Just hours before Monday night's "American Idol" concert in Salt Lake City, the family of contestants -- and, they insist, that's exactly how it feels -- painted a picture of hometown boy David Archuleta as a goofy little brother who more often than not gets a laugh by accident.

It's great to be on tour with the 17-year-old Murray native -- but a little intimidating to come to sing on his home turf, said David Cook, last season's "Idol" winner.

"This is kind of a big test for us," he joked. "We're in Archie country, so we've all got to kind of keep up."

Fellow contestant Syesha Mercado said she's actually enjoyed watching the legions of Archuleta fans crop up everywhere along the tour.

"Everywhere we go, there's a crowd of Archie fans," she said. "It's so cute. People love him, and they should, because he's a sweetheart."

For his part, Archuleta deflected the praise from his fellow singers. He said he's just glad to be home for a bit and to see some family and friends -- although there hasn't been much time for that, he admitted. From here, he flies back to Los Angeles to continue work on his debut album, due out this fall.

"I guess it's a little different when you have two big things going on that you're trying to do well," he said. "[I'm] just trying to find any little crack open."

He said fame hasn't changed the way he feels about home at all, but it is more strange to be recognized and approached by fans here than in other places.

"It's not so weird when you're in California or somewhere else and someone recognizes you," he said.

The singers were in town for their 10th stop of the 53-stop "American Idols Live Tour 2008." They're traveling across the country together by bus -- one for the boys, one for the girls -- and, they said, learning a lot about each other and the professional performer's life as they go.

"It's just like family," said acoustic crooner Jason Castro. "I feel blessed every day."

Also present Monday at the E Center in West Valley City was Justin Guarini, a first-season alumnus of the show. He was there covering the events for TV Guide Network, but said it's been a blast following the "Idol" hijinks from another perspective. Before the show, he joked that audience members would need earplugs to protect themselves from the legions of screaming girls that would attend to see Archuleta.

"I cannot wait to hear how loud the girls scream for David Archuleta tonight," he said. "There's nothing greater than to have him come here to his hometown to really make good on all that he's been doing."

• Ace Stryker can be reached at 344-2556 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it