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SINGAPORE: He may have been runner-up in last season's American Idol, but sales from David Archuleta's debut album in its first week of release surpassed that of previous season's winner, Jordin Sparks.
The teen heartthrob's voice has been described by fans as "heavenly", so it is hard to believe that Archuleta used to hate listening to himself.
"When I was a kid, I hated my voice. I hated hearing myself. I was always afraid of singing in front of people... sometimes I got panic attacks 'cos I was afraid.
"As I got older, I see people crying in the audience and I'm like, 'oh my gosh, why are they crying?' But I start to realise that they felt the same thing that I could feel when I sang," he said.
For his diehard fans, it was a good thing that a health scare in his early teens, which threatened to end his singing career even before it began, ended well.
Archuleta said: "I didn't like completely lose my voice, but I had a lot of struggles with my voice, like singing and talking... it was from vocal chord paralysis when I was doing this show called Star Search.
"My voice kept getting worse and worse, and it was like I was sick. Even getting through a song or two was so hard for me and so I just stopped for a few years."
Fortunately, voice therapy helped just before American Idol came along. And the rest, as they say, is history.
But there is always a nagging fear that his old problem may come back.
"Every day, I do vocal warm-up exercises like "hoooooo" and "brrrr", and all these weird noises," he laughed.
On his next album, the 18-year-old said: "I love alternative music and I love pop music too, but hopefully I can add more of a maturity to the next album. It's hard 'cos I have so many different kinds of fans."
And on the constant comparison between him and Idol winner David Cook, Archuleta insisted that it does not bother him.
"I always think that's weird 'cos the only reason people compare us is because we were the last two in American Idol, but we are so different. It's just funny like he's a rocker, he's got a rocker voice... and I'm pop music so it's funny that people compare us still," he said.
In an industry where popstars come and go, Archuleta is practical about his music future.
"I don't know if I'll be able to continue making a living doing this as my main occupation 'cos you know, sometimes careers end. But I still plan on doing it and still plan on performing and singing 'cos this is what I love to do."
- CNA/so
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