ehEmMmMm ..
hello to all the david archuleta fans out there! i just wanted to say hello! you guys are great, and yes i do agree david archuleta should've won American Idol. but he is still really good, and i can't believe he got to the final two. He is an amazing guy and i really hope i get the chance to meet him someday.
sam
My Husband and I began our 2 hour+ roadtrip to Evansville on Wednesday night. I was going to make sure we had an early rise and plant ourselves in an ideal spot to meet the Idols (one David Archuleta in particular). We made it to the hotel without incident armed with video, audio, and photo equipment. Plenty of extra batteries.
On Thursday morning we made the 3 mile drive to Roberts Stadium, arriving at 9:00a.m. A family was already there sitting in the parking lot when we arrived. After introductions and learning they were a mom, daughter, and 3 granddaughters from Nashville, TN., we decided to form a group and went to the front of the barricades to begin our wait for the Idols' arrival. This was a good plan since the stadium would not allow the use of the bathroom facilities. Turns could be taken saving places and watching over personal articles during bathroom drives. The day began as an overcast morning but the raindrops soon started to fall. No, this couldn't be happening! Luckily, no serious rain occurred throughout the day and the humidity wasn't too bad.
If anyone is familiar with Robert's Stadium, they are aware it is a small venue. When chosing which concert to attend, the size is what made our decision to head to Evansville. Turned out to be a good decision. Approximately 200 people showed up to meet the buses, allowing plenty of space along the barricades for a single file line.
The buses transporting the Idols arrived at 1:30. After about 15 minutes David Archuleta was the first to come out to loud screams in the crowd. Darn, he started at the opposite end. atience!!! Soon to follow was David Cook, also to loud screams. A little later Kristy appeared and started at our end. Michael, Jason, Chikezie, and Carly soon followed. Brooke arrived a little later but spent quality time with all the supporters. No sign of Syesha or Ramiele. Each idol took their time filtering down the line signing autographs and allowing photos. Not to make it too long talking of each Idol, we have to say everyone of them were very personable and polite. Even though David A. had press, he took the time to speak with everyone. For anyone who is a doubter, he is a very genuinely sincere and caring person. He will definitely make a fine role model. Watching him, it could be seen in his eyes and expressions. He truly cared about the fans who were there to support him. When he was called to press, he became worried about the gifts fans had given him and that they wouldn't be lost. About 2 hours were spent meeting the fans by the Idols who had came out. It didn't appear that anyone was ignored. After many pictures of David, a couple of autographs including signing my Archey's Angels t-shirt, David had completed his way down the line and headed for his press interview. After finishing aquiring the other Idols' signatures and pictures there was enough time for a quick bite to eat and freshen up before the concert. Can't wait!
Hubby's turn to tell of the concert:
You could feel the excitement in the air as we waited for the doors to open! Everyone was waiting in anticipation. The one thing that I found a bit interesting was the number of people who have followed the tour throughout its run. We spoke with a couple of girls who, after the Tulsa concert, will have attended 10 shows. WOW!
The gates opened promptly at 6 p.m. and we were about 10th in line to get through the turnstile. A quick trip to the vendor area to get a souvenir program and David A.'s 8x10 picture and we were on our way to our seats. Luck was with us because the ramp to our section was right by the vendor section. If you have never been to Roberts Stadium there is not a bad seat in the house. I seemed to remember that from a fuzzy Van Halen concert I attended in my college years there. Our seats were perfect.
Time for the concert. In an effort to retrieve video from the concert I had purchased a small and inexpensive digital video camera and 4 gigs of memory. It was cheap enough that if confiscated, no big loss. More on that later. Chikezie opened the show. WOW! This guy has really improved. I won't take a huge amount of time on the other Idols but they all did good in their own right and all show tremendous improvement. So far so good, a group number and then intermission. Please make it go quick! Let's get to the good part! The Guitar Hero playoff was kinda cute and they did do an air Guitar Hero playoff with 2 kids from the audience and gave them prizes. Finally, time to start!
Jason, Brooke, and Syesha perform admirably. As I said before, lots of growth, both vocally and maturity. The crowd had been really receptive to all of the Idols thus far but when the fanfare started and the giant number 2 came up on the screens, the noise level from the crowd went into overdrive. The stage filled with fog and up out of the fog singing "Angels" rises David Archuleta. I did not think that the crowd could get louder but they proved me wrong by doubling their noise. It did not last long and David belted out Angels like the professional he is. You have to love the purity and strength of his voice. Without much further ado he went right into Apologize. Our sons believe that David sings this one better than One Republic. Stand By Me was awesome that is all one can say. He finished the set with When you Say you Love Me explaining the meaning the song has for him before singing it. All in all I was quite pleased with this performance. I have read before that to really hear David sing you must hear it live. I tend to agree wholeheartedly! The atmosphere was electric and his voice pure and strong. I had also read reports of David being ill and having some technical difficulties at some of the past venues. If that be the case, Ladies and Gentlemen: David is better than ever now!
David Cook came out and did a good job with his set, but being pretty much biased, he did not outdo Archey!
The final group number was pleasant. While they were singing I found myself wondering what they would feel like in Tulsa knowing it was the last show and the last song. I imagine it will probably be rough on them all because you could feel and see a certain comraderie amongst them.
Off to the video camera. I recorded the first song of every Idol and all of David A. We arrived back home at about 2 a.m. so I waited until this morning to download the video and watch it. To my instant chagrin I found out once again that you get what you pay for. The video sucked! No since sugar-coating it. The goal was good video and expendability. Not gonna happen. My wife took the camera back today and returned it. If I had known security and monitoring was going to be so lax, I would have gotten a better one. Apologies to the video hounds out there. My wife did take my Sony digital audio recorder and managed to get the full audio of David's performance and we'll upload it later. I did find videos (not mine) of the Evansville performance and I will upload those as well.
Anyway, a great show altogether and I do sincerely hope that all of the Idols have great success. I am still completely awe-struck by what a great performer our David is. The best thing is it can only get better! I have a feeling we personally met with greatness here at the American Idol concert in Evansville.
I arrived downtown where the Ford Center is located probably about 1:00 and it took me probably 15 to 20 min of driving around the block to spot where the meet & greet was going to take place and figure out where I was going to park. While I was driving around though, I saw Kristy Lee leaving on the back of a motorcycle going off someplace. I didn’t notice who was driving the motorcycle though because she was on one of those seats that sits up higher than the driver and she just really stood out. She looked absolutely beautiful. Like a movie star or something, she just grabs your attention. When I got to the meet & greet area, there were maybe 100 people there already. I was a little surprised at the number of teens and kids who were there because school has started and it was still during school hours. I guess some people let their kids skip school for it. There was a section barricaded off for fans to stand behind and there were people all along the whole area. The most people though were on the end by the door where the idols would come out, which also just happened to be the area in the shade, so that’s where I went to stand because it was just too hot to stand out in the sun. I met a nice lady and her husband who were Cook fans and another nice lady who had driven down from Wichita who was also a Cook fan. This was her third concert and the first two she had gone to the meet & greet to meet Cook and he didn’t come out at either of those, so she was still trying to get to meet him. Luckily for her, he did come out for this one. David and Kristy Lee came out at 2:00 and Ramiele, Chickeze, Jason and Brooke came out at various times while David was out there. Kristy Lee was only out for about 15 min. Ramiele wasn’t out long either. Chickeze was out longer and Jason was out quite a while too. David was out the longest though. He spends quite a bit of time chatting with the fans, while the others don’t. They pretty much just sign and move on. David was out from 2:00 until 3:00. Just as he was going in Cook came out. He is very outgoing and was being clowning and making funny faces. He is just a natural born entertainer. Some girls gave him 2 hula hoops, with I’m sure, the hope that he and Michael would use them in their Mavid routine, and sure enough, they did. I stayed until about 3:15 and then left. Michael, Carly and Syesha hadn’t come out and since I left I didn’t know if they did, but after the concert I met up again with the lady from Wichita and she said they never did come out. By the time I left the number of people had grown to probably 150 or 200. I guess after school let out a lot more of the kids were able to get there. It was getting hard to get close enough to see the idols who were out there signing. I went home to eat and freshen up for the concert. When I got to the concert, I had 2 tickets because the first ticket I bought was bought on the first day they went on sale. It wasn’t very close and I wasn’t really happy with it. The day before the concert I went online to see if I could get anything better, because I had heard that they released tickets for better seating that hadn’t sold yet. I found one on the floor that was on the 4 th row, but was the fartherest seat from the stage in the row. I went ahead and got it but I kept the first one just in case I didn’t like the floor. I’m pretty short and since floor seating isn’t elevated I wasn’t sure if I would have a problem seeing over the heads in front of me. I decided to try that seat for the first half and if I didn’t like it I would move to my other seat for the second half. The seat turned out to be ok, although I did have some problems seeing when the idols were out on the ramp that extends into the audience. But I decided to move at intermission, because my seat was right next to where security was sitting, and I tried to video one of Michael Johns’ songs and security stopped me. I still can’t figure out how they knew I was videoing and not taking pictures. Since there’s video all over the internet, I think it’s pretty ridiculous that they stop you from doing it. Anyway, I had every intention of videoing some of David’s songs so I moved to my other seat at intermission. I had to sacrifice being close though. I did a video of Please Don’t Stop the Music too, and Cook did a new thing with David when their both down at the end of the ramp that I think left David a little flummoxed. Afterwards, he didn’t quite seem to know which was to turn. You just have to see it. Chickeze started the concert off with a lot of energy. A lot of the idols do things to rev up the crowd, like telling them to get on their feet or throwing things into the audience. David didn’t do anything like that. He doesn’t really need to. There were some others that didn’t, like Brooke and Jason. Cook does a lot of that. I think he spends more time showboating (I don’t mean that in a bad way) with the audience than he does singing. It just seems to come naturally to him to be very outgoing. All the idols are very talented, but some more than others. I’m not going into a critique of each of them. The ones that stood out for me were Michael Johns, Carly and, of course, David. David was amazing. He was coughing a little bit, but it didn’t effect his singing. He got some very loud screams too, but the loudest screams were for Cook. I knew Oklahoma was a Cook town. Everyone I have talked to about American Idol is a Cook fan. And then, he lived in Tulsa for a while too so I guess people feel like they have a connection with him or something. After the concert I went back out to the meet & greet area to see if I could see David again. There was probably well over 1000 people there though. You couldn’t even begin to get close enough to see any of the idols. I stayed for almost an hour and Kristy Lee and Chickeze had come out, but I could only manage to occasionally get a glimpse of the top of their head and their much taller than David, so I knew I wouldn’t be able to see him at all. It was still very hot even that late at night so I decided to come home. The concert was great, but I’m ready for a concert that is all David. I almost forgot to mention that Cook sent the hula hoop he used for the Mavid dance out with a security guard with instructions to give it to a little kid, so he gave it to a little girl about 7 years old. She was just thrilled. I thought that was a nice thing to do.
Hey guys I am new to this site and I hope that everyone is as big of fans of David Archuleta As I am and I personaly think that he should have won American Idol does anyone else think so to
So me and my sister got to the concert site at about 11:45 am. we found out where the buses were parking, but when we got to the bus area we were told tha they were setting up an area for the Idols to come out and sign stuff from 2-4 pm at the front of the forum, so we headed back to the front. we were in the front row, and actually made cool friends with some David Cook fans that were standing next to us. It totally rained and and i got a sunburn, but it was worth it. at about 12:30 pm the first Idols came out. Jason, David A, Syesha, Ramiele, and Kristy. David got to us first, because he crossed over and started on the far side. he seemed to be in a huge hurry, and was only signing stuff and accepting gifts, he didnt have time to take pics with us :( but he was still really sweet! then Ramiele and Syesha came by back to back, they both also seemed in a hurry, although not quite as much as David. They didnt stop for many pics either though. Archie had already gone inside by time they passed us, and those two followed pretty quickly. Im guessing this is because those three have family in this area that was visiting. Next to reach us was Kristy Lee Cook. she was really nice, and totally laid back. i really liked her in person. it was funny to watch her run away from the rain though! she actually went inside, then came BACK out and signed some more stuff and took more pics. when she went in Jason was the only one left outside, and i must say he spent TONS of time with all his fans, he was out there the longest i think. he was quite entertaining actually, and he took pics with EVERYONE! he even held their cameras for them and took the pictures himself! it was cool. As Jason was finishing up, David C came out, and to every one's surprise he had Lindsey Rose with him (the little girl who he wore the bracelet for all season). It was really sweet to see her get to take pics with fans and sign autographs :) David C took a lot of time with all his fans too, cutting up, taking the time to look in the bags ppl gave him, taking pics (one with a sharpie up his nose!) and dancing to Thriller! lol he was cool. He took so much time the security told him he couldnt stop for any more pics! but he still gave lot of hugs, and he even kissed the girl next to me on he cheek! she was so excited, it was cute. So the last person out was Brooke. She also took lots of time with her fans, and i have to say she is SO PRETTY in person!!!! and shes really nice. she told us that they werent gonna be signing anything at the buses that night after the concert cuz they had to leave immediately :( so no chance to get a pic with Archie or Carly's autograph... Carly,Michael, and Chikezie never came out. i was a lil sad, but nothing could dampen the fact that i met ARCHIE!!!! :)
So in the concert they started with some cheesy "pump up the crowd stuff" then finally brought out the idols, one by one count down style. the first performance to REALLY catch the crowd was Michael! it was GREAT! especially his last song "Dream On" . Kristy was also considerably better in person. Carly is AMAZING!!!!! i always thought she should have been top 3. although i didnt much dig her rendition of Evanescence, i LOVED her other two songs,she just kept getting better and better! and when they did the first group number with the bottom 6, Carly and Michael sang a duet part of it that was breath taking! i was so happy they got to sing together!!!! so then intermission blah blah blah more pump up the crowd... and then they bring out Jason... and the crowd EXPLODED!!!!! u hadnt heard cheering til u heard the crowd for Jason! intense. i didnt really like him singing Crazy ( i like david's version ALOT more), but his other two songs were really good! Syesha was next, and to be honest, she was alot more friendly on stage then at the signing... i liked her second song... but the rest didnt really do it for me. i was too excited that David was coming next!!!! i actually taped ALL of archie's performances, although i had a malfunction and may have lost the last one :( so he came up through the floor on the piano and the crowd went CRAZY!!!!!!!! it was nuts! he was everything i'd hoped for! ESPECIALLY the last song. i just sat there and was amazed the whole time! it was really amazing!!! (and now my thraot is sore from screaming my head off). Finally David C came out and again th crowd exploded!!! he was really good, better than on the show in my opinion! and he earned MEGA bonus points when he dedicated the song Hero to Lindsey Rose and told her he owed being the american idol to her!!!! :) he was REALLY funny too. but im afraid he has a slight cold cuz he drink something at the end of the first song and as he was throwing it off the stage he said it was cold medicine. so the group song was cheesy as always, and i laughed when they had archie singing about acting naughty, but it was entertaining. i loved the part when the two davids went on the island that sticks out from the stage and DC like got on his knees, and Archie was jumping up and down pointing at him! then he tried to help DC up but david wouldnt get up! lol. and that's the show!
I didn’t get home from the Charlotte show until 3:00am because I got lost in Charlotte…LOL. I somehow kept coming back to the same location, no matter how many different roads I took. It was very strange…haha! The boys were asleep in the back seat, so they were not much help and I had dropped my new IPhone and broke it when I saw David wearing my necklace…so, I couldn’t use the built-in GPS ! At one point, I passed the AI buses as I was circling around the city…LOL! They were heading down the road away from the venue!! If all the streets hadn’t been one way, I could have possibly gotten turned around and followed them out of there! But, by the time I got turned around, they were out of sight….dang it! Anyway, I got home and finally crawled into bed at 4:00am. I was back up at 7:00am to start my day for the Duluth concert.
I arrived in Duluth around 11:30 and met up with John (archiefanatic) and Valerie(tabbycat221). They both are such lovely people and I had a great time getting to know each of them. John was sooooo much fun and he and I had a lot of good laughs throughout the day and during the concert! When I arrived, there was not a lot of people gathered, which I found to be really cool. The less people that are there, the better chances you have at getting pictures made with David!!! As the time went by, more people showed up, but it wasn’t really that bad. While we were standing there, some Cook fans started putting up a HUGE banner that had been signed by hundreds of fans and I noticed that at the very bottom of the banner, David Archuleta had signed it!! I thought that was really cool, so I took a photo of it! We continued to stand there for a while and then Ray came out to inform us that the Idols would not be signing. He said they had a Larry King Live taping and that we were welcome to hang around, but they were definitely not going to be making an appearance. There were lots of disappointed fans and you could just see the sadness in everyone’s faces. John, Valerie, and I decided to go eat and goof off until time to come back for the concert. After we ate, John wanted to go get checked into his hotel, so Valerie and I decided to head to the mall and look around for a while. We both were wearing David Archuleta buttons, although they didn’t have his name on them…just his face. Everyone in the mall appeared to be staring at us as we walked by…LOL. It was very funny. I decided I needed an extra battery for my camera, so we tried to find a store that sold batteries. We ended up asking these two salesmen from Verizon if they knew where the closest Circuit City was and during our conversation, we began talking about David! One of the salesmen said that David was going to have a “killer” album and the other guy didn’t know who David was…so, the salesman mentioned American Idol…which I thought was really cool. We stood there talking to them for about 10 minutes and I felt really proud of David at that point!
Valerie and I made our way to Circuit City and I bought an extra battery and a 4gb memory card for my camera. I was determined to get some good video and photos! As we were standing in line to be checked out, the cashier looked at my button and asked “ Oh, is that your son ”??? I burst out laughing…laughing really hard, in fact…and I told her NO!! She looked at me and said “ Well, he could be ”!! I was laughing even harder at this point and I could tell that she was really embarrassed about what she had just said. She started trying to apologize for her comment, but the more she tried, the worse it sounded…LOL! I finally told her that she should just stop trying to talk…LOL! She said “ Yeah, I seem to be putting my foot in my mouth ”! Valerie and I laughed all the way to the car.
We arrived back at the venue and stood in line to enter the building. As we were standing there, I spotted Daniel walking around in the crowd, so I snapped a few pictures of him! We got inside and found our seats, which were awesome! They were supposed to be row N, but the way the stage was set up…we were on the 4 th row from the stage and with an awesome view! We were all pretty excited! They started playing the Guitar Hero commercial and no one was making any noise, so every time they showed David, I screamed really loud. It was actually quite funny! John just laughed at me…LOL! The concert was awesome…as usual. I won’t go into detail since I just gave my Charlotte report, but I did have something funny to say about yesha. While she was singing, three fans in front of us stood up and I leaned over to John and said…” Look John!! There are Syesha’s only three fans ”!! LOL!! It was pretty darn funny. I guess you had to be there or had to know the story behind that to understand its humor!
I left before David Cook’s set because I wanted to get a good place in the line for the autograph signing. John and I got a really good spot. We stood there for a while and the Idols finally started making their way outside. Syesha came by and I decide I would tell her how much I loved her legs (she has killer muscles in her legs). I asked her if she worked out and she said…” No, I get that from dancing. I have been dancing my entire life ”. She continued to talk to me, which I found really refreshing. She didn’t seem to have that bad attitude. I was thinking she was quite nice. Someone mentioned to her that they liked her shirt and she began talking about it being a gift from one of her fans and how the scarf she was wearing was also a gift. She then showed me one of her bracelets that said “Keep Smiling” and she said that she usually wrote that on her autographs but she had to cut it short recently, so she hadn’t been writing that. I told her how cool I thought it was that they all were so willing to wear the gifts that were given to them and she said “ Oh yeah…if it’s nice ”!! OMG!!! I couldn’t believe she just said that…LOL! I was in shock that she would say such a thing. So, was she saying that she would only wear something if it was really nice? John and I found that to be funny. I couldn’t wait to tell Rickey about my conversation with her!!
David finally made his appearance and he was speeding through the line. There were so many security guards standing around, that it was very hard to get photos. I said hi to Ray and he said hi to me! We waited patiently for David to make his way to us and before we knew it, there he was! He was signing away and even sang a few lyrics…although I cannot tell you what they were. I really wish someone had some video! He was still wearing the necklace I had given him the night before, which made me smile from ear to ear!
Jeff came by and I said hello to him and told him that I was the girl from Charlotte who had given him the personalized hat. He was surprised to see me there! He thanked me again for the hat and he hugged my neck. He was soooo very nice and just had the biggest smile on his face! I didn’t get to meet Lupe, although I did see her and other members of the family standing outside. I got some pictures, but I was pretty far back…so they are not good.
After everyone was finished signing, Ray came walking by me. I decided I was going to ask him for a picture. He was shocked that I would want my picture taken with him, but he was smiling really big! He slid his arm around me and I told him I loved that he was there for David! He said thank you and I thanked him…and he walked off!
I got into my car and drove the 2 ½ hour drive back home. I got home at 2:30 and I was exhausted. I had not had much sleep over the last few days and I honestly don’t think I could have made it three days in a row!
But, now that I am all rested up…I’m ready for another one!
I discovered American Idol halfway through season seven, with a glimpse of David Archuleta caught while channel-surfing, and it rocked my world. Skepticism, dismay, even pity clouded faces when I explained my newfound love to friends and family—highbrow-types all. I found solace only in the likeminded connoisseurship of cyberspace.
I joined my first chat room (Rickey.org!), selected my first Web name, downloaded my first iTunes, burned my first disk. "How many disks did you burn today, Mama?" my five-year-old would ask, as if inquiring about the weather. Tuesdays became the highlight of each week, and the seven-day wait for a new episode felt like a month. Never had I become so emotionally involved with personalities on a screen.
So I arrived at Rupp Arena for my first ever American Idol concert. My husband, citing his vow "for better and for worse," accompanied me. My odyssey actually began the night before, at the Lexington Airport, because I’d read on FanBlast that David was “flying into Kentucky” that night. Hoping for a rare moment of access, I checked arrivals from New York and spent about an hour at the airport, thinking, “Either I’m the saviest fan in all of Kentucky or I’m the most clueless!” Turns out I was the latter, but it was still fun watching each new cluster of passengers descend the escalator into view, thinking, “Those could be his shoes!”
The next afternoon I headed to the arena for the autograph-signing, where I was able to see Kristy Lee Cook (SO beautiful), Carly Smithson, and Archuleta, who seemed vastly larger than life, with that oft-reported other-worldly glow. I don’t think I’ve ever been in the presence of such star power. Very hard to believe that one year ago he was just a Murray High sophomore, though less so when you recall those videos of the 8th-grade Archie singing “I’ll Be” in his school auditorium, giggling through much of it, and the frenzied teen audience shrieking nonetheless. Even they could sense the presence of greatness.
But best of all, at the signing I was able to meet other Archuleta fans of similar age and intensity, especially Jenny and Becky from FansofDavid. As our favorite contestant progressed towards us down the barricaded throng, I discovered a fan’s greatest challenge: juggling so much stuff! Camera, gift, glossy photo for autograph, pen, nerves, and prepared speech. When my moment arrived, I could manage only two of these: I presented a gift “to help you keep reading all our letters!” (a letter opener engraved with “Idols in Kentucky 8.16.08”), and my speech, in which I avowed the support of older fans during these necessary teen-pop vicissitudes and our patience in awaiting the emergence of a mature artist. Or at least that was the feeling behind whatever I actually stammered. My reward was complete eye contact with David and his full-throttle sincerity as he said more than once, “Ah, gosh, thanks!” [Jenny and Becky have promised a video of this interaction, but it’s not uploaded yet.]
The concert itself was a bit of a denoument, with some wearying performances but also plenty of great ones from Archie, Brook, Jason, Syesha, and certainly David Cook. Brook has nearly the same “glorious aura” that Paula once identified in David (after “Smokey Mountain Memories"). Maybe it’s a Mormon thing, and in fact I’ve logged on to LDS.org more than once this season, looking for answers to that and other questions. Syesha was extraordinary, and during her down-tempo “If I Ain’t Got You,” I was embracing my husband with tears streaming down my face (so I knew I’d be a wreck when the next performer appeared). I think Syesha's tone is almost as gorgeous as Archie’s, and her performance with Seal was my favorite of the whole TV finale. She was at such a disadvantage on the personality-driven Idol, because that’s not her strong suit, but her talent seems limitless. I was predisposed to dislike Jason's "Crazy," feeling that he'd usurped our David's rightful song, but actually Jason's version was fabulous--this dude has way more talent than I gave him credit for.
Cook is a consumate performer whose ease in establishing a rollicking and festive connection to his audience is a delight to behold. (There seemed to be many more Cook fans there than Archie fans). Cook reveled in the absurdity of a bizarre fan placard that said, “Free the Gnomes,” which he read aloud into the microphone and later, after the final group number, took possession of while descending beneath the stage. (A stage hand later returned it the fan.)
And despite the countless times that I’ve YouTubed Archie’s four songs, it was still thrilling to hear them live. I had been a little disappointed in his choice of a Josh Groban number, but like many before me, I must confess that “When You Say You Love Me” was absolute heaven.
So, my fellow Rickey denizens, I apologize for the absence of photos and videos, but it was definitely good timing for me to deliver this report late in the tour, after every visual has already been well documented, because I’m not great with technology, and it’s much more fun to just write my impressions. Hope you enjoyed reading!
Atlantic City, NJ Archey Report
I had been looking forward to this day and planning it out in my head since I bought my tickets. The day did not start out so well, but there is a happy ending. My husband and I were planning on leaving around 10:00 am to get to Atlantic City by 11:30. We left a little bit after 10 and on the way listened to a traffic report on the radio that said there was traffic backed up more than 17 miles. I was so upset! We decided to take another route, which I think took us even longer to get there. We finally arrived to where the buses would pull up around 1:00 pm. There were a bunch of fans for all different idols waiting in this area. I walked over with my husband and looked for other Archie fans. I saw a girl wearing the same shirt as me (the Bianca Archey’s Angels shirt), so I went right over to her. It was archuletagem and we were so excited to meet each other. We hang out together the whole time and discussed our love for Archie. It was a lot of fun! My husband who has been so supportive through all this hung around with us. The time was passing by and still no buses had arrived. We had heard through other fans that there were hundreds of people waiting on the other side of the building (on the boardwalk) for the idols. We decided to stay where we were, since it was getting late and did not think we would have any chances of meeting the idols on the boardwalk because it was so crowded. Around 3:00pm the buses finally arrived. We were all screaming and we saw Kristy Lee Cook wave to us. The only other person I saw was Archie’s handler. We were all so excited, thinking they were definitely coming to meet us. We waited until around 4:30, when someone from the boardwalk came by and said that a security guard informed them that since the idols got here so late they will not be coming out to sign autographs. They must have gotten stuck in the same traffic my husband and I did. My husband and I decided to leave and try again after the concert.
We arrived to the concert hall around 6:30pm. I bought a David Archuleta t-shirt to have as a memory. Before the show began, I saw Brooke’s husband, and went right over to him. All I said is, “Your Brooke’s husband.” And he said, “Yeah, Hi.” That was it, nothing exciting. The concert began shortly after 7:00pm. By now, I’m sure you all have read other reports about the idols, so I will keep it short.
The show began with Chikezie, who I thought sounded great! He has such a great voice, very smooth and strong. Ramiele was cute and entertaining. She sang well, better than I remember on the show. I love the Maroon 5/Rhianna song, so I sang along. Michael Johns was great! He is an awesome performer and really funny! He gave a very strong performance. Kristy Lee Cook is pretty good. She definitely is not my cup of tea, but she knows how to work that stage. I think she will do well as a country singer. Carly was awesome! What a voice, so powerful! She really belted out all her songs and sounded great! Brooke sounded really good. She is very talented, since she plays the guitar, piano, and sings. She chose the perfect songs for her voice. The group song, In the Name of Love, sounded good and was fun to watch. It was a great way to end the first part of the show.
Jason began the second part of the show and sounded really good. He is another talented one. He plays the guitar (the ukulele) and sings. Again, he picked the perfect songs for his voice. Syesha sang next and I think she sounded amazing! I have never been a fan of hers, but she can definitely sing. My favorite was when she sang Listen. I love the movie Dreamgirls and I always loved that song. She sounded great on that song.
Next, the moment I had been waiting for, David Archuleta. The screaming was unbelievable. My husband said he thinks Archie had the loudest screams. He rises onto the stage sitting at the piano playing Angels. He sounded AMAZING! I recorded the end of the song and of course, he changed the ending a little bit. It was awesome! Apologize also sounded great! I love how he stomps down the stairs, reminds me of the American Idol finale when he stomped to the front of the stage for Don’t Let the Sun Go Down. I loved it! Stand by Me was so mush fun, with his little dance. He even said that he has so much fun singing that song. I think it was after Stand By Me, he got a standing ovation and tons of screaming. He was giggling and it was hard for him to begin his next song because of all the screaming. I was so excited for him! Then, to end it off, my favorite Josh Groban song ever, When You Say You Love Me. ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! It gave me chills and made me a little teary! My husband recorded the first part of the song, really clear. Then to end it off, he thanked everyone, and introduced Cook. I was so sad to see him leave the stage, but he sounded great!
There was definitely a lot of screaming for Cook. I thought it was pretty loud. Cook sounded really good. I only stayed for his first four songs because I wanted to get outside to get a good spot to meet Archie. That means I also missed Please Don’t Stop the Music.
So, my husband and I got outside on the boardwalk and there were barricades set up. There were already people claiming their spots outside and we did the same. The show began to let out and the boardwalk was packed. We waited about an hour and some of the idols came out. I got autographs from Kristy Lee, Carly, Jason, Brooke, Syesha, AND David Archuleta. When David came over he was very rushed. I asked him to take a picture with me and he said he didn’t know if he had time. I had given my camera to the guy next to me and we kept telling David just to turn really quick, so he did and I got a picture with him. I told him I love Crush and think it’s amazing. He looked right at me and said “Aww, Thank you so much.” I was very excited about that. Then I saw Jeff Archuleta and called him over. I asked him for an autograph and took a picture of him. I think he felt kind of funny. He was so nice! My husband said to him, “Thanks to you son I haven’t had a wife for the past 8 months.” Jeff said “Well I think he is a little too young for her anyway.” We all laughed. We told him how much we have enjoyed David and how talented we think he is. He was very thankful!
So there’s my report. I was very happy with how my night ended! I will post pictures and videos soon.
When I think back to what initially attracted me to David Archuleta, it is hard to describe. There was just a “spark”, for lack of a better word, that he possessed. His voice literally started to wrap itself around my heart and from that moment on, I knew I was a forever fan. I am a total music lover! If you look into my music collection, you probably would be very shocked. I am all over the board in regards to tastes in music. I range from opera’s Puccini La Boheme and such to AC/DC, not to mention everything in between. I love the different moods that I can get from each one. However, having said that, I only have a select few CD’s that has stood the test of time. With these CD’s I can listen to them over and over and never tire of them. It’s interesting that I can listen to them and become completely taken away to another world. How does David fit into all of this? I have watched American Idol here and there for the last few years, and have never much been really into it. I voted a couple of times in prior seasons, but lost interest. Other than the occasional watching, I pretty much ignored it. That all changed during season seven. I watched casually in the beginning, as I figured it would be much the same as in years before. Of course I was completely wrong! This year is the year I discovered David Archuleta. His voice, charm and genuine personality has completely won me over. He has become part of my elite group. I don’t say this lightly. It is amazing to me that he has been able to do this in such a short period of time. My iPod has even been renamed the Archupod! I guess I just love the depth, tone and above all else the emotion that he so stunningly is able to relay to all of us fortunate fans. But is that all? No, in fact there is much more to my devotion to him as I am completely impressed by him as a person and his chosen life choices. I am so blessed to be able to feel that way about him. I do hope by providing this background, you will be able to see why I chose to go to the Tour and be able to see David and experience his beautiful voice and personality for myself.
The few weeks prior to the tour, I was trying to think of a way that I could “experience” David in person. I just had this pulling at my heart, that at times it was almost like a magnet, driving me to be a part of this phenomenon. The logical side of me was trying to convince me that I was clearly being stupid. The music lover side was driving me even harder, and so I’m glad that it won out in the end. The hardest part, after I had made my decision, was how in the world am I going to be able to tell/explain this to my husband? Well after much thinking, I finally set him down and just simply said that I wanted to go and see David live. I explained my feelings as best as I could, and he was very understanding. I’m still not so sure he gets it, but how could he? He is a different person with different feelings, and so I was satisfied that he just supported me. I don’t want to give the impression that my husband does not like David, he does, he just does not have the devotion that I do. As far as going to the concert, that was something that we haven’t done in years. My husband and I did go to concerts when we were younger, but have not gone since because of practicality. When I went and bought the tickets, I asked if he would go, and he said “yes, whatever makes you happy” I was so overjoyed that he understood me. About a week before the tour, I was trying to think of a way that I could “delicately” inform my husband that I wanted to go and meet the buses for autographs. I had actually been thinking of doing this since I got the tickets, but didn’t know how to broach the subject. I was all over the place on this one! I was back to square one on the “logical/desire drive” subject. I kept thinking that I needed to be grateful for just being able to go to the concert and forget the rest. But once again the David magnets were working overtime. I knew that I had to try. I wanted to be able to come full circle in my quest to connect with David in the way he has connected to me. I had talked to my son about it, trying to gauge his reaction, and he just sort of smiled and said to do whatever I wanted. So then I had put my plan in place, plus had back up plans in case anything changed. You know having children in the midst of ODD is near impossible! But I had my plan in place. So a couple of days before the tour, I brought the topic up out of the clear blue. At first my husband was like…”WHAT????, are you serious??” and then I tried to rationally explain it to him. Who was I kidding; there is nothing rational about this at all! I just knew deep inside that I had to satisfy my desire, or I would forever be kicking myself for not going. I heard on the television just a couple of days before that really struck me. Of all of the decisions people make, the biggest regrets were not the things they did, but the things they didn’t do. I would not be a part of that group! So after a lot of discussion about autographs (he does not get the idea of an autograph at all!) and how I was going to do this, he said to do whatever made me happy! I have such a wonderful husband, who supports me even when he thinks I’m starting to go over the edge. I don’t know if I could be so understanding if the shoe was on the other foot.
So Monday came with lots of preparation! Batteries charged, camera ready, work taken care of (kind of) and the house in decent order. Everything seemed ready to go… that was my first mistake! My son got sick and I seriously thought I might need to take him to the doctor. I told my husband that if I needed to I would not go. I always had plan B which was going Tuesday. But after much working around issues, and children who are so thoughtful of their mother, I got in the car with them and headed to Salt Lake City. We went shopping early to get some needed school shopping done. I really felt this was something I could do for them for being so understanding of their mother. I kept watching the clock and finally we left for the buses. When we got there, I was amazed that there were so few people. My children and I found a shady spot under a tree as it was 95 degrees and very sunny! We watched the local TV station come, and my son was very concerned that he would NOT be seen on TV. Can’t have your friends see you with your mother… not to mention getting autographs at the buses hehe! What would they think? Well, anyways we watched the Fanblast shout out and then we waited. I was able to meet some online friends from Rickey.org which was really cool in of itself. It’s almost like connecting a dream from the night into the day light. Making the screen names into faces is really cool and you realize that you’re not talking into mere space. I was able to meet ITTO, Josie, houstonrufus,SweetonDA and mcluvin. Each was very unique and so kind. I wished that we had more time to talk and share our DA love, but it wasn’t in the cards. Who knows, maybe one day? I do feel fortunate though that I have been able to make new friends because of our common David bond. I don’t even think David is even aware of the rippling effect he has had. It is so inspiring to see how one good decision leads to others.
So 1:30p.m. rolled around and by that time I was sweating, kids were complaining and I was very thirsty. The cheers for all of the service workers were kind of funny and the crowd was getting restless. All of the sudden a bus came, but looked nothing like the pictures I had seen of the tour buses. As it went by, I noticed Michael Johns in the back seat. Everyone cheered and then an ear piercing scream alerted everyone that David had just gotten up from his seat! My heart just started to beat hard because I knew that I might get to have my desire realized! We waited and waited while they unloaded from the bus into the event center and dropped their things off (I assume). Finally Kristy Lee Cook and Seyesha and Brooke came out and the security people let them by the huge iron gate. I was hoping that we didn’t have to see them through the bars, but thankfully that did not happen. So I got lots of pictures of them, and even some with my daughter. Each idol that came out was very gracious and kind. They must be tired of all of the signing and I’m sure screaming for the boys, but they were sweet. We were able to get autographs as well. Ramiele and Carly came next. They both were just as kind as the rest. Carly is quite witty. I thought she had a very kind, loving demeanor about her. By this time, everyone really wanted to see the boys, and so you could see heads bob up and down to see if they were going to come out.
Finally my heart did skip a beat because here the David’s, Jason and Jeff came. I was so excited to think I might be able to get a photo and an autograph! I was talking to mcluvin during this whole thing, and it was really good to be able to talk with someone who so totally got it! We together were a team, and really looked out for each other. She had brought a ukulele to be signed by Jason as well as a tour picture. I wished I had thought of doing that, but I was afraid that anything I brought had to be approved for them to sign. So if you’re reading this, bring something special for them to sign! I did buy a fanblast water bottle, and so now that is my souvenir. So David goes to the top of the group and David C went to the other side. Each idol was signing away… their arms had to hurt. They never did get cranky or complained. I must say that David is the SLOWEST idol of all with Jason a close second. That is really a compliment because he is so concerned that each fan gets their individual time. He really tries to make a connection with each one. When David came to us, I had a mouth full of cotton. How could I explain my feelings? It was impossible and I knew that even before I went. Looking back I wish I had a rewind/stop button to make changes, look at details etc. but that wasn’t the case. I told David that he did a wonderful job on “Crazy” and “Waiting on the World to Change” and he said while looking straight into my eyes “ Aww, I don’t know…thanks”. His eyes are so powerful and deep. It’s true that the eyes are the window to the soul, and David has a glorious soul! I also told him that I thought he was really awesome. Anything else that came out of my mouth, I wouldn’t know. Where is photographic memory when you need it? I did give him some Nutterbutters… maybe that was a dumb idea. I didn’t know what to get him; I just thought he needed something! I felt like I should give something back to him because he has given so much to me. I do know for a fact that teenage boys like to EAT! So I thought why not give him his favorite munchies? I don’t know if he’ll ever eat them, but I wanted to show him that I cared. We then took a picture of us with him. Where were all of the hair dressers, makeup? It was HOT and I wanted to look good NEXT to David. I thought mcluvin said it best, “it’s not about me it’s about David” So the end result was fairly decent. We were then able to talk to Jeff and had quite a lengthy conversation with him. He is such a good example to everyone on how to face adversity. I really look up to him with admiration because he conducted himself so well under immense pressure from the media not to mention just the stress of the show. He tried really hard to make everything all about David and not him. But you know, pesky fans want the inside scoop I think, and so he was very gracious and kind to talk about anything he could. David is very fortunate to have a father that has put all of his interests on the back burner to help him realize his dreams. I hope that I am doing that for my children to some degree too. He really is a man with lots of integrity and full of kindness.
Jason was one of the last idols that we seen. He too, is someone that I was completely blown away by. He is very soft spoken and very kind. I can see why David and Jason get along so well. He is so NOT pretentious at all! What you see is what you get with him. I like that very much in a person. It speaks volumes about their character. He signed my water bottle and he did sign the ukulele. He was so cute when he tried to play it some. Mcluvin and I were even able to get more than one picture with Jason because he too took so much time with every fan. I think they both (David & Jason) have hearts of gold. David C. was the last idol to come our way. He was really nice too; however we could not chat because he had to go to do press. He told us we could either get an autograph or picture, so I chose an autograph. I did get some shots of him farther away. I noticed when he was on the other side; he took time to hold a small girl and also was signing someone’s guitar too. He held it and started to play it a little. All in all I am VERY THANKFUL that I did listen to the inner voice and follow my heart. I was rewarded richly by doing so. If I ever am asked if it was worth it, I won’t even hesitate for a moment….YES!
So after a long, but very rewarding day on Monday, I was ready on Tuesday to go to the concert. I was very intrigued about hearing David live vs. or by recording. I was going to go to the buses, but I figured since I was so successful on Monday, I shouldn’t be a complete hog. I felt others needed their chance too. So I waited patiently…not really, but anyways I finally the time came. I was planning on going with my husband, but he decided to stay home with my daughter. As a side note, I didn’t have enough seats to take my sons with me so I decided to purchase two more tickets from Ticketmaster. I could hardly believe that I was able to get row 7 seats. So for future reference, wait until the concert comes closer to purchase tickets if at all possible. I went with my sons and we ate dinner before and went to the E Center. I was blown away how close our seats were! I was very excited and so I purchased a program book which I think is really cool. Finally the concert started and it was really interesting to see how the idols were live compared to on television. I enjoyed Chikezie quite a bit. The audience was fairly good and I do think he does have a lot of stage presence! Ramiele was up next, and of all of the idols, she is my least favorite. She did well, but isn’t in the same league in my opinion. She kind of acted like she didn’t really want to be there. Michael Johns was really good. My sons really liked his performances. His tribute to David Archuleta was so funny! He told us all how hot he was, and then he proceeded to take off his jacket which underneath he had a David Archuleta T-shirt. He then drank from a Fanblast water bottle and called it “sweet nectar.” Everyone went wild when he did that. Kristy Lee Cook was good, but seemes to be somewhat “manufactured country music” like a lot of the country women now days. She is beautiful. Then Carly was up next. I really enjoyed her set! She has such a powerful voice with huge range. Most everyone liked it, especially my youngest son. Then Brooke White came out. She is so sweet and genuine! She is so authentic and just being who she is and I really like that in her. Her song “Yellow” was really good. My older son totally liked it. She just seems to have a calming presence. Up next was Jason Castro. I really like him a lot. My whole perception of him changed once I met him live and then heard him live. He is so easy going and genuine. He commented on David Archuleta singing “Crazy” the two previous days for the local crowd, and he seemed totally fine with it. I enjoyed his voice and interpretation of his version as well. He is very likeable! Up next was Seyesha. I initially really liked Seyesha a whole lot when Idol started, but as the weeks went on, I felt like she was somewhat bitter. She did a good job with her songs and her voice is really powerful as well, but for some reason her personality kind of seemed to overshadow it. I am going to insert David Cook here because I don’t want to end with him. He is an awesome performer to say the least. I really liked everything that he did, with the exception of “Hello.” I can’t seem to get Lionel Richie out of my head when I hear that song, so it sounded weird to me. I thought it was really cool that he tried so hard to impress Salt Lake City. He really seemed to and wanted to have us all like him. He did do something that I was impressed with. He recorded the whole crowd on his personal camcorder. I thought it was good that he did that because he obviously wanted to remember what Salt Lake was like. He sang really well and I did enjoy his voice a whole lot more live than on the show. He seems to feed off of others opinions of him, and I do think that is what drives him to be such a performer. I do have to say that I can finally, really and truly like David Cook.
Finally the moment I had been waiting for! As David came up out of the floor singing “Angels” I thought it sounded beautiful! I was trying to see him, but the fog was a little overwhelming from my vantage point. Once I did see him, I was in awe! I have read so many opinions from others how fascinating it is to watch him go from seventeen to a performer without age. I was somewhat skeptical in this when I first heard it, but I wanted to see it for myself. I can indeed say without reservation that he becomes ageless! He has such a commanding presence when he sings. I believe that it is something felt, not seen. He then sang “Apologize” which was as good as the first song. He then followed with “Stand by Me” which has always been one of my favorite. His voice is so right on the mark for this song. This isn’t a song many people can sing, but David did an outstanding job. The cute dancing was a bonus in my opinion, along with all of the fan interaction. He knows who his fans are and they know him!! The last song he sang was “When You Say You Love Me” by Josh Groban. I love Josh Groban and so when I first heard he was going to do this song, I didn’t have any doubts that he could do as well, if not a better job. His rendition was flawless. He even changed up the ending which I actually liked better. The emotion in this song is so beautiful and deep. As I mentioned before, his voice once again wrapped itself around my heart. The depth and emotion was clearly felt deep inside. The hand movements he added were made with such feeling, that in my opinion, they were as much a part of the song as his voice. What a glorious soul to watch. I didn’t want the end to come, but it was over way to soon. I just craved to hear his voice more! Crave….that is the word indeed! David has become part of an elite group of musical artists I consider worthy of complete praise and honor. I know that I will forever be fascinated to watch where he goes and how he develops in life both as an artist and as a person.
Lastly, I wanted to address David the person. I feel that this is the most important part of him that I love. I do love his voice beyond doubt, but his character is really what makes his voice for me. There are all kinds of beautiful singers, but none can hold a candle to David because of who he is. I feel so inadequate to describe my adoration of him and how he has influenced people both old and young. Who does that at seventeen? In my opinion, only an “older and wiser soul”, with an enormous amount of integrity, humbleness and of course kindness could do it. He is so genuine and full of compassion for others that it is touching to watch. His attention to detail is something I want to mirror in myself. David and I share many things; we both live/come from Utah, have the same beliefs and the same devotion to family. Having said that, I still find that I am intrigued that he possesses so many extraordinary qualities above and beyond the normal person. Many of us try to acquire such characteristics and are only able to accomplish a few during a whole lifetime. I am in constant awe of him and am amazed by personal choices he makes irrespective of what others think. He is just trying to stay true to who he is… David. What better thing can we all do than that? I do hope that maybe one day I can relate some of what is in my heart to him personally. I have read many beautiful and inspiring stories from others, and clearly I am not alone. I too, along with many others have had difficulties in my life that have shaped who I am today. I know that if I hadn’t experienced those things, I might not be a fan nor had the desire to see David and connect with his music. He inspires hope which is key to happiness and success in life. I do hope that David can grasp the depth of love, we fans, feel for him. It is hard to summarize what is in ones heart, but the songs he sings with such emotion bridge the gap that the human language cannot. Music is the language of the soul, and David has a glorious soul full of music that reaches the inner strings of the heart! David is indeed, one of a kind!