently underwent a major revamp with the departure of the show’s best-known judge, Simon Cowell, who is launching the US version of his very own UK franchise, “The X-Factor.” (It should be pointed out that this killed the original “Idol” franchise, “Pop Idol.”) With the axing of Kara DioGuardi and the resignation of Ellen DeGeneres, last judge standing Randy Jackson will be joined by Jennifer Lopez and Aerosmith lead singer Steven Tyler at the judges’ table.

Says Archuleta, “People have gotten used to seeing Simon and hearing his opinions, but Jennifer Lopez and Steven Tyler, being artists and performers, would give an additional element to the judging. [There are now two artists who] have gone through the whole process… fame and performing and making albums and… doing what they want to do to music. I think they’ll be giving good advice.”