The young man I dubbed “The Chosen One” on American Idol’s Seventh Season amazingly turns 20 today.

I could write a whole book just on my David memories, of which there have been many many over the years (and many of them will be found in my upcoming book). Everyone who was present in the Idoldome that will forever remember him as a genuine take your breath away powerful performer.

One of the most terrifying experiences of my Idol career was when I took my life in my hands and watched a David performance from the mosh pit. At the time I wrote:

They say that when you are near the center of a hurricane it sounds like a locomotive roaring straight toward you. Well, when you are in the mosh pit during a David Archuleta performance it sounds like a hurricane about to level you to your foundations, break through your levee, flood your basements and render your neighborhood uninhabitable for generations. The shrieking starts at the first mention of his name. It increases when his face appears projected on the screen and explodes when The Chosen One steps onto the stage. Girls jump up and down, bubble over in tears and scream, “I love you!” throughout his time on stage. At the breaks, he waves to the screamers with his trademark “Aww, cut it out, you guys!” impossible-not-to-love embarrassed grin. Being in the center of this whirlwind of ecstasy is not an experience a grownup should dive into unprepared, although many ladies of a certain age in the pit seemed to get pretty well carried away by it.

David always seemed both wise and innocent beyond his years. On the tour after s7 I talked with him about growing up on stage, and will always recall the touching answer he gave:

When I ask him how at his age he became so committed to and serious about music instead of the more frivolous concerns of most youths, David gives an extremely touching answer that gets me more than a little choked up. Of singing, he tells me: “I’ve just always loved to do it.” He tells me how he’s never felt comfortable or natural at expressing himself in words and conversation, but that he learned early that with music he could make people understand what he was feeling and what was going on inside him. “And you don’t even have to get the words right. If you sing they can connect with you,” he added.

It was as though he grew up far beyond his years on stage, while in real life, he struggled to keep up, stumbling to find the words.

And then there was one of the greatest adventures on my Idol journey, getting trapped in an elevator with the Archuleta family, the siblings singing throughout our hour long ordeal. To this day, I have never met a nicer more heartwarming bunch than the Archuletas. And in that I include his father Jeff, who was always a truly considerate gentleman with me.

Since Idol, David has gone on to record some fantastic songs and whenever I see him, when he comes back to visit the Idoldome I am awestruck at how through it all he has retained the almost supernatural sweetness that has won him so many fans, as strong off-stage as on.

Happy birthday David!