American Idol's David Archuleta's Think of Me

FINALLY Something Different

David Archuleta embraced Andrew Lloyd Webber night on American Idol as a chance to change things up and show his skills as not just a singer, but as a musician. Up to that point in the competition, he had been the resident singer of the ballads. His niche had been singing powerful songs infused with emotion. It had begun to get a little old, and it was time for Archuleta to spread his wings and try something new on American Idol.

David Archuleta chose to perform Think of Me, an Andrew Lloyd Webber classic. While it was expected that he would sing that song exactly as written, that ended up not being the case. The original Think of Me would have fit nicely into the niche Archuleta has carved for himself. It is an emotional ballad that Archuleta could have delivered in his typical American Idol performance.

What David Archuleta did instead, though, proved that he can step outside of his comfort zone. He completely changed Think of Me to the point that it was not even recognizable as the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic. Archuleta took a great risk, something that he has failed to do in the past. The risk definitely paid off. While Archuleta's version of Think of Me was not as good as the original, it was still nice to see him mix things up. It was important that Archuleta deviated from his normal performance and gave the audience something different. The audience took notice to the changes in last night's performance on American Idol. Instead of Archuleta simply calling in a performance, he appeared to be a real musician.

Last night's American Idol is not going to change David Archuleta's standing in the competition. He has been, and remains, one of the front runners. His biggest threat is still David Cook, who had an amazing performance last night of Music of the Night. Both of the front runners stepped out of their comfort zones, adding a new twist to the competition. The Davids want to win, and they are upping the ante with their performances.