'Idol' runner-up David Archuleta looks back

Seventeen-year-old "American Idol [ tickets ]" runner-up David Archuleta told reporters during a teleconference that he tried to brush off news reports about himself and his father during the competition in order to deliver his best performances. "I just wanted to stay myself and how I was at the beginning of the competition before all this happened," he said. "I wanted to keep who I was--the normal teenage David," Archuleta said. Celebrity magazines reported that Archuleta's father, Jeff, was banned from all backstage areas because of his intense behavior around his son. "In interviews and stuff [questions about my father] started coming up and it was just kind of strange because there were really weird things," Archuleta said. "I heard he refused to give me water or something like that. That's the weirdest thing. I mean, I'm 17 and if I want water I'm pretty sure I would just go get it anyway. Another thing was, like, he made me cry during one of the recording studios or something like that. I can't remember really. Just weird things like that. I'm old enough to have enough control over myself. Then, the next thing is he's a great guy. There isn't really anything he's done that's bad like the things that have been spoken about him. My whole family has been such a great support and they're the ones who've kept me grounded and allowed me to be who I am today. No one understands what I'm here for more than they do."As excited as he was to be on "American Idol," Archuleta admitted that he was relieved after the finale. A Utah native who was dubbed "Archie" by his competitors, the singer explained he felt more like he was competing against himself than fellow contestants. "Each week, and as the weeks went on, we had more songs each week to have to learn along with other things," Archuleta said. "With this final week, it was the busiest of all. It was hard to find time to even rehearse and stuff along with school and everything else going on. So, on that Tuesday night, I just tried to make sure I didn't regret anything I did, and so I think I did that. It was just such a relief to just feel good about what I did and the fact that that was the last impression I gave on the show. The competition is all over and now it's time to really focus on music."Music and school, that is. Archuleta said he would like to go to school to become an ear, nose and throat specialist if this music thing doesn't pan out. "I think school's really important," Archuleta said. "It was my main priority before this because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to get anywhere with music, but I was still hoping for something. Even if music does turn out to go somewhere for me, you never know how long it'll last. So I just want to make sure I have something to back me up on that."But in the meantime, he's thankful for all his fans who voted for him to make him the runner up to winner David Cook. "I just want to thank them, first of all, just because it means more than anything to know that people are appreciating the hard work that we put into this," Archuleta said. "I want them to know that I'm just feeling great about it. The fact that Cook won, I think he deserved it so much. He just proved it week after week that he deserved to be the 'American Idol,' even early in the competition. He's such a great guy, too. ... I think we both gave it all. We just poured it all onto that stage on Tuesday night and we both feel really great about it."Archuleta and this year's other Top 10 finalists will be appearing on the upcoming "American Idols Live [ tickets ]" tour, which gets underway July 1.