"Everyone's claiming to be his best friend, but he really was friends with most of those people, honestly," Judd said.

Archuleta moved to Murray after he'd already won $100,000 on "Star Search" at the age of 12. Like most kids that age, it was a bit daunting to start a new school where he didn't know anyone.

As he became acclimated, he "kind of came out of his shell," a friend said.

"He didn't like to be the center of attention, though," Judd said. "At parties, he wasn't the one entertaining everybody. He was one of the people being entertained."

Archuleta didn't hide his remarkable singing voice. He performed in talent shows; teachers and fellow students would ask him to sing; he was a member of the school choir.

For his friends, it's a rather surreal experience to see the boy next door performing on the No. 1 TV show in America.

"It's kind of weird just to see one of the people you know so well on TV and seeing America freaking out when he walks on stage," Judd said. "But it's a lot of fun to watch. He just lights up the stage. It makes me so happy for him and so proud of him."

Even though it keeps him far from his friends back home.

"It makes me miss him a lot," Judd said. "Choir is kind of not as much fun without him. We went on choir tour and it just wasn't as much fun without David there."

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E-mail: pierce@desnews.com