Archies beat the sunrise to meet their favorite "American Idol"

Before the sun came up this morning, dozens of girls and their mothers staked out a place in line, hoping to meet their "American Idol" favorite, runner-up David Archuleta, at the 106.1 KISS-FM office downtown.

Archuleta fans (dubbed "Archies" or "Arch Angels") waited in the cold starting as early as 4:30 a.m., hours before the "meet and greet." One pair even traveled from Oregon — only to have their cab get into an accident on the way there from the hotel.

"My head hurts," said Amanda Rarick, 21, but added that after seeing her Idol, "I'll forget all about it."

Both Rarick and her mom refused medical help, because they needed to see Archuleta.

"We're dedicated," said her mom, Jacki Koehler, 43, who suffered a nosebleed and planned a visit to the hospital after the radio-station event.

Others were skipping school to meet Archuleta. Jennifer Watsek, 42, woke up at 5:45 a.m. to drive her daughter to the station from Puyallup.

"Look at her blush," said Watsek about 13-year-old daughter Dani, talking about Archuleta. "She's obsessed."

Another mom waited outside for hours to make sure her daughter got in.

"We got only two tickets so my mom is staying in the car. I feel bad for her, but she'll survive," said 17-year-old Olympia resident Kasia Preis, who won two tickets to the meet and greet on the radio. She brought her friend in instead, 16-year-old Michelle Venida.

And the youngest fan in the house, 3-year-old Makayla Covey, was there as a surprise from her mom.

"He was her favorite," said mom Amy Covey, a 33-year-old Port Orchard resident.

Archuleta got on his knees to take a photograph with Makayla.

Through the 20-minute radio interview — which went live on the air at about 8 a.m. Tuesday — and the signing, he was all smiles. His sweet demeanor endured through the early hours, and even through the morning DJs' antics. KISS-FM DJs Jackie and Bender recorded his laugh and played it over and over.

"I can't stand my laugh, oh my gosh. Oh my gosh," said Archuleta, taking it in stride.

And although he didn't serenade the fans, he did sang along with the radio broadcast during the post-interview autographs session, singing fellow "American Idol" star Jordin Sparks' song "One Step At A Time." He also freely gave out hugs to the almost entirely female fan base at the event.

The interview is already on one of the many Archuleta fan sites, raving about Bender's line: "We've brought in a ton of people, but every now and then, there's one person who, across the board, people go nuts for. And you're that guy."

Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com