MURRAY— That wasn't some sort of terrible accident at Murray High School Friday afternoon.

No, all that screaming was just David Archuleta and 5,000 or 6,000 of his closest friends getting together to celebrate him being only two votes away from being this year's "American Idol."

Audio file    David Archuleta (420 KB .mp3 file)

"It means the world to me that you guys came here," Archuleta told the crowd. "I can't believe it. It's crazy. I can't thank you guys enough."

Oh, and among Archuleta's new best friends were Murray Mayor Dan Snarr; Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Huntsman, by the way, required less security than Archuleta. But then there aren't thousands of teenage girls screaming Huntsman's name, either.

The pep rally/celebration/carnival/concert, co-sponsored by Murray City and Murray Schools, filled the stands on both sides of Murray High's football stadium as well as about half the field. There hasn't been that much orange and black since Halloween.

Hundreds of Archuleta's friends and classmates were in attendance. While all were excited, some said the fact Archuleta has gone so far on "Idol" is a little bittersweet.

"I'd rather have him here with us," said Caitlee Meyers, a junior. "To us, the people who know him, he's just David Archuleta from Murray."

Jessica Judd, also a junior at Murray High, spent the whole day with Archuleta Friday. She said it was a surreal experience, but she's excited for him.

"It's crazy that so many people are here for someone I have known for so long," she said.

The audience cheering Archuleta was packed with young girls and mothers with children. When he was introduced on the stage and began to sing, people stood on tiptoe, holding their cameras in the air and chanting Archuleta's name.

Hundreds of friends/fans were wearing orange or white shirts declaring voting allegiance to Murray's favorite son. There were signs declaring, "David, your music makes my heart beat," "David, you are our hero," "David is a hottie" and lots of signs with some variation of "David, will you marry me?"