Reaction to David Archuleta's announcement of serving an LDS mission

Former "American Idol" runner-up and Utah native David Archuleta announced Monday night his intention to serve a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

The reaction on the Internet has been enormous.

From Rolling Stone to USA Today to CNN, Us Weekly and the International Business Times, it seems everybody's talking about "Archie."

The Washington Post included the video of the "sweet-faced" singer in its entertainment section. The Christian Science Monitor reported that Archuleta will "join (the) Mormon mission."

Most of the articles describe the joyous reaction of the Salt Lake City audience and quote Archuleta's reasoning for going.

"It's not because someone told me I was supposed to do it and not because I no longer want to do music anymore," Archuleta said. "It's what I feel I need to do next in my life."

User comments vary, of course, but many readers on each of these sites are supportive of the singing star taking a break from show biz to dedicate the time to his faith.

Email: hbowler@desnews.com