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.
Sweet Caroline
David Archuleta Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where it began, I can't begin to know when
But then I know it's growing strong
Oh, wasn't the spring, whooo
And spring became the summer
Who'd believe you'd come along
Touching me, touching you
Oh, sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good
I've been inclined to believe it never would
And now I, I look at the night, whooo
And it don't seem so lonely
We fill it up with only two, oh
And when I hurt
Hurting runs off my shoulder
How can I hurt when holding you
Oh, one, touching one, reaching out
Touching me, touching you
Oh, sweet Caroline
Good times never seem so good
Oh I've been inclined to believe it never would
Ohhh, sweet Caroline, good times never seem so good
David Archuleta's version of the classic Neil Diamond song Sweet Caroline is a heartfelt rendition that captures the essence of the original. The lyrics for this song speak to the simple joy of being in love, and how the presence of another person can make life seem so much brighter. The song begins with the singer admitting that he doesn't know when his love began, but he knows that it's growing stronger all the time. He marvels at the fact that his love has bridged the gap between spring and summer, and he becomes increasingly overwhelmed with emotion as he thinks about the person he loves.
The chorus of the song is where the title comes into play, as the singer addresses the woman he loves as "sweet Caroline." He acknowledges that good times have never seemed as good as they do when he's with her, and he admits that he was inclined to believe that he would never find such happiness in life. The final verse of the song is perhaps the most poignant, as the singer reflects on how his girlfriend has helped him through tough times. He sings of how holding her makes the pain of life's struggles disappear, and he revels in the simple pleasure of touching her and being touched by her.
Overall, David Archuleta's interpretation of Sweet Caroline is a beautiful tribute to a classic song that continues to resonate with listeners of all ages. The lyrics capture the timeless feeling of falling in love and finding solace in another person, and the music is a perfect match for the sentiment. As a whole, the song is a glorious celebration of the power of love, and it's sure to touch the hearts of anyone who hears it.
Line by Line Meaning
Where it began, I can't begin to know when
I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when our relationship began
But then I know it's growing strong
However, I am aware that our relationship is developing strongly
Oh, wasn't the spring, whooo
It wasn't the spring season when our love first began
And spring became the summer
But over time, the spring transitioned into the summer season
Who'd believe you'd come along
And I never expected that you would come into my life
Hands, touching hands, reaching out
Our hands are touching and reaching for each other
Touching me, touching you
You are touching me and I am touching you
Oh, sweet Caroline
My dear Caroline
Good times never seem so good
The good times we share always seem even better
I've been inclined to believe it never would
I used to believe that nothing could be so good
And now I, I look at the night, whooo
Now, as I look into the night sky,
And it don't seem so lonely
I don't feel lonely anymore
We fill it up with only two, oh
Our love fills the night and it is just the two of us
And when I hurt
Whenever I am in pain
Hurting runs off my shoulder
You take my pain away and I feel better almost instantly
How can I hurt when holding you
When I am with you, it is impossible for me to feel hurt
Oh, one, touching one, reaching out
We are one, touching each other and reaching out
Oh, sweet Caroline
My dear Caroline
Good times never seem so good
The good times we share always seem even better
Oh I've been inclined to believe it never would
I used to believe that nothing could be so good
Contributed by Kaelyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
mhkrmn
Wow, this is the best version I've heard. DAVID ARCHULETA HAS A VOICE!
Niecee44
wow his voice is soooo powerful, and soulful.
cukie4lyf
His version is so sweet... I can't help but smile as I listened!! :)
Gregoir281962
O.M.G.. is there nothing he can't sing. He'll take on anything. AWESOME JOB !!!!
Justin T
I really love his voice and this version of Sweet Caroline! Great job!
Marilyn Asilum
i really like this song
amberfirexx9
Just imagine being married to David and celebrating the fourth of July with him at a party and this song comes on, slow dancing to it with him and him singing quietly to me...I wish. Love him so much. He sounds so PERFECT
Renz Lucas
He's voice is kinda distinctive like whenever hear his voice I automatically know its him ❤
Stephanie
I Love everyone of the songs he sings! I just love his versions! His voice is AMAZING!!! He can make even the worst songs sound awsome!
Guillermo Serrano Jr.
Wow!! Perfect song, love it the way he sing it :)