Review from Chicago Sun Times

Though I have only seen "American Idol" winner David Cook in concert on last summer's "Idol" finalists tour, after watching runner-up David Archuleta burn through a 90-minute set of pop songs Sunday night at the House of Blues, I'm inclined to say that America may have gotten it wrong last season when the majority voted for the rocker Cook over the crooner Archuleta.

There is a pure, pleasant pop quality to Archuleta's tenor voice and just enough raspy soul to add shape, color and weight to the tone.

And he sure knows how to work a crowd. Fans at the all-ages, general-admission show began lining up around 10 a.m. Sunday for the coveted spaces close to the stage. The "Idol" runner-up made it worth their while when he took the stage in jeans, a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a gray square tie to perform "Touch My Hand." It was a calculated and obvious choice to begin the show, and Archuleta made darn sure he touched just about every hand thrust towards him from the first couple of rows of people.

He immediately followed the opener with "Barriers," a song that felt too over-produced on the album but is a pretty decent pop song when performed live, stripped of all of its post-production studio shenanigans. The same also held true for "Don't Let Go," which Archuleta performed later in the evening. It almost makes you wish he'd release a live album.

"To Be With You," written by new "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, was another highlight of the evening; it's a sweet and simple little ballad about hope and longing that Archuleta sang with heartfelt sincerity.

Archuleta also showed he has a future as a dance recording artist if he so chooses; the techno-flavored "Zero Gravity" (a song which he co-wrote with guitarist Mike Krompass that didn't make it onto the album) had Archuleta,

his band and the crowd jumping around; in the right hands a club remix of that song could earn him a slightly older audience.

"Idol" judges are forever going on about song choice, and it's advice that Archuleta appears to have taken to heart. While much of the music on his debut album could easily be dismissed as forgettable pop music, there's no denying his talent when he has the right material. Archuleta had the strongest vocal showing of the night during a medley of his favorite songs (the ones he could get the licenses for, anyway; U2's "One," Des'ree's "You Gotta Be," Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours") and his two encore numbers (Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" and Robbie Williams' "Angels").

Opening for Archuleta was Irish rocker Lesley Roy. She's got a raspy, rocker-chick voice that reminds you of Nancy Wilson of Heart with a little of Archuleta's fellow former Idol Amanda Overmyer. It was nonetheless an odd pairing; Many of Roy's songs forgo the pop hooks favored by Archuleta for pure rock. Still, you have to give her props for closing her 30-minute set with "Psycho Bitch," one of the best tracks on her current record, even if she self-censored the title for the youngsters in the crowd.