VAR Roots For David Archuleta On American Idol

As singing competition/reality show American Idol announces the results of nationwide voting tonight, one proud father will be hoping the attention shifts back to his son.

Jeff Archuleta, owner of Arch Consulting Group, a VAR in Salt Lake City, will be in the audience, rooting for his son, David Archuleta.

David Archuleta has been a favorite week after week in the competition, which airs Tuesdays and Wednesdays on Fox television stations. But as the pressure mounts on the contestants, the Hollywood press has turned its attention toward David Archuleta's father Jeff.

Friends of the Archuletas contacted by ChannelWeb said that both Jeff and David Archuleta have been surprised by stories on TMZ.com calling Jeff an evil stage dad and accusing him of yelling at David until he cried during one week's rehearsals.

Jeff is "very involved in David's life and a very caring father," said a source close to the family, who asked not to be named. "Why would he be yelling and screaming at David when he has been doing so well? It doesn't make sense."

The negative Hollywood press attention heated up after last night's show, when American Idol judge Simon Cowell apparently blamed father Jeff Archuleta for what Cowell thought was a bad song choice for son David. While Cowell didn't directly blame Jeff Archuleta for choosing "You're The Voice," he did say he had trouble believing that 17-year-old David Archuleta chose it himself. TMZ.com jumped on another chance to bash Jeff Archuleta.

American Idol doesn't allow contestants or family members to speak to the press about the show, but sources close to the Archuleta family told us that David did indeed choose that song himself. In fact, David Archuleta had wanted to sing "You're The Voice" on 80's night, but American Idol wasn't able to obtain the rights in time, people close to the family told us.

As long as David Archuleta remains in the competition, Jeff Archuleta will stay with him in Los Angeles and stay in touch with his employees via phone and email, Arch Consulting Group employees told us. Jeff is still involved in the business, but he has turned the day-to-day operations over to staff while he and son David are in Los Angeles, they said.

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