In 2008, David Archuleta garnered the attention of music fans everywhere, with his stirring runner-up performance on ‘American Idol.’ A few months later, he cemented his status as one of today’s hottest young pop stars, with the release of his self-titled debut album, as well as a stellar Christmas record. Now, the singer is gearing up to release a brand new album, titled ‘The Other Side of Down.’

News of Archuleta’s new album first broke back in July, when his record label, Jive, proudly announced a Sept. 14 release date for ‘The Other Side of Down.’ After careful consideration, Archuleta decided to push back the date to Oct. 5, because, as he explained on his site, the singer wanted to “make sure he’s delivering the best possible album and he needs just a little more time to do it.” Although no official track list has been released for the album, Archuleta has unveiled the record’s first single, titled ‘Something ‘Bout Love,’ which was released in June.

This time around, Archuleta’s taken a more prominent role in the songwriting process on his new album. As he told Something Pitchy, songwriting is “something I’ve been working on, more and more. And I’ve gotten more comfortable with writing.” Still, he admits that sometimes, “It’s hard to get a message into a few lines.” Archuleta, though, definitely knows what kinds of songs he wanted to write on this album. “I love it when a song is real, when it comes from real ideas and real concepts and real emotions,” he explains. In the same interview, Archuleta said that the sound of the new album is definitely within the pop genre, and that he didn’t want to “shock people all of a sudden, and make this indie, mature, deep dark album.” “I still want it to be youthful and fun,” he says. “But I don’t want it to be too careless.”

In between prepping for the release of his new album, Archuleta found time to accept an award for Choice Idol Alum. And, while he was at the show, the young star took some time to delve into the mood of his upcoming album. “The rest of the album is more in tune with what is me as a person,” he said in a post-show interview. “I don’t take myself seriously, I’m kind of a dork. I wanna show that in my music…I’m just gonna be myself.” Something tells us Archuleta’s rabid fans won’t be disappointed.

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