bebereader
djafan
voiceadmin
It’s been over two years since David Archuleta made his debut on American Idol and still…we can not get him off of our minds. His fans often take the heat and have been accused of being rabid and fanatical but it’s a testament to him, in fact, that we are this way. A music lover my entire life, I’ve been a fan of many artists. I know how to do the fan thing. I buy the cds and singles, keep up with radio and TV appearances, participate on their message boards, chat with other fans, clamor for tickets, attend their concerts, and purchase merch at their shows. Yet never have I felt this kind of intensity, the high, the true joy, the range of emotion, the passion, the loyalty, the respect and the outpouring of love and admiration for an artist that David Archuleta’s fans have for him.
We don’t just buy his CDs; we buy multiple copies and gift them to whoever we can, strangers included. We Tivo his minutest appearances, blog until we drop, drag into work after late nights indulging in too many videos at The Voice Unplugged. Oh just one more for the road, I can’t leave NOW! The next day, exhausted but still craving more, we compulsively search for new videos, new pictures, and any news of David. We VIP repeatedly, attend multiple concerts hours away, and throw twitter parties to get David’s name trended.
We wear our ODD whenever we can; on t-shirts and pins, on bumper stickers and key chains, and most importantly, with the smile on our faces and the light in our eyes. This is not a typical fan base. But David is not a typical artist.
In the J-14 interview last week, David said “I want to show people that I’m in a new phase right now. It’s a new time for me!” In that regard, he’s been bouncing all over the country, writing songs for his sophomore CD, with an abundance of well-renowned songwriters at his disposal, some of whom have songs ready and waiting for him to appear in their studios to record. In addition, his memoir, “Chords of Strength” and a new single are on the horizon. If we take a moment to reflect upon David’s generosity and all that he’s done for us, both personally and musically, the figures are staggering. 90+ combination of blogs and vlogs, 2,400 tweets, 2 full albums and non-stop back-to-back touring since the American Idol finale.
During the drought, when other, less uh, rabid fans would have taken a break and disappeared for a while to follow the music of other artists, we are still here. In fact, we’re stuck like glue. Like moths to a flame, we are unable to resist the light that shines in his voice, his smile, his eyes, his heart.
There is something undeniably captivating about The Voice that draws us in and makes us take up permanent residence in his proximity. Is it just his talent? Is there more, is there more? All I know is, this crush ain’t going away and we, his proudly fanatical Archeologists are methodically mining only the tip of a very deep iceberg.
