As a professionally trained musician and as a music critic and researcher, I have been quite critical of the American Idol phenomenon. Near the beginning of the second season and well before Kelly Clarkson genuinely earned the stripes of her first-season prize, I penned a column lambasting the show for making this process so bland. In 2003, I wrote:

“The Idol format drains the mystique from the star-making process and the show becomes nothing more than a nationally-televised karaoke machine.”

Now, I believe it’s time for a retraction. The current season, the seventh for this enterprise, is, by far, the best of the run. In fact, my primary criticism is against the results show, which mercifully should always be a half hour maximum. The mentor’s list for upcoming rounds, is entertaining if only for its strange combination — Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton, Mariah Carey, and Andrew Lloyd Webber.

Among the 10 finalists are a few coming into this competition with the most solid musical credentials to date who will patiently wait out the process while their obvious inferiors are weeded from the pack. For those of us in Salt Lake City, the performances of the young David Archuleta have generated a great deal of well-justified hometown pride.

Archuleta, a 17-year-old Murray High School student, is an impressive vocalist. Clearly showing a surprisingly mature musical sensitivity, he did a wonderful job with The Beatles’ “The Long and Winding Road” on the March 18 telecast. Archuleta definitively challenges what I said in my 2003 column: “Today’s aspiring vocalists abuse their instruments, failing to take advantage of breath control or phrasing techniques. Today’s singers often are anonymous in terms of musical ability.” In fact, for quite a while, I had given up hope on most of today’s singers, tending to feel more musically satisfied in the instrumental-only world of electronica. One reason for pop’s recent problems has been deep skepticism about the performer’s authentic singing abilities. It’s nice to see someone of Archuleta’s promise taking his place front and center on the public stage of American Idol.

In addition, Simon Cowell’s judgments have been spot on this season, reiterating the essential nature of this competition in which the drama of watching talent blossom could be powerfully attractive. And, the recent two weeks of Beatles’ songs as the focus of the competition have emphasized why singing is never an easy career. Courageously or foolishly, this year’s American Idol finalists have discovered why the lyric buoyancy of these songs remains intact, oblivious to historical undercurrents, shifts in aesthetic perceptions, and the struggle for definitive musical interpretation.

There are profound teaching moments for the aspiring performers in these songs, which hopefully will be carried forward in the ensuing weeks of this competition. The Beatles remain forcefully a key clue to finding pop’s spontaneous flash and appeal. Forty years ago, Frederic Grunfeld, whose own experiences were grounded in the elite classical musical world, warmly appraised the work of the Beatles in a high-brow arts magazine (Horizon). He wrote:

“Already, the Beatles have nearly succeeded in bringing the two mainstreams of music, serious and pop, Bach and barrelhouse, flowing back in the same broad channel – something that hasn’t happened since the days when they were dancing bourrees in the streets. . . . For a generation bent on enlarging the spectrum of its sensations, the Beatles – like Beethoven before them – have permanently expanded the limits of the world we live in, the world of vibrations. In years to come, when we look back in this epoch, we now think of (tentatively) as the McLuhan era, we shall find that these four faces tower above the scene like Gutzon Borglum’s presidents carved from Mount Rushmore, and it shall henceforth be known to posterity as The Age of Beatles.”

Also, I agree with composer Ned Rorem who said the Beatles gave pleasure back its artistic respectability. In the absence of needless stage gimmicks, these songs sparkle with eternal youthfulness, which is why Archuleta has advanced so prominently in this competition. In a small yet important way, his clear, confident voice reminds us of the joy — the pleasure — of pop music in its finest verbal and concrete forms.

However, amid the inevitably harsh realities of a nationally televised talent competition is the unpredictability of a grossly unscientific selection process that requires millions of people to send in their votes via mobile phone service. The best singers have not necessarily progressed to the finals, most notably last season.

Meanwhile, I’m venturing a prediction for the May showdown. The final two will be a battle of Daves — Archuleta with his excellent vocal instrument and Cook who has delivered solid performances with his popular stage persona. This competition may yet be the best thing for pop music.