David Archuleta's "Crush" debuts at No. 2 on Hot 100

David Archuleta is the young man whose new single, "Crush" (19/Jive), debuts at No. 2, thus becoming the highest new entry of 2008 and the highest debut ever for an "Americn Idol" song not performed on the series.

Opening at No. 2 gives Archuleta a victory over the contestant who beat him in the seventh season "Idol" competition. David Cook's peak position to date on the Hot 100 is No. 3, the debut rank for "The Time of My Life." While Cook could still earn his first No. 1 on the Hot 100, for now, Archuleta is the second runner-up to outperform the "Idol" winner from the same season. The first was Clay Aiken, who went to No. 1 in 2003 with "This Is the Night" while second season champ Ruben Studdard peaked at No. 2 with "Flying Without Wings."

"Crush," which debuts at No. 1 on Hot Digital Songs, is the fourth entry for Archuleta on the Hot 100. His first three all debuted the week of June 7 and spent one week each on the tally: his version of John Lennon's "Imagine" at No. 36, Elton John's "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" at No. 58 and "In This Moment" at No. 60.

"Crush" is the seventh single to debut inside the top 10 of the Hot 100 in 2008, including Taylor Swift's "Change," which enters this week at No. 10. Here is a summary of these high-flying seven:

No. 2: "Crush," David Archuleta (Aug. 30)
No. 3: "The Time of My Life," David Cook (June 7)
No. 5: "Burnin' Up," Jonas Brothers (July 12)
No. 8: "Tonight," Jonas Brothers (Aug. 16)
No. 9: "New Soul," Yael Naim (Feb. 16)
No. 9: "Forever," Chris Brown (May 10)
No. 10: "Change," Taylor Swift (Aug. 30)

"Crush" is the highest-debuting single since the No. 2 bow of Fall Out Boy's "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" the week of Feb. 3, 2007.

And here is a summary of songs recorded by "American Finalists" but not performed during the course of competition that have debuted in the top 10:

No. 2: "Crush," David Archuleta (Aug. 30, 2008)
No. 6: "I'll Stand By You," Carrie Underwood (May 12, 2007)
No. 8: "Never Again," Kelly Clarkson (May 12, 2007)

Carrie Underwood performed "I'll Stand By You" on the "Idol Gives Back" episode of season six, but as a former contestant, was not in competition.

One final "Crush" note: two previous songs with "Crush" in the title peaked at No. 3, so Archuleta's "Crush" has bested both of them. The Jets' "Crush on You" found its way to third place the week of June 21, 1986, and Jennifer Paige's "Crush" landed at No. 3 the week of Sept. 5, 1998.

Source: Billboard.com