Early life
David Archuleta was born to Jeff Archuleta and Lupe Marie, a salsa singer and dancer from Honduras. Archuleta has four siblings. Archuleta's family moved to the Salt Lake Valley, to the city of Sandy, Utah, when Archuleta was six. He was raised in Murray, Utah after moving there when he was 6 years old.
Archuleta started singing at age six, inspired by a Les Misérables video. "That musical is what started all of this," he said. He started performing publicly at age 10 when he participated in the Utah Talent Competition singing "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton; he received a standing ovation and won the Child Division.
Archuleta was inspired by watching both Tamyra Gray and Kelly Clarkson to "see what performing and really getting into a song was like" during the beginning weeks of the premiere season of American Idol. He later made his television debut, at eleven years old, singing "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" on a Jenny Jones show for future Latino stars alongside season one finalist A.J. Gil. Through A.J. Gil he was able to meet and sing for Gray who had sung the song on American Idol as well as Clarkson (that year's winner) and Justin Guarini (the runner up).
Musical influences
Archuleta's mother is from Honduras, and much of the music he listened to as a child was Latin-influenced including watching his mom sing at events with her sisters. She also "was big on dancing" according to Archuleta, and would "make" him dance to traditional music with his older sister. He also listened to jazz music, he said, from his father's collection as well as gospel, pop, rock and "soulful music." In a later interview, he revealed that his father was a jazz musician. Archuleta also said he enjoys Broadway musicals.
On his American Idol "Fast Facts" page, Archuleta cites his musical influences as Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin and Bryan Adams. When asked to list his top pop artists, he cited Natasha Bedingfield, Natalie Cole, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Bryan Adams, Kirk Franklin, and Robbie Williams. Like Elliot Yamin and another singer he admires, John Mayer, Archuleta tries to infuse his pop selections with a soulful vibe.
Star Search
In 2003, at age 12, Archuleta sang on several episodes of the television show Star Search. He ended up as the Junior Vocal Champion on Star Search 2. On one episode, he sang against then-11-year-old Alexandréa Lushington, who also became a "top 20" semi-finalist on American Idol alongside Archuleta. Around the second year of being on Star Search he started focusing on the lyrics, "I didn't even pay attention to the lyrics when I was 12, 13".
Archuleta's competing on Star Search led to appearances on The Jenny Jones Show and CBS' The Early Show, and meeting the finalists from American Idol's first season, for whom he performed a spontaneous a cappella rendition of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls, and received enthusiastic praise from Season 1 winner Kelly Clarkson. The year after Star Search he found out he had partial vocal paralysis but declined risky surgery and has said he feels he is almost fully recovered. He limited his singing for specific occasions like Stadium of Fire, the Independence Day celebration at Brigham Young University Stadium.
American Idol
Archuleta won his ticket to the Hollywood final auditions (with a performance of John Mayer's "Waiting on the World to Change") with the help of idol judge, Randy Jackson, who sang the background "waiting" in the song. (at the San Diego tryouts held at Qualcomm Stadium July 30 and July 31, 2007) He was 16 during the Hollywood auditions (where he sang Bryan Adams' "Heaven" and Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" to unanimous praise) and because he was not yet 18, had to attend school while a part of American Idol's seventh season. His parents were there because he was a minor. Archuleta also took advantage of the decision to allow contestants to play musical instruments when he accompanied himself on piano for his performances of "Another Day in Paradise" and "Angels."
A Los Angeles Times article speculated why Archuleta avoided singing the first verse of "Imagine": because "of his religion (Mormonism), he's unlikely to espouse the song's agnostic ideal . . . with the line about 'no religion too.'" Archuleta did, however, sing the entire song on Good Things Utah when he was 13. During his first performance of Imagine on American Idol, when asked by judge Randy Jackson why he didn't sing the first verse, Archuleta said the third verse was his favorite because it has "a great message."
In the finale he sang "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me," "In This Moment" and "Imagine." Judge Simon Cowell declared that Archuleta won the evening and even David Cook, who ultimately won, thought Archuleta would win: "I have to concede it, the kid came out all three songs and nailed it," said Cook. In the final tally, Archuleta received 44 percent of the votes. During the finale show, both Archuleta and fellow finalist Cook appeared in separate but nearly identical commercials for the game franchise Guitar Hero, mimicking a Tom Cruise scene from Risky Business.
Don't Tell Me
David Archuleta Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white
I'm growing tired and time stands still before me
Frozen here on the ladder of my life
Too late to save myself from falling
I took a chance and changed your way of life
But you misread my meaning when I met you
Don't let the sun go down on me
Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me
I can't find, oh the right romantic line
But see me once and see the way I feel
Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm
But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal
David Archuleta's song Don't Tell Me is full of poignant lyrics that convey the complexity of the singer's emotions. The first verse begins with a declaration of the singer's inability to continue living in the darkness that their partner has subjected them to. The use of the word 'darkness' is particularly telling as it suggests someone who has been oppressed, trapped or held back by circumstances or actions of another person. The singer feels as if they are stuck in time, unable to move forward or backward on the 'ladder of life'. There is a palpable sense of exhaustion and surrender that is conveyed through the lyrics.
The second verse depicts the singer as someone who has taken a risk to change their partner's way of life. However, they feel that their meaning has been misinterpreted by their partner who has closed the door on them and blinded them with the light, possibly indicating that the partner was not ready for the change after all. The final line of the verse "lost in a maze of lights and shadows" suggests confusion and disorientation.
The chorus evokes a feeling of desperation as the singer urges their partner not to leave them to sink into the abyss of despair. They ask not to be completely disregarded and express a desire to keep some sort of connection, though small, with their partner. The use of the metaphor of the sun going down on the singer at the end of each chorus is particularly poignant as it reminds us of the fleeting nature of life and love. The final verse brings up the theme of love and healing. The singer acknowledges that they may not have the perfect words to express their affection but pleads that they not be discarded because of a fear of harm. The use of 'cuts' suggests that the singer has been emotionally hurt in some way and they need love to help them heal.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't light no more of your darkness
I can no longer brighten up the gloom that surrounds you.
All my pictures seem to fade to black and white
Every memory of us is lackluster and losing its vibrance.
I'm growing tired and time stands still before me
Exhaustion is slowly consuming me and it feels like time has stopped moving.
Frozen here on the ladder of my life
I'm stuck in the same place in my journey, unable to progress.
Too late to save myself from falling
It's too late for me to prevent my downfall.
I took a chance and changed your way of life
I made an effort to positively impact your life.
But you misread my meaning when I met you
You misunderstood my intentions when we first crossed paths.
Closed the door and left me blinded by the light
You shut me out and left me dazzled by the aftermath.
Don't let the sun go down on me
Please don't give up on me.
Although I search myself, it's always someone else I see
Whenever I introspect, I don't recognize myself; I see a stranger staring back at me.
I'd just allow a fragment of your life to wander free
I'd be content with just a small part of your life to be with me on my journey.
But losing everything is like the sun going down on me
Losing everything would be a catastrophe for me, akin to the sun setting on my life.
I can't find, oh the right romantic line
I can't come up with the perfect words to express my love.
But see me once and see the way I feel
I wish you could see how deeply I love you just by seeing me once.
Don't discard me just because you think I mean you harm
Please don't push me away because you think I'll hurt you.
But these cuts I have they need love to help them heal
I'm emotionally wounded and need love to help me recover.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@cfredhart
Wow... I am totally blown away. Did he really write this? This could be a hit on the radio today. He is truly, truly an amazing and gifted individual. I am not a teen and I love this funky, young sound for him. I also love his ballads, but I love that he can do it all. CANNOT WAIT FOR HIS CD!
@Merlin435
David can sing anything. This is really great. I would love to hear something like this on his album. What an amazing voice and feel for music.
@pabuckie
Amazing, bluesy, funky song! David is amazing at 12 and even better now!!
@Fairangel13
I've never heard this before! Wow, he wrote this?? Imagine him re-recording this! Amazing!
@archangel4life4ever
I am glad I found this again!! Love this song!! Wish he would put it on a cd or this version on itunes.
@cubanic80
OH MY GOD!! David this is great!!! You are simply AMAZING!! Can't wait for your CD!!!
@carolaquinobernabe
exelente voz!! exelente performance!!
@okamispiderbrush
This songs proves the depth of Archie's talent. Not only is he blessed with a God given gift to sing and perform, he is also capable of writing songs with emotional depth and clarity. Is there no end to this young man's abilities? Paula was right when she said that David is destined for super stardom!!!! I can't wait to see what is in store for the very, very gifted David Archuleta!!!!
@KaitLMH
My heavens, this is another favorite. I don't think he's done anything I wouldn't buy, like, TODAY. Go David!
@KaitLMH
He wrote and sang this several years ago. I want to see what he can do now. Can't wait until post-Idol for this star!