The soulful version David Archuleta performed during tonight's Utah Jazz/Los Angeles Lakers playoff game landed in the middle but was thankfully much closer to Houston.

The 17-year-old "American Idol" singer from Murray performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" before a sold-out crowd of 19,900 basketball fans and delivered a moving rendition, although he appeared nervous enough to forget the words (he didn't).

Only lucky fans who paid top dollar to attend could hear him sing. Both ESPN and KJZZ Channel 14, who were televising the game, couldn't broadcast David's performance due to an exclusivity contract with Fox. A clip of him singing the anthem is expected to air during Tuesday's "Idol" episode.

If "Idol" judge Simon Cowell had been there to critique David's performance, he might have said: "If I'm being honest, you started off a tad wobbly, but you finished in grand style."