Song of Davids by LARRY GETLEN(New York Post)

David Archuleta, the runner-up of this year's "American Idol," is in Cincinnati, where he's having anything but a superstar moment. The squeaky-clean, occasionally bashful and unconditionally adorable singer is appearing on a radio show with students from an all-girls school who collected 64 jugs filled with pennies to benefit a cancer charity.

If that seems like an odd way to spend a morning, it gives you just a taste of Archuleta's bizarre life these days. But then again, he's not the only "American Idol" vet named David for whom life has become an affair worthy of a "Twilight Zone" episode.

Immediately after more than 31 million people watched angsty/scruffy 25-year-old David Cook snatch the "Idol" crown from the reach of Archuleta's tiny 17-year-old arms, both were whisked away to juggle two enormous tasks: hitting the road for the "American Idol" tour, and recording their new CDs at a breakneck pace so that both could be released in time for the holidays.

"I was really nervous at the beginning because this is something I always wanted to do, and it happened so fast," Archuleta says. "The night of the finale, they're like, 'OK, you're gonna be working with Jive.' I was like, 'Whoa.' "

Now, with "David Archuleta" set for release by 19 Recordings/Jive on Nov. 11 and "David Cook" dropping through 19/RCA a week later, the world waits to see whether - much like in that other big "younger man vs. older dude" battle that'll be playing out nationwide on Tuesday - age and experience can win out over youthful charisma.

Or, in the parlance of the now-legendary "American Idol" post-show sales battle between the winner and the runner-up, whether David vs. David will be the next Kelly vs. Justin or the next Clay vs. Ruben.

Whatever the result, the path to it was nerve-racking for both.

"It was kind of all over the place, because I was trying to work on the album while I was on tour," says Archuleta, who, as he's prone to do, starts laughing in mid-sentence. "I mostly did it in LA. Some was in Utah, some was in Minnesota, some was in Oklahoma, some was in Indiana and some was in New York. Whenever I had a day off, I'd record in whatever city I was in."

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While the circumstances were similar for both singers, the nature of their recordings hewed closely to their respective pop and rock leanings.

Archuleta, a smooth crooner in the traditional boy-band mode and a novice in the studio, depended on some of the most reliable hitmakers in the business (his father, happily, sat this one out) to craft the 25 songs he laid down in order to get the perfect 12 for his debut. While he's been performing for most of his life, he found that the demands of the studio provided some unique challenges.

"There's a different way of singing in the studio," he explains, "because you're not feeding off the crowd. You take several takes, you try to balance and preserve your voice, and sometimes you can be there all day - hours and hours of recording. But it's really fun, because you get to learn the song and figure out what you want to do with it."

'NSYNC's JC Chasez, who co-wrote the peppy plea for love "Don't Let Go" with Archuleta and veteran songwriter Jimmy Harry (Kelly Clarkson's "Low"), said that Archuleta showed a maturity beyond his years.

"His voice is out of this world, and he approaches his singing very professionally," says Chasez. "Some people just jump into the studio raw, but he takes the time to warm up, sit down at the piano, run the scales. He takes it very seriously. When he goes into the studio to sing, that kid is business."

Chasez says that Archuleta's vocal strength and endurance - particularly for someone his age - is a rarity.

"After touring, people's vocals get trashed, but he sang for hours on end and he was still clean," says Chasez. "It was stunning to hear how much abuse this kid's voice can take. But because he's so dedicated to doing it the right way, it always sounds great."

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Archuleta, meanwhile, was working with Chasez and other successful songwriters and getting a virtual master class on the topic.

His album's lead-off track and first single, "Crush" - which has already hit No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on iTunes - was written by Emanuel Kiriakou (known in the business as Eman), David Hodges and Jess Cates, who between them have written hits for the likes of Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson and the Jonas Brothers. Archuleta made the most of this extraordinary learning opportunity.

"The writing of a song, it's not like, 'Oh, this line comes and then this line comes,'" says Archuleta, who, in addition to "Don't Let Go," also co-wrote the lovelorn "A Little Too Not Over You." "Even amazing songwriters have writer's block. What you learn about songwriting is [that] to become a good writer you need to take risks and [be willing to] throw out dumb ideas. When you throw ideas to other people, that'll help spark an idea for them."

Whatever lessons there were to learn, Chasez says he caught on quickly.

"When we were going over lyric ideas, he didn't let anything get by. Everything in the song, lyrically, had a purpose," he says. "He put thought and consideration into each line, and he cared about the quality of every second of the song."

One thing that caught Archuleta off-guard about the recording process was that a song he was less than enthusiastic about upon first hearing it could eventually become a favorite.

"Your Eyes Don't Lie" is a slinky song of defiance with a whistling coda, produced by Antonina Armato and Tim James from Rock Mafia. Archuleta initially had doubts about working with the veteran writing/producing team because of one of the pair's other famous clients.

"At first I was like, they work with Miley Cyrus. Why would I wanna do stuff with Miley Cyrus' people? Just because we're both young?" he says. "I don't wanna be in that category. She's really talented, but that's not my kind of thing."

And once they hit the studio, Archuleta still wasn't convinced that the song would fit his style. "I was like, I don't know how I'd sound singing that, if I'd portray the idea of the song very well," he says. "This is another love kind of song, and it was just really different."

But ultimately, he saw what talented producers like Rock Mafia (whose members have also worked with Mariah Carey and Green Day) can do, and the song won him over.

"I couldn't believe how versatile they were," he says. "They did 'Your Eyes Don't Lie' and 'You Can,' and I love that song [too]. It's a really simple song, but I just love to sing it, and I love what it's all about."

"You Can" is an acoustic tune that's sure to strike right to the heart for the "Archies," Archuleta's devoted fan base.

"It's a ballad, and it talks about falling in love for the first time, and how that one person can change the way you look at things," he says. "You can really connect to it. It's like I can feel the way they felt when they were writing it."

Archuleta also worked with Grammy-nominated songwriter Kara DioGuardi, who co-wrote the gentle ballad "To Be With You" for him with Eman. DioGuardi, who also sings backup vocals on the track, worked on Cook's debut as well. Since her work with Archuleta, she has been named the fourth judge on "American Idol."

"She's gonna be a really good judge. She's so amazingly talented," says Archuleta. "I had a little writing session with her, and it was really cool to be able to work with her."

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Considering the timing of the two releases, the speculation about which will emerge as the king of the music charts and the fact that one of these young talents beat the other for the most prestigious title in music, one has to wonder if the two Davids are out for blood, each anxious to demolish to other - at least in terms of CD and digital sales.

The truth is, these Davids are totally BFF.

"He has seriously been like my big brother," Archuleta says of his older counterpart. "He'll still text me once in a while to make sure things are going well. He's a really caring guy."

As evidence of their closeness, Cook was seen on the "Idol" tour wearing a bracelet that said, "David Is My Idol" - but it was an Archuleta bracelet.

"I spent so much time with him, and we really got close during the show, especially at the end," says Archuleta. "He understood what I was going through more than anyone else - because he was going through it, too."