ForgotPassword?
Sign Up
Search this Topic:
Forum Jump
Posts: 23179
02/26/2009 8:28 PM
02/26/2009 8:31 PM
Posts: 3886
02/26/2009 10:17 PM
02/28/2009 12:29 PM
Nice guy David Archuleta is having a whirlwind year By John J. Moser | Of The Morning Call "American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta is so nice and polite that even asking him if he's truly as nice and polite as he seems flusters him. "Oh! What do you mean?" he says, laughing, in a telephone call last week from Los Angeles, where he was preparing for his first solo tour, which Sunday brings him to Allentown's Crocodile Rock. "That's an awkward question. I guess so. I guess that's just the way my parents just raised me, I don't know. I guess that is the way I act. I try to be nice to people, especially if it's the first time you're meeting them or the only time you're meeting them, the first impression really matters to them." Archuleta also is so nice that he answered the question most of you reading this wanted to know: He doesn't have a girlfriend and, in fact, a month past his 18th birthday, hasn't even had his first kiss. "Yeah, I'm not really involved a whole lot with girls right now," he says, laughing again. "There's not really even time to watch TV or anything, so why get a girl in your life when that can make things even more complicated? I think it's just about waiting for the right time, 'cause I think there are other things that I should be focusing on right now." So the boyish crooner doesn't have a girlfriend -- but here's what he does have: a self-titled album on Jive Records -- the home of Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown -- that debuted at No. 2 and has gone gold. He has a double-platinum hit single, "Crush," that was the highest-ever debut for an "Idol" song not performed on the series and the highest debut in 2008, and a new song, "A Little Too Not Over You," climbing the charts (No. 52 this week). He's also had a recent appearance on Nickelodeon's hit TV show "iCarly." Not bad for finishing behind David Cook last May by a margin of 12 million votes out of the record 97.5 million cast. But suggest to Archuleta that, with his spot-on tenor, he is more talented than Cook, and his modesty flares again. "Oh no!" he says, laughing again. "I thought Cook deserved to win. I thought he was a great example of an American Idol, because it's not just about the singing and stuff -- I think it's about the person, too, and I think he's just a great guy." Archuleta says life is great anyway: He's happy with his album, especially since it was cobbled together while he was on the road with the "Idol" tour. "That wasn't like a whole lot of time, especially because I wasn't ever in one spot for very long, having a show almost every day for three months," he says. "But it was interesting, that's for sure, and definitely not the way I expected to work on my first album. I thought, [in a singsong voice] 'Oh, you know, I'm going to take my time and try and write songs for the year and see which ones are good.' But there was like no time to do any of that kind of stuff, so it was pretty crazy. But it was fun." He also got to work with hit producers and writers Andreas Carlsson, Desmond Child, new "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi and former 'N Sync member J.C. Chasez. He also co-wrote a couple of songs on the disc, as well as a pre-order song and some B-sides. "All the songs, the writers I worked with were really cool because they all were concerned about just me getting the most out of it," he says. Archuleta says fame also has meant he's missed a few things. A high school senior from Murray, Utah, he likely won't be home for the graduation ceremony. "I haven't graduated yet, so I don't know if I missed it," he says. "But I'm missing out on all of what my friends are doing and stuff." Asked whether he got to go to his prom, he answers in a dejected voice, "No, I didn't." But he laughingly describes how he sneaked back to a dance last month. "That was fun," he says. "I kept it really under wraps. Everyone was pretty much my age ... It's the other kids, it's the sophomores this year that I didn't meet before this whole thing happened, they're the ones who freak out, kinda, 'cause they didn't know me before."
02/28/2009 12:34 PM
"American Idol" so far: a race with no horses I thought Seattle Times arts critic Misha Barton made a great comment yesterday: "I need a horse in this race!" I agree completely! Because of either a lack of talent or the change in format, I'm just not getting a buzz from any of the six who have made it through so far. In previous years, it's been fun to latch onto a favorite around Top 24 time and become emotionally invested in their fate. Sometimes there's even a nice battle of genres. In Season 6, that contestant for me was Melinda Doolittle -- as it was as well for Misha, I believe. Melinda was humble and amazingly talented -- still is, in fact. Last season I was blown away by David Archuleta's version of "Imagine" (performed this week last year) and he became my "horse." One week later, David Cook emerged as almost a counter-punch to Archuleta with his version of "Hello." At that point it was easy to see a two-horse race between the cherubic balladeer (which was an over-simplification, of course) and the unshaven former bartender/rock front man (also pigeon-holed unfairly). And both Davids -- along with Jason Castro, Carly Smithson and Michael Johns -- were in late February far more compelling and inspiring than the six pictured above. But how much of the disappointment with the field so far is about sheer talent, and how much is about the new format? With the change in format, after next week we will have seen front-runner Danny Gokey perform live before the judges only once, as opposed to three times if we used last-year's format. Maybe I just need to give this format a little more time, so I get to know the singers better. I hope that the final group of the Top 36 that takes the stage on Tuesday produces the "American Idol" version of Seabiscuit, a thoroughbred that inspires America during difficult times.
Posts: 31747
03/02/2009 3:07 PM
03/02/2009 3:09 PM
03/02/2009 3:14 PM
i could dance all nite wrote: Nice guy David Archuleta is having a whirlwind year By John J. Moser | Of The Morning Call "American Idol" runner-up David Archuleta is so nice and polite that even asking him if he's truly as nice and polite as he seems flusters him. "Oh! What do you mean?" he says, laughing, in a telephone call last week from Los Angeles, where he was preparing for his first solo tour, which Sunday brings him to Allentown's Crocodile Rock. "That's an awkward question. I guess so. I guess that's just the way my parents just raised me, I don't know. I guess that is the way I act. I try to be nice to people, especially if it's the first time you're meeting them or the only time you're meeting them, the first impression really matters to them." Archuleta also is so nice that he answered the question most of you reading this wanted to know: He doesn't have a girlfriend and, in fact, a month past his 18th birthday, hasn't even had his first kiss. "Yeah, I'm not really involved a whole lot with girls right now," he says, laughing again. "There's not really even time to watch TV or anything, so why get a girl in your life when that can make things even more complicated? I think it's just about waiting for the right time, 'cause I think there are other things that I should be focusing on right now." So the boyish crooner doesn't have a girlfriend -- but here's what he does have: a self-titled album on Jive Records -- the home of Justin Timberlake and Chris Brown -- that debuted at No. 2 and has gone gold. He has a double-platinum hit single, "Crush," that was the highest-ever debut for an "Idol" song not performed on the series and the highest debut in 2008, and a new song, "A Little Too Not Over You," climbing the charts (No. 52 this week). He's also had a recent appearance on Nickelodeon's hit TV show "iCarly." Not bad for finishing behind David Cook last May by a margin of 12 million votes out of the record 97.5 million cast. But suggest to Archuleta that, with his spot-on tenor, he is more talented than Cook, and his modesty flares again. "Oh no!" he says, laughing again. "I thought Cook deserved to win. I thought he was a great example of an American Idol, because it's not just about the singing and stuff -- I think it's about the person, too, and I think he's just a great guy." Archuleta says life is great anyway: He's happy with his album, especially since it was cobbled together while he was on the road with the "Idol" tour. "That wasn't like a whole lot of time, especially because I wasn't ever in one spot for very long, having a show almost every day for three months," he says. "But it was interesting, that's for sure, and definitely not the way I expected to work on my first album. I thought, [in a singsong voice] 'Oh, you know, I'm going to take my time and try and write songs for the year and see which ones are good.' But there was like no time to do any of that kind of stuff, so it was pretty crazy. But it was fun." He also got to work with hit producers and writers Andreas Carlsson, Desmond Child, new "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi and former 'N Sync member J.C. Chasez. He also co-wrote a couple of songs on the disc, as well as a pre-order song and some B-sides. "All the songs, the writers I worked with were really cool because they all were concerned about just me getting the most out of it," he says. Archuleta says fame also has meant he's missed a few things. A high school senior from Murray, Utah, he likely won't be home for the graduation ceremony. "I haven't graduated yet, so I don't know if I missed it," he says. "But I'm missing out on all of what my friends are doing and stuff." Asked whether he got to go to his prom, he answers in a dejected voice, "No, I didn't." But he laughingly describes how he sneaked back to a dance last month. "That was fun," he says. "I kept it really under wraps. Everyone was pretty much my age ... It's the other kids, it's the sophomores this year that I didn't meet before this whole thing happened, they're the ones who freak out, kinda, 'cause they didn't know me before."
Posts: 13360
03/02/2009 9:40 PM
03/02/2009 10:02 PM
ShaZamY wrote: Do we know where the clip of the studio version of Zero Gravity came from?
03/03/2009 12:01 AM
03/03/2009 12:14 AM
03/03/2009 1:22 AM
03/03/2009 11:01 AM
03/03/2009 3:09 PM
Talented teenagers are taking over America, and not just on shows like American Idol - AI alum David Archuleta has signed on to be the new face of DoSomething.org, along with the Dunkin' Brands Community Foundation, to help willing teenagers make a difference in others' lives with disaster relief.
"I know as well as anyone that teenagers have the power to do something. So I'm genuinely excited about this cause and organization," says David. "When I heard about the opportunity to get involved with DoSomething.org, I jumped at the chance. Thanks to this program, when a disaster strikes, teens will be part of the relief solution."
The program will help teens take action with ideas and guides, as well as a weekly $500 grant program to help them start their own programs and a Disaster Relief Bootcamp for teen leaders running disaster relief projects.
03/04/2009 6:49 PM
03/04/2009 8:19 PM
03/09/2009 7:17 PM
Review from Chicago Sun Times Though I have only seen "American Idol" winner David Cook in concert on last summer's "Idol" finalists tour, after watching runner-up David Archuleta burn through a 90-minute set of pop songs Sunday night at the House of Blues, I'm inclined to say that America may have gotten it wrong last season when the majority voted for the rocker Cook over the crooner Archuleta.
There is a pure, pleasant pop quality to Archuleta's tenor voice and just enough raspy soul to add shape, color and weight to the tone.
And he sure knows how to work a crowd. Fans at the all-ages, general-admission show began lining up around 10 a.m. Sunday for the coveted spaces close to the stage. The "Idol" runner-up made it worth their while when he took the stage in jeans, a black shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a gray square tie to perform "Touch My Hand." It was a calculated and obvious choice to begin the show, and Archuleta made darn sure he touched just about every hand thrust towards him from the first couple of rows of people.
He immediately followed the opener with "Barriers," a song that felt too over-produced on the album but is a pretty decent pop song when performed live, stripped of all of its post-production studio shenanigans. The same also held true for "Don't Let Go," which Archuleta performed later in the evening. It almost makes you wish he'd release a live album.
"To Be With You," written by new "Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi, was another highlight of the evening; it's a sweet and simple little ballad about hope and longing that Archuleta sang with heartfelt sincerity.
Archuleta also showed he has a future as a dance recording artist if he so chooses; the techno-flavored "Zero Gravity" (a song which he co-wrote with guitarist Mike Krompass that didn't make it onto the album) had Archuleta,
his band and the crowd jumping around; in the right hands a club remix of that song could earn him a slightly older audience.
"Idol" judges are forever going on about song choice, and it's advice that Archuleta appears to have taken to heart. While much of the music on his debut album could easily be dismissed as forgettable pop music, there's no denying his talent when he has the right material. Archuleta had the strongest vocal showing of the night during a medley of his favorite songs (the ones he could get the licenses for, anyway; U2's "One," Des'ree's "You Gotta Be," Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" and Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours") and his two encore numbers (Vanessa Carlton's "A Thousand Miles" and Robbie Williams' "Angels").
Opening for Archuleta was Irish rocker Lesley Roy. She's got a raspy, rocker-chick voice that reminds you of Nancy Wilson of Heart with a little of Archuleta's fellow former Idol Amanda Overmyer. It was nonetheless an odd pairing; Many of Roy's songs forgo the pop hooks favored by Archuleta for pure rock. Still, you have to give her props for closing her 30-minute set with "Psycho Bitch," one of the best tracks on her current record, even if she self-censored the title for the youngsters in the crowd.
03/09/2009 7:18 PM
Share This Link