Specifically, he opined that Murray's golden boy isn't good enough to win the competition and can't project sincerity in his music - that he's too young to experience the kinds of emotions he sings about.

Well, Sean, you're wrong.

Have you consumed too much of that artificial butter flavoring in the movie popcorn?

Not all singers have to live the blues to sing the blues.

David Archuleta is an amazing musical talent, and the best proof that he can outsing and outperform the other two finalists - David Cook and Syesha Mercado - was in last Tuesday's episode.

The 17-year-old's cover of "Stand By Me" showed he has amazing vocal control, that his airy sound is more unique than anything else Cook and Mercado can conjure.

And David's second song, his breathless and moving take on Elvis Presley's "Love Me Tender," clearly demonstrated he can sell emotion to listeners and make them believe what he's singing.

Judge Simon Cowell said it best when he told David at the end of the night, "You crushed the competition."

Most amazing is that David also outrocked this season's established rocker, Cook, in a week dedicated to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's top 500 songs.

Stack up the other two against the Murray High School wunderkind, and there's no comparison. David Cook, who has demonstrated an uncanny ability to turn risky arrangements into musical gold (remember his cover of Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean"?), has been repeating himself with his ballads lately and has been too lazy to step into new territory since.

Mercado is the one who has been daring, showcasing more of her voice in the past few weeks with covers of "A Change Is Gonna Come" and "Thank the Lord for the Night Time."

But we've heard her kind of vocals before on "American Idol" - Tamyra Gray, LaToya London, Katharine McPhee. We'd be happy to see Mercado, along with the others, on the Great White Way.

David's different. He could forge ahead in any of a number of musical directions and be successful - pop, inspirational, the Disney tween market.

Perhaps detractors like Sean don't appreciate David because they can't easily pigeonhole him. He might be a difficult sell because he's young, he's not outgoing and he's not flashy on the outside.

But he's clearly got the skills on the inside with a musical tone that's irresistible and a delivery that's sincere.

There's plenty to like about the pint-size, amiable kid - a kind-hearted soul who used to Rollerblade around his Murray neighborhood just to say hi to his friends.

He's amazingly talented and he's from our home state. David is someone worthy of one of Sean's four-star reviews.

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* VINCE HORIUCHI'S column appears Mondays and Fridays. He can be reached at vince@sltrib.com or 801-257-8607. For more television insights, visit Horiuchi's blog, "The Village Vidiot," at blogs.sltrib.com/tv/. Send comments about this column to livingeditor @sltrib.com.