大衛前無古人的最長專訪終於出現了（連英國的那些短篇小說都比不上）！！馬來西亞打破世界紀錄事物又添一樁。非常詳盡，非常深入的報導，非常清晰明白的描述出他是一個甚麼樣的人，雖然非常長，但是一定要讀完。
小說專訪請到繼續閱讀後欣賞。
“I actually felt totally fine,” said Archuleta on Friday, when he was in the Klang Valley for a four-day promotional stop. Archuleta’s trip to Malaysia which ended yesterday was a big success, and gave him the opportunity to connect with his fans here by making a surprise appearance on Thursday at SM Sri KDU in Kota Damansara, Petaling Jaya; and performing a half hour showcase to a loud and lively crowd of 6,000 at the Sunway Lagoon ampitheatre on Saturday afternoon.
Being his first-ever trip to Malaysia (he’d only ever been to Canada prior to this Asian visit), Archuleta spoke to the press while he was in town, and did a few private interviews too, like this one. After a quick photoshoot at the Pyramid Tower Hotel on Friday afternoon, he settled down to talk about himself ... and that infamous defeat.
“A lot of people went ‘oh you must have been so sad’ and ‘weren’t you bummed?’. And I was like ‘no’,” he said, punctuating almost every sentence with a quirkly laugh. “I was fine. I know a lot of people were sad but I don’t think they should have been because I am totally happy.
“The main thing for me wasn’t winning. I don’t understand how I made it so far because I just wasn’t in that competitive mindset. I was looking forward to making more music, and what opportunities would come after the show,” he said, adding that he felt Cook is an “excellent winner”.
At a press conference on Thursday, Archuleta – who sportingly donned a baju melayu and sampin – was all smiles as he relayed to the media present how he had been enjoying his journey post Idol.
“This is something I never thought would actually happen to me. It is a true blessing,” he said when someone asked if he regretted not having a “normal” life these days. “I do get to do normal things whenever I can ... I go to my friends’ houses and go to restaurants. People sometimes recognise me,” he admitted “but they are usually very considerate of my personal time.”
While he was in town, Archuleta even managed to cram in some shopping at the Sunway Pyramid mall and went unnoticed ... for a while at least.
Nineteen-year-old Yvette Chan who won a DiGi contest which enabled her to be part of Archuleta’s entourage, got the chance to do some shopping with him! She shared that while Archuleta wasn’t nearly as obsessed with clothes before Idol, he finds that he has to keep up with trends now that he is in the public eye... “and he kinda likes it!” Chan revealed that Archuleta went from clothes store to clothes store, to clothes store. “He walks so fast ... he walks as fast as some people run,” she said, adding that he kept his head down low so no one would recognise him but when three screaming teens eventually did, Chan and Archuleta had to run for cover to the hotel.
For Chan, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. The student from Penang got to have lunch with Archuleta and watch as he did photoshoots, and interviews as well as chat with him during his free time. “He was really great and he even gave me a hug at the end of the day,” she gushed.
All he likes to do is sing
If you think Archuleta is just an “aww gosh” and “golly gee” type of person, think again. Blame American Idol. The top-rated reality programme has a tendency of doing a disservice to some of its participants by only featuring some parts of their lives. Viewers are quick to label and judge them after that.
Archuleta just happens to be level headed, easy to talk to and passionate about his trade.
You may also think that he comes from a competitive background simply because he was portrayed that way on the show – what with being fed with the footage of his Star Search participation, as well as the whole brouhaha over his father Jeff’s controlling behaviour during the American Idol.
“It’s funny that I’m known for competitions when I’m not a competitive person,” Archuleta emphasised. “I only did one talent show when I was 10 (the Utah Talent Competition). And then Star Search at 12.
“In the competitions that I’ve done, I’ve never had a competitive mindset. They were just opportunities for me to sing. I just love to sing,” he said, adding that his dad (along with the rest of his family) keeps him grounded most of the time.
But Archuleta admits that to come from those humble beginings to making an album, touring and travelling has been an amazing experience. David Archuleta the album, released in November 2008, made its debut at No.2 on the Billboard charts, and has sold over 665,000 copies in the United States alone. In Malaysia, the album is on its way to achieving gold status (10,000 copies).
Archuleta is happy that the album represents what he loves to do as a singer. “On American Idol, people really didn’t get a chance to see the kind of singer I wanted to be. I am young and I like soulful pop. I listen to the Top 40. I am not the kind of person who sings classic standards all the time. I want to be able to relate with people my age.”
Tracks like Crush, A Little Too Not Over You, Touch My Hand and Don’t Let Go – all of which he performed at his showcase in Malaysia – seemed to go down well with the hordes of screaming teens, who knew every lyric and were happy to sing at the top of their voices along with their current favourite star. Rapport with the audience was not something Archuleta had to work at. It came very naturally.
It’s no wonder that last year, the 1.7m tall singer (yes, he’s not that short) received the Teen Choice Award for “Most Fanatic Fans”. Banners and posters spotted during the local show - “I love Archie”, “Marry Me” and “You are my crush” – revealed the connection these kids felt with their heartthrob. Archuleta, in turn, paid the crowd kudos for their rousing reaction with a heartfelt shout-out of “Malaysia Boleh”.
David Archuleta during his ‘Live in Malaysia’ showcase at the Sunway Lagoon Amphitheatre on Saturday. Because of his bashful, boyish ways, however, some quarters assume that too much success too soon will cause the teenager to stray. Archuleta feels differently.
“I don’t think that this will change me. I have a lot of support as I go through this busy entertainment world. I mean I will change as a person because I’m only 18 and I will keep maturing. But I think that I have a lot of things to help me along the way,” he offered plainly.
“My family is the biggest thing. And then there are my beliefs and values that I’ve always kept with me. They are part of the reason why I’ve gotten this far. And if I continue to keep these things with me, then I’ll go where I need to go,” he said, “even if that doesn’t mean super success like Beyonce and Michael Jackson and all those people.
“You know, I may not reach that point but as long as I feel like I’m doing what’s best and the right thing then I would have accomplished what I had to do.”
Small miracles
Music has always been a part of Archuleta’s life, whether it is performing, singing or just listening to it. “It has just helped me in a lot of different ways,” Archuleta said.
Apparently when he was little, he would sing all the time – “in my backyard, driving my neighbours and their dogs crazy.”
And he still does.
“I don’t shut up. You can ask my sister, she tells me to shut up all the time. I’ll be singing late at night and she’ll be banging on the door.”
Born to a jazz musician dad and salsa singer/dancer mum, Archuleta is one of five siblings, and speaks about his family fondly always.
But things were not always rosy for him on the singing front. When he was 12, Archuleta had the distressing experience of being diagnosed with vocal paralysis.
“It was really scary. I still had a voice, but it just didn’t last very long. So I was always scared to do performances because I didn’t know if my voice would last all the way through. It also had an effect on my breathing and just the way I talked was kinda funny at the time.”
Things really slowed down for a couple of years. “I was going to school and doing other things. But you know, it was interesting to see my voice come back.”
Thankfully, voice therapy seemed to help.
“And on American Idol I had the same doctor who had previously diagnosed me with vocal paralysis and it was funny to see him again; he just couldn’t believe my improvement. He said it was a miracle.”
Archuleta said that though he always felt it was great to be involved in music, he definitely gained a greater appreciation for it after the paralysis episode. “It is truly a blessing to be able to do this – to be able to do music and to perform – even after that happened.”
And now every day, especially since going through therapy, Archuleta spends time practicing his vocals.
“It keeps my voice strengthened and it keeps my endurance up. That’s the most important thing,” he said, proceeding to give an impromptu demonstration of ascending and descending vocal scales. “It just keeps my voice in shape. It’s like stretching before you go running.”
Squeaky clean
One of the nicest things Archuleta had agreed to do while he was in Malaysia, was to appear at a school. It’s not everyday a star like him makes a stopover just to talk about getting good grades and achieving one’s dreams. This extraordinary gesture went a long way for the students at SM Sri KDU, who won the Hitz.fm contest open to all Malaysian secondary schools. The school contest received an overwhelming response with a total of 104,480 entries received across the nation. And the winning school – SM Sri KDU – secured the most number of points by answering questions correctly.
A.K. Chan, who has been principal of the school since 2003, shared that SM Sri KDU had not had such a huge event before.
She said: “We have had smaller celebrities come to our school, but never a current international star. We are extremely lucky to have had David visit our school, give advice and perform exclusively for our students.”
With 1,200 students between the ages of 12 and 18 present, Chan said that the event was as close as one can get to mass hysteria ... without the situation getting out of control. “There was pushing and shoving, but no one got injured so that was good.
“We had expected a huge, enthusiastic response but not of the scale that we had! It was amazing.”
The principal is especially respectful of Archuleta’s clean, humble and wholesome image.
“He is a most suitable role model because he gives children the message that ‘clean’ is ‘cool.’”
More than meets the eye
For those of you who thought Archuleta was a one-trick pony, think again. He’s actually even filmed two guest appearances on teen shows iCarly and Hannah Montana.
“I really hadn’t thought a whole lot about acting in the past. It’s only lately that I’ve gained an interest in it,” he said. “And I love it! I think it’s so much fun. I only had teeny tiny parts in a couple of episodes as myself but they’re a lot of fun to do … you know having lines and being in an imaginary situation is so much fun. And getting a story across to people – that’s really like singing – portraying a situation and trying to show it to other people,” the hazel-eyed singer said, admitting that acting is something he could do a lot more of in the future.
While he doesn’t get to watch much TV on the road, Archuleta has tried to keep up with American Idol this year.
“I didn’t get to watch this last week but I think they’ve got a really talented bunch this season. There are a lot of good people – Danny Gokey and Allison Iraheta are both really good ... and then two weeks ago, Kris Allen with Aint No Sunshine, I really enjoyed that, especially the way he showed that he can play both piano and guitar. And then there’s Adam Lambert who is awesome. He’s just so talented and really different. He’s so creative and catches people off guard.”
Archuleta feels that Idol provided him with a great training ground for the entertainment business.
“It was like bootcamp. It was a test of sorts to see if I was ready, if I really wanted to and could do this. It was a lot of hard work and took a lot of time, but I realised along the way that it was something I wanted to do. I actually enjoyed the hard work that went into it and I was so happy to know that.”
Archuleta is a big believer that if you feel passionate about something, you should follow your dreams. And his self-titled debut is testament to that. The singer has co-penned two tracks on the album.
“The writing process is a bit of a challenge for me. I’m not the greatest songwriter. I take my time and I get brain cramps all the time,” he said, adding that he enjoys co-writing because if he gets stuck, there’s someone who can feed him with a suggestion.
“It’s just neat to bounce off ideas on other people. I love working with other people, especially those who have done this before, because they have such creative minds and it just inspires me to see the way in which they do things. “It is a great learning experience.”
He’s already got three new songs up his sleeve – Let’s Talk About Love, Save the Day and Zero Gravity – and is working on more. Meanwhile, he’s off to Britain to tour with the band McFly next week.
And then in May, Archuleta and David Cook are slated to perform in Manila together. What’s that gonna be like? It’s always fun when the Davids collide.
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