I’ve heard several people say that they hated David Archuleta’s performance on American Idol this past week. They thought the song was too slow and poorly re-done, but I thought that it was spot. on. PERFECT. I think it worked for his voice, and frankly, worked really well for his age. Such misty-eyed idealism sits better on young lips. And for once, I actually agree with Paula Make-Everyone-Feel-Affirmed-In-The-Land-Of-Rainbows-And-Sunshine Abdul: That was one of the most beautiful songs ever written, and one of the most moving performances I’ve ever heard. It gave me chills.

By the way, this isn’t the first time little DavidA has sung that song for a broadcast audience; he sang it, albeit in a much higher key, for the Utah-based morning show Good Things when he was thirteen. And that arrangment is (surprise, surprise) not original – you can hear the late, great Eva Cassidy singing it here.