Archie

I watched American Idol for the first time ever during the most recent season. I was following the two Mormons; Brooke White and David Archuleta. Both are fantastic singers and both represented the Church very well.

Brooke has a rough, sultry voice that, in my mind, makes her unique not only among the other contestants but the entire industry. David's voice is velvety smooth like milk chocolate and he specializes in hitting the high notes.

For those that were perhaps on holiday from the planet at the time and are not aware of the results, David Archuleta wound up placing 2nd and Brooke took 5th. Two weeks ago David was the first of the contestants to release his debut album. I had pledged my support long ago and the album was automatically downloaded into iTunes because I had pre-ordered it.

Part of my commitment to DA meant I would listen to the entire 16 songs (got a few bonus tracks with the preorder) at least twice before passing judgment. It's a good thing I did. After one listen there were only a few songs that stood out - that I thought I could hear on a regular basis. After the second time through, there really is only one song that I don't particularly care for.

"Crush" is the first single from the album and was released a couple of months ago. It's catchy and reached #2 on Billboard's Hot 100, but not the best of the lot. In my opinion, that honor goes to "Barriers", a satisfying R&B crowd pleaser that I hope gets plenty of attention on the radio to give it the airtime it deserves. Following closely for supremacy is a beautiful quasi-duet with Kara DioGuardi - who also co-wrote the song - called "To Be With You."

A couple of my other favorites include a made-famous-on-Idol cover of "Angels", originally recorded by Robbie Williams, and "Touch My Hand", a peppy little number that will have you singing along in the car.

Perhaps the best quality of this album is it is chock full of good music. There are no caps being busted in any one's posterior. No degrading descriptions of women. No foul language. No suggestion of impropriety. There is no reason whatsoever to hide this disc when you give somebody a lift. Unless, of course, you have a thug image to maintain in front of your homeboys.

Still waiting for something from Brooke White.