David Archuleta, 'David Archuleta'

The buzz: He may have lost out on season seven of “American Idol” to rocker David Cook, but to millions of rabid “Archies,” teen crooner David Archuleta is the most exciting thing to come out of Fox’s singing competition in years. For his debut album, the sweet-voiced 17-year-old enlisted help from such pop songwriting heavyweights as Desmond Child, JC Chasez and new “Idol” judge Kara DioGuardi.

The verdict: On “Idol,” Archuleta specialized in earnest, heartfelt ballads—which is fine when those ballads are Lennon’s “Imagine” and Sir Elton’s “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me.” But with material like the work-for-hire throwaways that make up most of this hastily assembled debut, all the carefully emoted high notes in the world can’t conceal the lack of any real pop hooks or memorable choruses. Only the fantastically overwrought “Desperate” (co-written by the master of pop melodrama, Desmond Child) and the breezy pop-rock of “Don’t Let Go” (which Archuleta co-wrote with *NSYC’s JC Chasez) stand out—the rest is a mass of anonymous hip-pop production that even Archuleta’s most fanatical followers may have trouble stomaching.

Did you know? Speaking of fans, Archuleta was honored at this year’s Teen Choice Awards for having the “most fanatic fans”—an award he may have trouble winning again if he doesn’t start picking stronger material.