Girlgirltoo:  I guess we’ll just have to disagree on this point.  To me, “edgy” as it is applied to music means innovative, new or unique.  That is not Josh Groban. A person can be “sweet, goofy or nice” and still be “edgy”.  

David is 21.  His music has evolved and developed since he was 17, and will continue to evolve.  He is a very talented vocalist and is only starting to come into his own with his writing. There’s is no telling how David will evolve musically over his 20′s.  Based on his raw talent and work ethic, I think he does have the potential to be “edgy” in terms of being innovative, new and unique.  I’m not sure how many of David’s concerts you’ve been to but David live is incredible.  Whether he is performing with an orchestra or doing an accoustic set, he does things vocally that none of his contemporaries or those many years older than him can do.  

I don’t think anyone can ever turn him into anything he is not.  Jive tried to make him a teen idol and failed miserably.  However, if his management is smart, they will do everything they can to prevent people from boxing him into a particular compartment “the next Josh Groban”, “the next Bieber” when he has the talent to be something totally unique and different.  To me, it’s funny how Idol has been able to produce 6 consecutive WGWG since Chris Daughtry but not a single contestant even remotely similar to David Archuleta in musical talent or personality.  There may be a 1000 WGWG out here but only one David Archuleta.  That is why I think he has the potential to produce something really new and different – yes edgy.

 To be honest I’m glad :)  I guess for me as a fan because of his extreme shyness as a kid (I was also shy to a fault) make the things he’s done edgy,way out of his comfort zone.  The acting in Nandito Ako blew me away.  Not only that he did it but he was so good at it.  His voice is like nothing I’ve ever heard, unique.  What he does with it I’ve never heard, innovative.  The producer of BEGIN. described him as a phenom, that the world just doesn’t know.  And I think he’s had more than some sort of success.  He’s recorded, toured, traveled, penned a New York best seller and so many other things non stop since idol.  Maybe not Beiber success but sure is making a living.  BEGIN. is selling really well without an iota of promo, I’m surprised but curious as to how it will all play out.  I think others should try their luck outside the US like David A and Lambert have with much success since US radio doesn’t have any interest.  Cook is there now with much Archie fan support.  Good luck to him.

Sorry for sounding like I’m dissing Groban.  I actually have some of his music but prefer David A’s voice.  It would be great if David had that type of success someday. 

Yeah, he’s not a bad@ss (in the sense of living wild and crazy).  But that’s cool with me. He has a voice like nobody’s business that I will pay over and over to hear live. His concerts are alive and fun to me and I have attended nearly all of them in California. Then there the so called edgy artists who’ve had shows (some free) within 15 miles from me and I rather clean my house.  So I guess it’s really to each her own.

I agree that David is not edgy and that he probably will never be edgy.  That is just not his personality.  I don’t agree that David does not do things outside his comfort zone. I also disagree that going on a mission isn’t going out of someone’s comfort zone, even though that wasn’t one of the things that I was thinking of.  Even if someone was always expected to go on a mission, I don’t see how it can not be out of someone’s comfort zone. You are living very far away from your family in a country you know nothing about.  That is where you live for two years. You have very limited contact with your family and might have to speak a language that you are unfamiliar with or not fluent at.  And that language is now your primary language while you are living there. You have none of the comforts that you are familiar with.

I think throughout David’s career he has done things that were out of his comfort zone and he has grown and matured because of it. I was surprised daily by David on Nandito Ako. I was constantly thinking I can’t believe David this or David did that. Doing things that were out of his comfort zone throughout his career probably enabled him to do that show. David has also said in the past that he couldn’t stand taking pictures and now he is a model for a clothing line and a hair care product.

What does MOR stand for, girlygirltoo? I’ve seen you say this about David before.

 Kitwana: Great point that David is only 21 and there is no telling how he will evolve musically. David has the potential and the talent to produce something that would be new and different. It is not clear at this point what he will do when he returns to his career in 2 years. I am not judging what he will do in the future based on this album or his past albums. I just don’t group David with Josh Groban and there is nothing wrong with Josh.

 Thanks for posting that video cmom. David’s version of “Crazy”  is the “soul’” David that I like.

 It is not a bad thing that David is not edgy. It is not a requirement to have a career in music. He is not the only non-edgy artist.  He doesn’t have to be something that he is not to continue making music. He needs to put out music that compliments his uniqueness, his talents, and sets him apart from the rest.

I have no doubt that if David wants to continue a career in music that he will have no problem doing that. Success means different things to different people. In my opinion, success for an artist is being able to make a living from music and not have to supplement your income with another job.  David has been able to successfully do that. I think some people downplay how well he has done in Asia. The t.v show, the clothing line. When most people get picked to be an endorser of a major clothing line then that is seen as being a success. Not just some sort of success.  But ultimately what success means to the individual is most important. It doesn’t matter what you or I think a successful career is. It matters what the individual thinks a successful career for themselves is. Only David knows what that is.

That’s a nice soulful interpretation of the song, but there is really nothing all that different about it. He strips the song down to do a piano acoustic version. Um, yeah… I could see someone like Colton or Matt Giraud doing a very similar performance of this song. There would be some differences, obviously, as they have different voices and the phrasing wouldn’t quite be the same, but I could see the performances being pretty similar to each other. His vocal is very strong — he can obviously do some things vocally that other performers can’t. But again, there’s nothing about this performance that makes it different from what David usually does. That is exactly what I would expect him to do with this song. I have never been surprised by anything Archie has done as a performer. That doesn’t mean his performances are bad, because in general they are very good. He is a very good singer. But again, he just comes off, to me, as very MOR. That’s not necessarily a bad thing — there are a lot of artists who I consider to be MOR who are very successful.

But as I say, it’s just my opinion. YMMV

Interesting Discussion!!  Keep in mind that David chose these songs on BEGIN. to coincide with this time in his life and what he would be doing. (Serving others in South America on a Mission with his Church)   The messages are all meaningful and he is singing with his heart and soul.  Fans appreciate the love expressed and the gift we will have to cherish. 
I believe when David returns as a 23 year old man, he will be free to persue the type of Career in Music that will coincide with who he has become through his experience.  He will then be free of any contracts or obligations to be the Artist that he is meant to be.
We all know he is talented and will only get better.  I am enjoying all he has given us this last 4 years plus!!

girlygirltoo   I hear a lot of vibrato in his Forevermore album.  I like that he can use it or not, whatever seems to fit the song.  Many singers don’t have that much control to be able to change their sound and tone.  That is why I don’t care for the raspy, growly singers.  They just always have pretty much the same sound and they also sound like so many different people.

Crazy was the song that blew the judges away on idol.  They couldn’t show it on TV as they couldn’t get permission, but it did show the judges shaking their heads in disbelief on how good he had sung the song.  It was either the song he sang before Heaven or right after Heaven.

^^Yes, David is very versatile.  Featured vocalist at MOTAB, Christmas concerts with full orchestras in support of an outstanding Christmas album ( including singing in various languages), Contigo in Spanish at ALMA, 2 Pop albums, an album of Philipino ballads, and now, a new CD coming out of cover songs.  I expect him to record an album entirely in Spanish when he gets back from his mission. His choices so far have been daring imo, yet he masters each effort.  Further, he participates in acting, product endorsement, humanitary endeavors.  His work ethic is admirable to say the least.  His voice (to me) is above MOR, but how each person hears things is subjective I suppose………..Obviously, I like the kid :). 

Wow! Love hearing more of David’s songs.   I love all of these songs.  Love that he uses his lower register and then his soaring upper register, and “Broken” is even better than I thought it would be.  Wasn’t real sure about “Beautiful” from the snippet, but I love it now. Is it Aug. 7th yet?