For a short while, the Filipino fans of American Idol alumnus David Archuleta were treated yesterday, November 17, to meet-and-greet sessions with their idol before his concert.  David has been promoting  his sophomore album The Other Side of Down.

Hours before the concert, which was held at the SM North Skydome in Quezon City, David held a string of interviews with the entertainment press. The Q&A sessions took place at the Peninsula Manila Hotel in Makati City.

David told the press he's happy to be back in Manila. He had a concert here with American Idol winner David Cook last year.

The 19-year-old singer praised his Filipino fans, who he said are one of a kind.

"I always need to find a way to come back here just because of the support of the fans here. The Filipinos are very enthusiastic. They have a lot of energy, so there ain't really any fans anywhere else that are quite like Filipino fans," he said.

Besides, he's also close friends with Filipino singer Charice, who's making waves here and abroad with her exceptional voice.

"I'm just so happy for her," David said about Charice. "She did so well, and I think think she just deserves it because she's so talented. She's very grateful for what is happening to her. She's very appreciative about the people around her and the fans."

THE OTHER SIDE OF DOWN. In the interview, David narrated how he had to assert his individuality in his new album The Other Side of Down, produced by Jive Records.

David said he was not able to do this for his previoulsy self-titled album because he was just fresh out of American Idol's seventh season, where he placed second against David Cook.

"I didn't have a lot of time until near the end of the process to get more involved. I learned a lot from that process...how the business works, and who's involved," he said.

For The Other Side of Down, David wanted to show more of his personality, and not anybody else's viewpoint. This is why he decided to tell his label what songs he wanted to do for the album, even writing many of the song lyrics.

"With this album, I'm taking that experience from the past with me. I mean, I'm still learning while, like as I was making this album, I just keep asking myself questions: 'Do I really have to go by this?' 'Do I really have to sing about this?'

"I was like, no. I mean, this is my album. My face is going on that album. And so, that's how I realized, okay, in order for other people not to tell me what to do, what is it I want to accomplish or I want to say. I want this album to be me.

"The theme of this album is myself and my own perspective of life. No one can tell me, 'You're doing it wrong, that's not the way you're supposed to do it.' They won't know more than me, than myself. I think only one person knows more about me than I do."

He even picked what pictures are to be included in the album, all of which now show movement: David jumping, hanging upside down from a chin-up bar, David climbing up a wall, and other similar pictures.