I dunno, there are quite a few younger performers, or at least performers who got wide recognition at a younger age.
Well, some people don't go to their proms at all. I think "I had to be on national television that night" is a better excuse than "I don't like dances" or "School functions are lame", which are the two you usually get
I just checked out his performance on the same night. It was good, but I really don't think it does compare to David Cook's "Billie Jean". I once again listened to Michael Jackson's version and yeah, I just don't care for it that much. Supposedly the inspiration for David Cook's arrangement was was Chris Cornell, but I checked out his version too, and yeah, it's still not nearly as good. The arrangement and melody are just much better with the version David Cook did. All three singers are good and the vocals are fine, but the song itself just leaves me bored with the famous people, and completely excited with David Cook's version.
Getting back to David Archuletta, I think it's interesting that Simon was convinced he hadn't chosen that song himself. I have to say whether it's David or someone else, I haven't cared very much for his song selection or the arrangements he uses. In general I think his performance and vocals are good in spite of these things, but clearly we have very different taste and music. (Granted "Imagine" is one of my all time favourite songs, but I still didn't like his abridged version as much).
-Kevin