The Five Best Tracks On David Archuleta’s (Possibly Fake) iPod

noah | November 6, 2008 4:00 am

In the portable-media player era, one of the common gambits for “getting to know” an artist is the celebrity playlist, in which famous people purport to reveal to the world the contents of their digital-music library. Whether these lists of tracks are real or fake or just highly massaged is frequently up for debate, given the sheer number of public-relations types in desperate need of something to do who are still employed by the music industry. But I kind of want to believe in the latest one of these to cross my transom because it comes to us courtesy of American Idol runner-up David Archuleta, who showed the contents of “his iPod” to USA Today as part of the runup to his album’s release next week. If it’s real, it shows just how much the kid has grown since he was annoying the crap out of me every Tuesday night last winter. Sure, some of the songs listed are the sorta-treacly material that made him so annoying during Idol‘s seventh season (hello, Wilson Phillips!), but other tracks are really good! I swear! Five examples of this after the jump.

5. Heart, “Alone”

Sure, it’s a requirement for every Idol contestant–male and female–to know this song. But at least he skipped the Celine Dion version, no?

4. Cyndi Lauper, “Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough”

Want to feel old? This song was made five years before he came into the world!

3. Van Halen, “Panama”

I like to think of David busting this out at karaoke, but getting all red-faced during the part about reaching down between his legs… to, you know, ease the seat back.

2. Kate Bush, “Wuthering Heights”

Why do I have a feeling Danny Noriega turned him on to this song?

1. Robyn, “With Every Heartbeat”

If this is a sign that Archie wants to work with the Swedish knob-twiddler Kleerup on his next record, I say go for it.

There’s also a Tokio Hotel song on there, which I’m mentioning mainly because I want to see what happens when those two fanbases collide.

‘Idol’ runner-up David Archuleta is poised for record debut [USA Today]