David Archuleta speaks about being thankful, concert with A2SO

In 2007, 16-year-old David Archuleta became one of the youngest contestants to compete on the TV talent competition “American Idol,” winding up as runner-up to David Cook after receiving 44 percent of over 97 million votes. David Archuleta’s self-titled album was released in late 2008, he’s toured the country with the “Idol” cast and, in September, won the Year in Music's Rising Male Star Award at the American Latino Media Arts Awards. Besides his new “Christmas From the Heart” CD — a collection of holiday favorites such as “Silent Night” and “Ave Maria” — he’s writing songs for a new pop CD to be released next year. He spoke by phone to AnnArbor.com writer Roger LeLievre recently in advance of his Friday night concert at Hill Auditorium with the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

Q: Where are you this morning? A: I’m in Southern California, eating some cereal. … It’s Kashi, and I’ve mixed it in with some golden flax.

Q: How you are feeling about performing with a full symphony? Is this a first for you? A: I’m excited. I’ve been able to perform with a symphony before, but never Christmas music and never a whole entire show like this. … It’s so amazing to see how so many people come together and make a song. It really makes such a huge difference and makes it so much greater. It’s really neat.

Q: How do you prepare? You’re there, the orchestra is here. A: There isn’t a whole lot of time to rehearse it. The songs I already know, and I will have a little bit of time to go through them with the orchestra. I’m really excited to hear the arrangements. (The songs) are going to be coming to life performed with a live orchestra and that’s really exciting for me and I am really happy to be able to be able to get to do it.

Q: How has life been since ‘Idol?’ Are things less of a whirl, or more? A: It hasn’t really stopped. ‘American Idol’ was just a year ago, so much has happened since then. I can’t believe I went through that and all the extremes I had, from the beginning of those auditions where I wasn’t sure what was going to happen to now, having released an album last year and now the Christmas album and Christmas tour. It’s like, wow — I did not think I would have moved this much since last year. It’s just crazy. I didn’t think I would be going on tour this year and performing and getting to work on music and a Christmas album over the summer, which is kind of funny, working on a Christmas album in the summer. It’s made Christmas last a lot longer this year. It’s just go, go, go but it’s nice. I’m productive with myself and that’s a good feeling.

Q: Tell me more about the Christmas CD. A: This is my Christmas gift to all the fans. I wanted to keep it really heartfelt and share what I feel is important about Christmas. It’s my favorite holiday first of all, and Christ’s birth is really important to me, and just that whole thing of celebrating that and celebrating his life is really special. … It’s really neat to see the (Christmas album) come out now. I spent all summer working on this, I know what goes on with the details, and later it’s out on CD and people are listening to it. It’s so cool to think about that — they’re listening to what I’ve been working on all summer. I want people to leave with that whole spirit of Christmas and keep that with them after the show.

Listen to David Archuleta "Christmas From The Heart"

Q: Do you still tour with the ‘Idol’ folks? A: I’ve been doing my own stuff, pretty much. We did the ‘American Idol’ tour last year, after that I’ve just done my own thing. I did a couple of shows with (winner) David Cook, there was one real cool show we did in Manila in the Philippines. It was great being able to perform with David Cook and go to the Philippines for the first time.

Q: What’s next for you when the tour is done? Do you have another pop CD in the works? A: Yeah, that’s actually why I’m in L.A. right now. I’ve been writing a lot and traveling around, working in different places and working with different writers. It’s been a challenge trying to work on my own songwriting. It’s something I’ve always wanted to get better at doing and do more of. … When you’re part of a song’s creation, your personality comes into it and you have all that more of a connection to it. It’s just been great.

Q: Do you have a release date in mind? A: No (he laughs). Right now the main focus is the Christmas tour.

Q: Will you be just playing Christmas music at the Ann Arbor concert? A: I’ll have a few of the pop songs I’ll be adding to the show but it will mainly be about the Christmas music.

Q: It must be hard, touring over Thanksgiving. Is your family coming with you? A: They’re not. I’ll have my band, crew and tour manager.

Q: Since it’s a Thanksgiving show, what are you thankful for this time of year? A: I just have to be thankful for everything I’ve been able to experience. I owe that to God because I really feel like he’s been able to let me do all this. I am so thankful for that. I wouldn’t be here without him. … Another thing is family, for sure. Family and friends are so important, and they’re the ones who keep you sane. They let you know there is someone there for you and people care for you.

Roger LeLievre is a free-lance writer who covers music for AnnArbor.com.