David Archuleta, the runner-up of last year’s American Idol made a surprise appearance at SMK Sri KDU in Kota Damansara, Kuala Lumpur

PETALING JAYA: The real world and cyberspace were caught up in the David Archuleta mania as the runner-up of last year’s American Idol made a surprise appearance at SMK Sri KDU in Kota Damansara.

“It was crazy as I did not realise how many kids would be there.

“I did not expect them to be that enthusiastic and have that much energy,” said Archuleta of the big crowd at the school yesterday.

He was mobbed by an equally huge crowd when he landed at KL International Airport on Wednesday.

The students of the school were rewarded with the special visit after having won the Hitz.fm “Bring Archuleta To Your School” campaign.

Students were required to answer questions and vote for their schools on the radio station’s website. The school garnered a whopping 65,700 votes.

“I voted for our school so many times. I just kept clicking the submit button (on the website) over and over again!” exclaimed Form 4 student Goh Lih Seng, who added that he enjoyed Archuleta’s music but was never a big fan. “Now I’m a huge fan!” he said.

The 18-year-old singer spent about an hour at the secondary school, posing for pictures with the top students before entering the hall where he was greeted with screams.

Meanwhile, the team from The Star’s youth platform R.AGE was hard at work at the school, keeping fans of the baby-faced singer updated with what was happening.

Using the social networking tool Twitter, which allows people to follow updates of fellow “Tweeple”, the R.AGE team was able to notify anyone with immediate updates and pictures on site, including replies by Archuleta from an interview conducted after the event.

Earlier, Archuleta told the crowd how much he loved Malaysia and what a surreal experience it was for him to be in Malaysia, all the way from Utah, United States.

He also talked to the students about how he got through high school with good grades.

“I wasn’t the smartest in my class but I took my time and worked at (my studies). The effort is what helped me out and got me the grades I wanted,” Archuleta said.

After the event, Archuleta held a press conference at the Sunway Lagoon Theme Park. He will perform a special showcase at Sunway Lagoon Amphitheatre at 3pm on Saturday.

* Log on to rage.com.my for more pictures and details on David Archuleta’s visit to SMK Sri KDU.

News and pic by: TheStar Online..