Archuleta's every wave and gesture was greeted with screams and cheers. And the diminutive high-school junior couldn't keep a huge grin off his face.

What with the crush and the crowd and the tight schedule, Archuleta was only able to sign autographs for a tiny fraction of those in attendance. When he headed back toward his limo, the crowd surged around him was like, well, a rock star.

Or maybe an "American Idol."

He did stick his head and shoulders out through the sun roof on his limousine, which was enough for some of the fans.

"Mom! Mom!" 13-year-old Meghan Carpenter of Highland shouted into her cell phone. "We didn't get his autograph, but he waved at me! Twice!

"And he is so cute!"

Archuleta kicked the day off with an early visit to Fox 13's morning studio, telling the hosts he's thrilled to be doing something he loves on such a grand scale.

The 17-year-old also said he's ready for his life to change if he wins the popular music competition.

"I'm so ready for that," he said, flashing his trademark shy smile. "I've wanted to do that for so long already and now that it's finally happened, I'm so happy now. You can't be happier."

He talked about a few flubs on the show where he forgot the words to songs, but said "a lot of people have done that." Archuleta also said he can't believe he's gotten to the top three in the competition and said there was no animosity between the three finalists.

"It's been a long road — just go, go, go, go, go," he said.

Archuleta answered questions from "American Idol" viewers as far away as Puerto Rico, but also fielded questions from students at Murray High.

One student asked Archuleta, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether he planned to serve a two-year mission for the faith. Archuleta responded that it was something he planned to do if he wasn't still doing music.

"I feel like I'm serving a mission right now in a way," he said.

Archuleta described how he believes his music has changed lives. He has received letters from people, thanking him for singing a song.

"I'm doing something I love and performing and it does something for people," Archuleta said. "I can't believe it."

A second question was asked by Murray's mayor, Snarr, who wondered whether Archuleta had learned any good pickup lines. Archuleta smiled and said he had heard one line where a guy could ask a girl whether she liked water. If the girl responded "yes," then he could say that his body was about 70 percent water. "You must like me."