Greg Silberman, Staff Writer

            A star was born during the seventh season of American Idol, when one of the youngest finalists in the show’s history took the stage. At 18 years old, former ‘Idol’ runner-up David Archuleta has already released his sophomore album, Christmas from the Heart.

            To no one’s surprise, Archuleta’s holiday album, filled with heart-warming traditional tunes, has been soaring up the charts at an incredible pace. On the first day of release, Christmas from the Heart quickly reached the Top 10 on iTunes Top 200 albums, a particularly rare accomplishment for a Christmas album.

            Archuleta seems to have the perfect singing voice for most of the CD’s well-known songs, including, “Joy to the World,” “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” which he performs beautifully with Filipina star Charice Penpemgco.

            “Melodies of Christmas,” the only original song of the album, references several Christmas songs and how powerful they are to their listeners.

            Archuleta even incorporates his multilingual talents into the album as he sings in Latin, French and Spanish. “Pat-A-Pan” is a French, upbeat version of the Little Drummer Boy.

            The singer shows off his vocal range in “Riu Riu Chiu,” which has received a lot of immediate attention and praise, and is sung in Spanish. Archuleta’s voice drips with passion as he beautifully sings “Ave Maria” in Latin.

            The remaining songs from the album include “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “O Come All Ye Faithful,” “The First Noel,” “O Holy Night,” “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and “What Child is This.”

            Overall, the album serves as a great counterpart to Archuleta’s pop CD, Crush, which came out last year. It is only October, but there is no doubt that these well known tunes will get anyone into the holiday spirit.

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