MTV recently traveled to Murray, Utah, in order to speak with those who knew David Archuleta in high school.
Here’s how a few friends of the American Idol favorite described the adorable 17-year old:
- Kellene Kim, a friend and classmate at Murray High, said she called Archuleta “Lettuce Boy.” The reason?
“David has a tendency to not really listen, ’cause he kinda likes to sing to himself,” Kim explained. “We were sitting around, just hanging out, talking about how someone had found a bug in their lettuce from a fast-food place, and [David] tunes in. He heard us, and he’s like, ‘What? But I love lettuce!’ And so now we call him ‘lettuce boy.’ “
- Mietra Aarabi told MTV News: “Music is David’s life and always has been. When he’s talking in just normal conversation, if anything reminds him of a song, he just starts randomly singing.”
- “Even if we were driving, he would have random songs come into his mind,” echoed classmate Shantel Hansen. “I would be like, ‘Turn left,’ and he would start singing, ‘To the left, to the left’ [from Beyoncé’s ‘Irreplaceable’].”
- And the best part? He doesn’t even know it, insists Dean Kaelin, who has been Archuleta’s vocal coach for the better part of six years.
“I think he has absolutely no idea what a huge thing he is right now — it’s not like he’s trying to be impressive. He’s just being himself and enjoying the songs. The old Jimmy Stewart, ‘aw shucks’? Those are honest reactions. He just gets embarrassed from the attention. He thinks he’s just this kid.”