David Archuleta's March 25th Performance Not His Best

David Archuleta has a face that every mother loves. I know, because I'm a mother, (albeit a fairly young one!) and the first thing I wanted to do when I saw him was just reach out and squish his little cheeks! He also has an amazing voice, and a heart as big as the state of Texas. Why then, do I feel like he might be falling off the pedestal everyone has put him on since he auditioned for Season 7 of American Idol?

After watching David's performances the past few weeks, my gut feeling has been that he isn't up to American Idol standards just yet. Maybe he never will be. Not because he doesn't have a good enough voice, but simply because the style of music he likes to sing is too "old school" for most. Sure, the little girls love him and scream until they are hoarse when he is around, but that's not going to make him the next American Idol. He needs to bump up his game.

Tonight's performance was definitely not his best. As a matter of fact, I feel he was not even in the top 3 of the best performances of the night. The song he chose was virtually unknown to most of us, but more importantly, it just didn't seem to "fit" somehow. I almost had to agree with Simon that it seemed more like a theme park act. Now there is a thought that makes one shudder.

David is going to have to step things up a notch if he wants the chance to become the next Idol. He is wonderful at singing his ballads, but unfortunately, those get old really quick. He needs to pump some life into his performances; he needs to try some more up-tempo songs, and maybe even a little rock and roll here and there. He's young, and America would love to see him jump out there and really have some fun.

I predict that in the coming weeks, if David doesn't make some changes, he is going to find himself falling down in ratings underneath the hugely talented David Cook, Carly Smithson, Syesha Mercado, and Michael Johns. That's some stiff competition, and personally, I would love to see little David kick it into high gear and really wow the crowds!