Schoolteacher believes American Idol contestant is her soulmate

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Schoolteacher believes American Idol contestant is her soulmate

Published on March 1, 2008 ⋅ Written by Dexter Brown ⋅ Email this article ⋅ Print this post ⋅ Post a comment

David Archuleta: Andrea in a previous life

LAURENS, S.C. -- Joanna Faulkem is overwhelmed with a bevy of emotions everytime she sees American Idol Season 7 contestant David Archuleta performing on the hit reality talent show. She knows why the barely legal singer is bringing so much maturity and seasoned confidence to every performance.

The 38-year-old divorced schoolteacher is convinced the 17-year-old audience darling and contest frontrunner has lived several past lives and is her "long-lost soulmate."

"The first time I laid my eyes upon his face, I felt it, this immediate, instant, inexplicable connection," said Faulkem. "Whenever he looks straight into the camera, it's like he's looking straight into my very soul."

Faulkem, who is a substitute art teacher at Bell Street Middle School in Clinton, is a firm believer in past lives, and occasionally practices Wicca, a nature-based religion popularized in 1954 by Gerald Gardner, a retired British civil servant. She said past life regression allowed her to identify her previous lives, three of which she claims intersected with David's past lives.

"Three times is no coincidence," she says. "We were meant to be together, always."

According to Faulkem, she and Archuleta last crossed paths back in 1614, during the golden age of the Renaissance. Back then, she was a moody, bipolar Italian painter named Filippo Gallo, while Archuleta was Andrea Marangoni, the beautiful daughter of a rich, albeit shady, Venetian businessman. They had planned to sail away together to the New World, but severe stomach cramps caused her to miss their ship. Marangoni ended up sailing alone. They had never seen each other again.

"With all my heart, I want to thank Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson for letting me find my soulmate again," Faulkem says. "This time, I won't let food poisoning get in the way of destiny."

Efforts to get in touch with Archuleta are underway, the schoolteacher said.

"I don't expect him to believe me right away," she says. "But I am fully confident that if I were given fifteen minutes with him alone in a room, I would get my point across."

When reached for comment, Archuleta's mother branded Faulkem a "crazy" and told her to "stay the hell away from my son."

As of press time, Archuleta is on track to being crowned as this year's American Idol.