David Archuleta (2008)

Image credit: Jeff Riedel

American Idle Archuleta's first album lacks personality

On American Idol's seventh season, David Archuleta had some personality — something you'll struggle to remember while taking in this bland, amnesia-inducing collection. Problems arise immediately with the single, ''Crush,'' which declares youthful longings yet has him sounding several passionless decades past the point of teenage heat. But when the gloss gets stripped away and Archuleta slips in some sweet flourishes on the mostly solo-piano ''Running,'' you glimpse hints of how his innate tenderness might triumph if he weren't saddled with the most generic writing and production money can buy. C+

DOWNLOAD THIS: Listen to songs from the new album on the singer's MySpace