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.
Let me go
David Archuleta Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't wanna say goodnight
Do anything to change your mind
Try to make you see the light
You turn your back
And still I say anything to make you stay
Put up walls made of heartbreak
Try to hide your love away
Try to feel your heart beat through the door...
Hold on, hold on, is what I'm doing
So strong, so strong, is what I'm feeling
It's too much, too much
Oh, don't let go
Don't let go
There's somethin' that you're going through
Wish that I could fix for you
You don't have to be alone
I don't wanna let you go
I'm standin' here, you're givin' me nothing
Try to hear your heart break through the door
Call it love, call it what you want to
It's the only thing that matters anymore
Hold on, hold on, is what I'm doing
So strong, so strong, is what I'm feeling
It's too much, too much
Oh, don't let go
Oh, don't let go
Don't let go
Oooohhhhhh
Some days are cold
But together, one day we'll both
Change the weather
And it gets better
Oooohhhhhh...
Hold on, hold on, is what I'm doing
So strong, so strong, is what I'm feeling
It's too much, too much
Oh, don't let go
Oh, don't let go
Don't let go
Mmmmmmm...
In David Archuleta’s “Don’t Let Go,” the singer is expressing his desperation to keep a relationship alive. He sees a look in his partner's eyes that he recognizes is the end, and he is not ready to accept that. He's willing to do anything to make things work because he doesn't want to say goodbye. However, despite his efforts, his partner is constantly pushing him away and building walls made of heartbreak to keep him out. The singer is left standing at the door, trying to feel his partner's heartbeat through it. He reminds his partner of the love they share and that it's the only thing that matters at that point. He ultimately begs his partner not to let go because they're too good together. In the end, the singer believes that with time, things will get better.
The lyrics of the song “Don’t Let Go” express the singer's vulnerability and the desperation he feels to hold on to his relationship. It's an emotional plea for his partner not to end things just yet. The singer recognizes that there's something his partner is going through, something he wishes he could fix. However, in the end, he can only promise to be there and not let go. It's a beautiful love song with a message of commitment and hope.
Line by Line Meaning
I know that look in your eyes
I understand the emotions that you are displaying through your eyes.
I don't wanna say goodnight
I am not ready to part ways yet and would like to spend more time with you.
Do anything to change your mind
I am willing to go to great lengths to make you change your decision or perspective about something.
Try to make you see the light
I am trying to help you understand something or see something in a different way.
You turn your back
You are being distant or ignoring me in some way.
And still I say anything to make you stay
Even though you are distant, I will do everything in my power to convince you to stay with me.
Put up walls made of heartbreak
You have been hurt in the past and as a result, you are guarded and trying to protect yourself from getting hurt again.
Try to hide your love away
You are trying to suppress your feelings of love and affection for me.
I'm standin' here, you're givin' me nothing
I am putting in the effort to work through our issues and make things better, but you are not reciprocating by showing any effort or emotion.
Try to feel your heart beat through the door...
I am trying to connect with you emotionally, even though you are physically distant from me.
Hold on, hold on, is what I'm doing
I am persevering and not giving up on our relationship.
So strong, so strong, is what I'm feeling
My feelings for you are intense and I am determined to work through our problems.
It's too much, too much
My emotions are overwhelming and it's difficult to handle.
Oh, don't let go
I am pleading with you to not give up on us and our relationship.
There's somethin' that you're going through
I sense that you are struggling with something or going through a difficult period in your life.
Wish that I could fix for you
I wish I could make things better or alleviate your pain in some way.
You don't have to be alone
I am offering my support and companionship to you during this difficult time.
I don't wanna let you go
I am not willing to give up on our relationship and am committed to working through our problems together.
Try to hear your heart break through the door
I am trying to empathize with your emotional pain even though you are physically distant from me.
Call it love, call it what you want to
Whatever you want to label our relationship, my feelings for you remain the same and I am committed to working through our issues together.
It's the only thing that matters anymore
Our relationship is the most important thing in our lives right now and we need to work together to overcome our obstacles.
Some days are cold
There will be difficult times and challenges ahead that we will need to work through.
But together, one day we'll both
Together, we will get through these difficult times and come out stronger.
Change the weather
We will be able to overcome our obstacles and make things better.
And it gets better
Things will improve and our relationship will become stronger as we work through our issues together.
Lyrics © REACH MUSIC PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: DAVID ARCHULETA, JC CHASEZ, JIMMY HARRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
thop1984
This was always my (secrete) favorite song off the album. I just love the groove and the way he sings it. My favorite part is at 2:24-2:57, that whole section is so cool, love it! Thanks for posting it!
musiclover
I would love to hear this live! David has so many songs that we have not heard him sing live.
Jared 'JJ' Prince
For real
Bradley Pennington
Thus reminds me of Mr Archuleta's first 2 albums....so much melody, it's never leaves your head, even days after....!
I am an older heavy metal head! But all the hard music I listen to, the vocals are beautiful like David Archuleta!
David if you are reading this comment, please and I'm asking you please listen to these few bands to hear their singing vocals and the powerful yet smoothness of their voices.
1) Mark Tremonti ( any song from him.)
2)Carl Albert, from late 80s heavy metal band called Vicious Rumors
3)None other than the exceptional Jeff Buckley!
Thank you and bless you for reading my comment.
HjPj97
I went to one of his concerts a few years ago, and thought I didn't personally meet him, you could tell that he was such a sweet spirit from just watching him sing and treat other kindly! <3
MusicfaninMO
I hope when David comes back he gives us more music like this. I also hope he gets his band back together. I wish he had done this song live with Mark on keyboards and Ben on bass. I really think Mark is very experimental with electronic jazz sounds and Ben could bring the funk if let loose. Two years really isn't that long in the music business as long as he comes back with some good songs and is ready to go!
Fallingstarswish3
Haven't heard this song for ages! Beautiful
Romina Coretty
me encanta!! <3
Becka B
such an upbeat song! love it! :D he makes this song sound dizzying! :D ♥
Michael C
THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG EVER GO DAVID ARCHULETA