David Archuleta

Inspired by a video of the musical Les Miserables, David Archuleto started singing at the age of six and was performing in public from the age of 10 when he won a talent contest in Utah singing Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You. His Honduras-born mother introduced him to a broad range of music, notably Latin and jazz, and Archuleto's precocious talent was soon widely noticed as he got to sing on several episodes of the TV show Star Search, resulting in the release of his first singles Dream Sky High and Don't Tell Me in 2002. In 2008, at the age of 16, he reached the finals of the TV show American Idol, eventually finishing a close runner-up to the winner David Cook. His self-titled debut album was released in November 2008 and his single Crush reached Number 2 in the US charts, kept off the top spot by Rihanna's Disturbia. Other singles followed, Archuleto toured the UK supporting McFly and in 2009 released a seasonal album, Christmas From The Heart.