DAVID ARCHULETA
Archie the first …Idol star raised on …Idol. The now-17-year-old started watching the show first season as an 11-year-old; his dad even brought him to the finals where he sang …And I Am Telling You Im Not Going for the finalists.
But if being weaned on pop music biggest launching pad helped Archie become an …Idol runner-up, it hasnt helped him record a decent debut.
…Idol-ators love the show because big voiced divas (and divos) sing hits everyone knows by heart. But out in the real world, Archie has to sing new songs. In this case, bad new songs. Songs his bean-counting, tone-deaf handlers think have market-crossover potential. Songs nobody wants to know at all.
Album Reviews
David Archuleta is going to top the charts and not only because of the masterful way it appeals to young girls. Archuleta is an extremely talented singer with a voice that defies his age, height and personality. From album-opening single “Crush” to the several ballads for which he is revered, every song shows off Archuleta’s flawless clarity and diction. He is successful at tortured-soul whisper-singing, angsty bellowing in an echo chamber and quivering falsetto. This album is pure, perfect pop music, the stuff of romantic middle school slow dances, and David Archuleta is perfect as a wholesome pop idol.
More Idol Headlines after the JUMP…
Love songs from an ‘Idol’
David Archuleta, 2008’s second-place winner and one of the show’s youngest stars, releases his debut album tomorrow, and it comes as no surprise that the singer’s self-titled collection is built on the wholesome naivete that won over millions of “AI” fans. Overflowing with connect-the-dots choruses and platitudes, these piano-based songs communicate in the broad-brush vocabulary of smitten youth – striking just the right tone for a 17-year-old boy with a tender heart, a warm voice, and an understandably slender stable of interpretive skills.
“Crush, ” the first single and lead track, sets a template from which Archuleta rarely strays: pensive, midtempo love songs that explore – again, age-appropriately – the wide-eyed angst of affection rather than grownup-grade heartache or joy.
DAVID ARCHULETA
David Archuleta has a lovely, foggy R&B voice out of scale with his small body and, as many 10-year-old girls know, he came in second in May behind David Cook on …American Idol. That he lost gives his first album a better story line. Could he have retained so much innocence as the winner?
Innocence, in pop, is a form of boldness: the powerful gesture of putting faith in not knowing. It old news in record-making, but the trick is in how far to push it and in finding music that can stand up to it. The crinkly-eyed Mr. Archuleta, a pudding of tongue-tied respect as opposed to the straight-shooting Mr. Cook, is a virtuoso of that gesture, and part of his persona on this album is that he may not even know it. He doesnt mope; he just smiles in wistful acknowledgment of the eternal mystery of everything. The love stories on …David Archuleta are all sort of subliteral. He can only trust good omens and kind eyes.
David Archuleta
The very adorable David Archuleta. Did you know he was part Hondurian? He talks life, love, girls and his new album dropping on.
David Archuleta On Dating & His Debut Album
LOS ANGELES, Calif. —
David Archuleta is thankful for his success ‘ so much so that in the liner notes of his self-titled debut album, due this Tuesday, he said he thanked the entire state of Utah.
…I got carried away, he told Access Hollywood Billy Bush in an interview for …The Billy Bush Show. …There are a lot of people to thank.
Fans may soon be thanking the …American Idol Season 7 runner-up for his album, on which he told Billy there …at least one song for everyone.
…We experimented on this album and that way I didnt get stuck in a niche, he said. …I wanted to make sure there was a variety.
Archuleta eager to show he has more to offer than syrupy ballads
LOS ANGELES — David Archuleta, who broke millions of young hearts with his soulful piano ballads on American Idol, wants his first album, due in record stores this week, to prove he’s more than just a pretty face.
He’s still a giddy and excited 17-year-old who’s not quite ready for serious dating. But six months after coming second in the top-rated television show, Archuleta is about to embark on the music career he has dreamed of for 10 years.
“I think the album shows a variety of styles. One song has a reggae-ish feel to it, there are slower ones and others with a different feel, ” Archuleta told Reuters.
Idol Chartwatch, November 10: Idol Castoff Hits the Charts
David Archuleta fans are gearing up for the release of his first album this week, and while it too soon to predict where he will end up on the charts, judging from the popularity of his single, …Crush, and the large promotional push behind the album, he should do very well.
Archuleta is up against some stiff competition, though, with new releases from Christina Aguilera, Taylor Swift, T-Pain, and Hillary Duff also hitting the racks. In addition, a new CD from the …Now series is also being released this week. Two Idols are featured on the new disc ‘ Jordin Sparks with …One Step at a Time and Daughtry …What About Now.
American Idol’s Ace Young
Q: What your first experience on Broadway in Grease been like?
-Javier, Miami
A: When I got the Idol tour, I turned down everything that came in except working on my album. I wanted everyone to know what I stood for musically before I did anything else. They found me from Idol and this is my one chance. When I finished it, I sat down with my agents at CAA and they asked if Id be interested in doing other things. I said I wanted to dive back into acting they asked if Id be interested in doing Grease. They said would you like to play the role of Kenickie. And I had just finished doing [the tv show] Bones and they pulled 1.5 million viewers than Bones had ever had. They cut my head off, it was great! I said Kenickie is the only part Id want to play since he the opposite of me. Everybody knows Im a nice guy from Idol. Kenickie is blunt and rude. There a playfulness in that. Ive really made him my own and the response has been amazing.
Sparks Fly at Wet Seal This Holiday: Wet Seal and American Idol Winner Jordin Sparks Partner on Collection to Launch in November
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Wet Seal will launch a new collection designed by recording artist and American Idol winner Jordin Sparks.
The Wet Seal, Inc. (Nasdaq:WTSLA), a leading specialty retailer to young women, today announced the launch of a collection designed by American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks. The collection, appropriately named ‘Sparks’, will begin with an assortment of holiday dresses delivering to stores just in time for the busy Thanksgiving weekend. The collection will later include casual apparel and accessories. Each piece will reflect Jordin Sparks youthful and collected sense of style. The line is currently set to launch on November 19, 2008 and will come in sizes XS to XL.
…Jordin is a great role model for the young girls that shop Wet Seal. Not only does she have a youthful, yet refined, fashion sense, she has not lost sight of who she is through her rise to stardom, said Ed Thomas, the Company Chief Executive Officer.
In photos: ‘2nd Annual A Salute to Our Troops with a Coast Guard Tour of New York Harbour’
Constantine Maroulis at the 2nd Annual “A Salute to Our Troops” with a Coast Guard Tour of New York Harbor Presented by Microsoft and the U.S.O. in New York City. Photo copyright by Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos.
Bo Bice of ‘Idol’ bringing his sound to Cultural Arts Center
A cast of one will rock in the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts today with a little Southern rock, pop rock, hard rock, country rock, the blues and Christian music.
“American Idol” runner-up Bo Bice will be making his first appearance in the United States tonight following a tour in Iraq with his show.
Bice, who also plays the acoustic and electric guitar, lap steel guitar, mandolin, harmonica, piano and saxophone, will be performing some of his hits, two of which landed on the charts – “The Real Thing” and “Inside Your Heaven.”
‹Idol concert features Ogie, Ramiele
MANILA, Philippines’ Ogie Alcasid will perform together with American Idol Season 7 finalist Ramiele Malubay and the hit reality TV talent competition local contestants in a pre-Christmas concert at the Aliw Theater in Pasay City.
Titled …The Idol Experience: Ogie Sings with the Idols, the concert slated for Dec. 20-21 puts another milestone to the ace singer-songwriter phenomenal year, his 20th in show business. Set only three months after his successful …20/20 concert at the Araneta Coliseum, this show provides another career highlight for Ogie’ sharing the stage with the young singing ‹Idols who were part of the hit reality TV show franchise.
Mariah Carey’s Pitchy Sitchy on The X Factor
Yeah, Mariah Carey is a superstar who’s sold more albums than everybody else in the world combined (more or less). But she sounds like she’s having an off night here on Simon Cowell’s U.K. TV show, The X Factor, singing her hit “Hero, ” backed by the competition’s 12 finalists.
While she seems to improve as she goes along, we’re gonna have to channel Simon’s American Idol cohort Randy Jackson for our take on Mariah: A little pitchy, dog, a little pitchy.
Fremantle funds for Spike
Spike TV has pacted with FremantleMedia Enterprises for worldwide financing, marketing and distribution of three upcoming original skeins.
FME, the brand-extension arm of U.K.-based FremantleMedia (producer of the “American Idol” franchise, “America’s Got Talent” and “Hole in the Wall”), will contribute coin for “Jesse James Is a Dead Man, ” “Deadliest Warrior” and the tentatively titled “Surviving Disaster, ” all of which are set to bow on the MTV Networks cabler in 2009.
‹Dancing pros fake it till their stars make it
On …Dancing with the Stars, the celebrities change each season, but most of their moves remain the same. Of course, that’s to be expected in a competition centered around a familiar staple of ballroom standards. Those samba steps and whirling waltzes are strictly by the book.
But many of the recurring moves have nothing to do with ballroom basics. Over the years the show’s professional dancers have relied upon a variety of choreography tricks to make it look as if their partners always put their best foot forward.
Long tour a learning experience for ‘So You Can’ dancers
Shortly before 3 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, the dancers from “So You Think You Can Dance Tour 2008” slowly started appearing in the hallway of Petersen Events Center, the petite women lugging large rolling suitcases behind them.
It was about time for press interviews and the tour made four of the young performers available — contemporary dancer Courtney Galiano, 20, of Commack, N.Y.; ballroom dancer Chelsie Hightower, 19, of Orem, Utah; breakdancer Gev Manoukian, 22, of Salt Lake City, Utah; and all-around dancer Will Wingfield, 21, of Nashville, Tenn.
So you think you can dance!
Joshua Allen admits that at times during the competition on the most recent season of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance” he just didn’t want to get out of bed.
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The days for the 20 contestants were grueling: Up at 5 or 6, in rehearsal less than an hour later, rehearsing up to three or four dance routines each week, in bed sometimes by 1 or 2 a.m. (after more rehearsal at home), then starting all over again just a few hours of precious sleep later. Then there was the stress of the Wednesday-night show itself, and the weekly possibility that they could be cut from the show.
“So many times I wanted to give up, ” Allen said in a phone interview. “I just wanted to stay in bed for just a few more hours. I kept thinking, ‘Can I get through this?'”
Backstage Dantrum
DANNII Minogue had a furious backstage bust up with X Factor bosses after accusing them of badly editing footage of her.
The judge, 36, was shown in a clip on Saturday show appearing to give troublesome singer Rachel Hylton control of her performance.
The tape showed the ex-crack addict blasting Dannii mentoring skills and song choice ‘ and the Aussie telling Rachel to let me know what youre singing.
After the tape was played Dannii ‘ who last week denied rumours she had been sacked by Rachel ‘ stood up and frostily told the studio audience: I just want to clear up one thing, we work on songs together every week. It was misconstrued in that video.
