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Gene Kennedy reporting"American Idol" contestant David Archuleta is the talk of the town, including at several area schools where there's a lot of enthusiasm for singing these days. Case in point: Grant Elementary School in Murray.
Sixth-grader Alyssa Smith is preparing for an end-of-the-year talent show as David Archuleta prepares for a night to remember. For children like Alyssa Smith, seeing a hometown teenager rise through the ranks of "American Idol" is truly inspiring.
"I always thought, ‘I'm so young. At my age right now, I'm not gonna be able to do much with singing.' Then I was watching ‘American Idol' and it said 'Murray, Utah, David Archuleta, age 17,' and I'm like, ‘He's still pretty young. It's only about a six-year difference. If I work as hard as he does, maybe I could get that far,'" Alyssa said.
Grant Elementary has a music program for the first time in seven years, thanks to a city-district grant. So music is once again a part of the curriculum, and Archuleta is helping to spark enthusiasm in performance.
"I've kinda been working harder because of him. It's kind of like if he can do it, so can I. I struggle with it, but then it's pretty cool to know someone from your city is doing ‘American Idol,'" said sixth-grader Veronica Trujillo.
Music teacher LuAnn Charles said, "He's close to their age, and so they can relate to him and relate to where he's at in life."
Teachers from several other schools told us they won't know until fall if more students sign up for music or singing as a result of Archuleta's influence.
E-mail: gkennedy@ksl.com
