“I don’t think I can hear anymore,” my 8-year-old son, Ezra, said as we ambled out of The Intersection on Monday night. “All you need for broken ear drums is teenage girls and David Archuleta.”

The kid’s right. About 450 concertgoers, ages 6 to 60, screamed like crazy through the 2008 “American Idol” runner-up’s show, yelling and squealing every time the teen idol sang a sweet lyric, gestured in a particularly handsome way, or uttered a sentence.

“How are we doing tonight in Grand Rapids” WAHHHHHH!
“It’s nice to be here with you in a smaller, comfortable setting.” EEEEEEK!
“I dressed lighter than I usually do, and I’m still burning up.” I LOVE YOU! I LOVE YOU!

Still, for all the hysteria and hoopla, 18-year-old Archuleta reminded me why he made it so far on “Idol” only a year and a few months ago. His voice is fantastic, a lustrous tenor with an unaffected shot of the blues, and he has a way of performing that draws people in, belying his tender age.

In fact, Archuleta’s set — a healthy 15 tunes with a tight four-piece band — exceeded my expectations. It was even better than Daughtry’s early solo shows, at least the one that I saw in Muskegon about a year after he was on “Idol.” I’ll get flack for this, but last night’s show was beefier, tighter, and more professional than that dismal night a few years back. I know Daughtry’s improved greatly, but for teenage Archuleta to unwaveringly perform a solid block of 13 original songs, at his age and experience level, is impressive.

(And by the way, I love Daughtry!)

But back to “Archie”: Fun was had by all as he sang practically his entire debut album plus kicked in a few surprises for fun. “Barriers” had the crowd swaying with cell phones (and then no doubt texting madly to pals the second their hands came down). “Your Eyes Don’t Lie” featured the showman puckering up — to whistle his way through the song and ask the audience to whistle along. “You Can” was a spare, lovely melody while “Waiting for Yesterday” (an iTunes bonus track) rocked. Yes, it really rocked. And that’s from someone who voted for David Cook every week.

The teen did lose his place for a moment on the ballad “Desperate,” but quickly recovered. “Zero Gravity,” a single released after his debut album, thumped like a dance club favorite and had his guitar player, “Mike,” and his bass player, “Dave,” jumping up and down.

“Crush,” Archuleta’s pop radio smash, only raised the level of shrieking, so it was a good thing he saved it for last before the encore. What did he have left up his short sleeve, after 13 songs including his hits? A duet with a girl “from back home,” he said, introducing his friend Ashley Jensen and singing a lovely “Lean On Me” with her.

Ashley, from Utah, has known the singer for three years, she told me after the show. It was her 19th birthday, too.

Damaged ear drums or not, last night’s show was delightful, and showed young David Archuleta is well on his way to becoming a valid, post-”Idol” pop idol.

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