At the front of ‘Idol’s’ pack

Only once before in “Idol” history has a candidate so totally dominated the race so early; only once previously has a singer come to the Idoldome and owned it so totally that the entire season eventually became one acceptance speech. And that candidate was Carrie Underwood. And that season was Season 4 -- widely considered, despite a certain lack of suspense, the iconic “American Idol” season.

Once again, we stand at a place where early on, the competition is on the brink of collapsing in the face of a talent who lays waste to all before him. Could the Chosen One, David Archuleta, in week two of the competition, be on the brink of wrapping it all up and turning Season 7 into a four-month coronation of America’s next superstar?

The Chosen One has behind him his terrifying talents, having been reared on “Idol” and honed from his earliest years into the perfect weapon to fight fearful adversaries on the “Idol” stage. But he also is the putative candidate of the sleeping giant of “Idol” voting blocs: tween girls.

However, before we declare the race over without a single Top 12 vote, we cannot rule out that the Duende From Down Under, Michael Johns, is going to be a ferocious contender all the way down the stretch. Never has the competition seen a serious male contender with such overwhelming star quality. And when this winnows down to a two-man race, will the Chosen One’s charm and gifts wither under the mature, somewhat demonic statecraft of the D From D?

If there is one piece of evidence to suggest that this will in fact come down to a two-man race (on the guys’ side, at least) it is that all 10 others seem to have been given the same faulty playbook about how to respond when facing the judges. In the first two weeks, the men have put on unthinkable displays of petulance, sulkiness and bad manners when coming up against Simon Cowell, dooming them to be also-rans. How a candidate behaves in those crucial moments of tension, when the audience’s attention is laser-focused on every inflection and gesture, is at least as important as their song performance.

There’s only one occasion, for example, when it’s OK to lose your cool: when you receive a rave. I’m overwhelmed, shocked, the greatest moment of my life -- those are the appropriate responses. Consider the following quotation: “Thank you! Thank you! I appreciate that so much! That means soooo much to me.” Those are the words of perhaps the most natural “Idol” performer ever to take the “Idol” stage, a young man by the name of David Archuleta.

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richard.rushfield@latimes.com