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Former "American Idol" contestant David Archuleta sings during a women's conference Monday at Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake City. Archuleta also spoke as part of the 25th Utah Women's Conference. (Jim Urquhart/The Salt Lake Tribune)
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Neatly dressed in a black slim-fitted suit and a pair of black-and-white sneakers, David Archuelta nervously stepped onto the podium to welcome the crowd Monday morning as the keynote speaker at Sen. Orrin Hatch's 25th Annual Utah Conference for Women.

"When at first I was asked to speak at this, I thought it was kind of funny," Archuleta said, flashing his signature boyish smile. "A David Archuleta speech for me is like an oxymoron. I've never been good at speaking."

Hatch met Archuleta in 2002 when the young singer sang the national anthem at a similar conference at Abravanel Hall. "I remember telling the audience after his performance that I firmly expected to hear his voice on stage someday," Hatch said.

Hatch called himself one of Archuleta's biggest supporters, saying he and his wife placed voting calls when the singer was competing on the seventh season of Fox's "American Idol" competition.

In the singer's speech, which clocked in at just over 50 minutes, the 18-year-old used self-deprecating humor and a stream-of-consciousness speaking style. "If you want to get better at something, you need to start in the first place," Archuleta said. "Like speaking for me, but I didn't avoid it today. I think that's a good thing."

Archuleta talked about his musical journey, which began when he was 6 years old, as well as the necessity of facing the future with optimism. "A lot of hard things can be going on in our lives, but there

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is always something great to be focusing on," he said. "Even if you don't see it in the right now, it's amazing how things work out in the long run."

At one point during the speech, he turned to Hatch to ask how much time he had left. "I tend to ramble, that's the dangerous thing," Archuleta admitted. "And it's not just rambling, it's like: 'What is this kid talking about?' "

Several fans at the back of the room shouted "sing, sing." "I'm not done speaking yet," Archuleta replied with shy confidence, drawing a roar of laughter.

After Archuleta told a story about his rise from singing in his Murray backyard with the neighbors' dogs to releasing his second album, Hatch, too, joined audience members requesting a song.

"I'll sing a verse, I guess," Archuleta said, appearing somewhat frazzled at the impromptu request, before settling on "O Holy Night," one of the traditional classics included on his just-released "Christmas from the Heart."

The room went silent as the young singer's voice soared a capella, drawing a standing ovation from the crowd.

"Boy, he can have a degree and Ph.D. in philosophy, is all I can say," Hatch said as Archuleta walked off stage. "I have so much admiration for him, not only for his extraordinary talent, but his strong character and example. It's a tough business to be in."