Wednesday, March 26, 2008

David Archuleta: "You're the Voice" that's quickly fading

Carly Smithson was born September 12, 1983 in Dublin, Ireland. She says she got her name from the radio. her mom then tells the story of how she still had no name for Carly when she went into labor and on the way to the hospital, a Carly Simon song came on the radio and she wrote the name on her hand and when she was born, she showed her husband her hand and said, "There's the name." Carly says she always wanted to be a pop star and her mom says that she always knew she'd be an entertainer.

She sings "Total Eclipse of the Heart," by Bonnie Tyler and how interesting that she's wearing a black dress with vertical stripes. Could they be trying to hide her baby bump? Anyway, for yet another week, I'm just not impressed with Carly. I feel like her voice sounds very strained a lot of the time - like you can tell that her voice is right on the edge of cracking - and of course, she yells through all her songs, too. Her performance was fine and she was in tune and generally, it was very nice. But, the song didn't work for her, I don't think - she would have been better off singing a simpler song or perhaps singing this song with not so much band behind her - something soft, just to give her voice a break, she's going to yell her way into laryngitis one of these weeks.

Randy says it was an interesting song choice and that he liked it but he didn't love it, he says he didn't like the note at the end, that it went a little sharp. He says it was just OK. Paula says Carly can take a song she doesn't like and make her want to go out and buy it and she says she can do no wrong tonight. Simon says something didn't quite work and he think it's because she was so tense and almost uptight during the performance. He says he didn't enjoy it as much as he thought he was going to. He says she sang parts of the song very well but he's with Randy, that something didn't quite work and that she has to lighten up a bit.


David Archuleta may have put his foot in his mouth al ittle bit. Ryan asks him about missing school and he says he's missed a couple of dances and he might miss prom. Ryan asks who he would take and David says he doesn't know if he should say and then Ryan asks if it's someone in the studio, perhaps sitting by his father> And then they get a shot of a pretty young girl, who looks so terribly embarrassed to be put on the spot like that. Hope he's not in too much trouble...

Anyway, he was born December 28, 1990 in Miami, Fla. He says he has a brother and three sisters. They show his parents and they're the first to appear really phony to me. His mom talks about how great David is and how he has a great relationship with all his siblings and how everybody loves David because he's so great. I mean, that's wonderful that they love him and think so highly of him, but they didn't really tell us anything about what he was like growing up - David told us more than they did. David says he was really close to his older sister growing up and that his mom used to make them dance together - and then they show a clip of him and his sister in traditional costumes from Honduras, I guess (that's where he's from, right?) - he in all white with a neck scarf and straw hat, she in a long white dress, and they were likely dancing traditional folklore dances. It was absolutely adorable.

He sings "You're the Voice" by John Farnham, a song I've never heard by a man I've never heard of and it's just OK. Again, it's all about song choice - this song is really, really cheesy and even his great voice can't save this number. I feel like he peaked with "Imagine" and it's just been kind of downhill since then. I don't think he's in any danger of going home - he's still a fan favorite - but I don't really understand why he chose this completely obscure song when he had a choice of so many. It was really disappointing - again.

Oh how cute... I'm totally speculating here, but right as Randy starts talking, they show David on stage and he says to someone, "Sorry." I wonder if he was apologizing to that girl, his girlfriend?, for telling the world that they were going to prom together. Anyway, in my mind, that's what he was doing and I think it's sweet.

So, Randy tells him it was a strange song choice, but that it just proves that if you can sing, you can sing whatever, that he's got mad skills and that it was still very nice. He says he didn't know the song, but it was still nice. Paula also says that they were all trying to figure out who the song was by and Simon is the one who knew it. She adds that he could sing the phone book and they'd fall in love with him. Simon says he sang it well in parts but he didn't like the performance at all, that it was actually reminiscent of a theme park performance. He says it's reminds him of one of those ghastly numbers where you've got animate creatures with you and everyone joins in together, and he doesn't think that's David at all. Wow - he goes on to say that he'd be amazed if he chose the song himself because it's not him. I wonder if he's alluding to the rumors that David's father is crazy controlling.

If that rumor is true, about how he got kicked off the "Star Search" set and whatever, then I feel really bad for David. It can't be easy to feel so much pressure from your parents about something so silly. I mean, this is not real life - winning "American Idol" should not be the measure of who he is. There are far more important things in life, like education, being a good person and things of that nature. Anyway, that's just my opinion.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

little david is becoming very boring

Anonymous said...

They really need to stop the "sing with a message" theme and just let the kid have some fun. The last song he sang that didn't have some political message was "Tears of a Clown."
Dad, if you are the problem - go home and let Mom look after him.
Mom could be a problem too - wasn't she the one who ran up onstage and finished his song when he forgot the words? And didn't he say she was the one who choreographed the dances with his sister?

Anonymous said...

Stop picking on the kid. The fact you want him to come out and give an "Imagine"-type performance every week is just ridiculous. That was one of the best performances that I'm sure a lot of people can say they saw live. The kid has the voice and performs well every week, infact his "not so good" is arguably better than anyone else on the show when they are at their best. Whatever song he or someone else chooses for him you know he's going to bring a soulful vibe to it.

Anonymous said...

As the rest of America, I am truly hoping for Davids star potential to shine and given the right opportunity, I believe we will all see it again!
We have all been spoiled by those first numbers so it is difficult to measure up after that. I have complete confidence he will rein again! He is, after all, just a kid and probably getting advice from all directions on WHO he should be..how he should act..and most of all..WHAT he should sing..HE will do best when he follows his own instincts and really does his thing!