In a sense,
David Archuleta should have skipped his awkward contemporary pop album and jumped right into
Christmas from the Heart: he was born to slickly sing sentimental standards, which is all he does here. Apart from one song sung in Spanish and "Ava Maria," in Latin, there are no surprises here either in song selection or execution, but
Archuleta is comfortable in such a familiar setting, singing in a friendly, eager-to-please fashion that will win him no new fans but will surely please all the old ones, especially those who loved him on American Idol and wondered why there were so many drum loops on his 2008 debut.