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By rascal
I am thrilled for David that he will get an opportunity to broaden his horizons, but the two things I really like about the McFly tour are the clear indication that David’s management is not as narrow-minded and unimaginative as previous decisions might indicate, and the sheer showmanship of McFly as a terrific master class for David’s stage skills–not hoping for anything from David remotely like what the McFly boys do (that’s just ridiculous and creepy), but it’s an area where David has some room to evolve, and I suspect he will benefit handsomely from regular proximity to a bunch of rabble-rousing, freewheeling performers.
Although I remain deeply disappointed that money is winning every argument in decisions about the U.S. market, saddling David with image risks and compromises that could take years to undo, the international leg of his ‘09 tour is likely to have more of a positive impact on his image here than it might otherwise have, say, a decade ago, all because of our beloved Internet. News is fast and global, now, especially in entertainment, and the fact that David is touring with a band that has been favored on some of the smartest sites this side of Gawker–particularly and especially on gay sites (gay opinion is a powerful driver of what’s cool in the young-adult opinion-maker markets; I’ve said before that David would be wise to cultivate his appeal there)–is good news indeed.
I would still like to see more imagination in PR and marketing stateside. I’ve been asked a number of times to share my views on possible solutions, rather than just constantly playing Casandra, so, here goes. Music marketing is not my specialty, there are much more experienced folks than me to turn to on this, but off the top of my head, here are just a few ideas:
Surprise cameos at smart gigs. I am clueless as to who exactly these smart gigs would be, but I’m talking about up-and-coming performers, singer-songwriters, small combos, who are cultivating young adult audiences with a clear predilection for authentic, skilled, interesting music. The point of this is not to gain wide appeal or to sell albums but to generate buzz in the right quarters and seed the alternative press and blogosphere with a clear message that David Archuleta intends to be taken seriously as an artist and not just an American Idol alumnus with records to sell. Let David pick the gigs and a few acoustic songs. These smart, hipster audiences will be gleefully shocked at how impressed they are with him.
Surprise cameos on cool shows. The quickest and best way for David to become cool without sacrificing one iota of his already fabled conservatism is by making fun of himself. Appear suddenly in a skit on Saturday Night Live as a Boy Scout in the middle of a tawdry backstage party. This kind of thing writes itself. It’s easy. It’s hilarious. And it will confer upon David instant cool cred.
Artistic photography in fashionable magazines. David is gorgeous. Period, end of story. This should be celebrated and captured in beautifully artistic and interesting ways in publications like Paper Magazine and Arena Homme Plus. The reaction of the Elle Magazine readership is both utterly unsurprising and tangible proof for anyone blind enough to miss this.
Here’s the thing. None of these ideas are anything that David’s PR and management team don’t already know and haven’t done a million times before for other artists. David is undoubtedly being told that these strategies can be implemented later, once the kiddie market has been exploited. They’re probably telling him that he should in fact not engage such opportunities now, for fear that he would only have to repeat them later, and which would allegedly be harder to do.
Bull. The only reason they’re not doing them for David now is that they don’t provide instant cash by selling albums. They are part of a long-term strategy to build an image for David that will not only place him in a far better position to cultivate the audiences he deserves, but which will better reflect the full and true dimensional range of the man. David doesn’t yet have enough cred to get on the cover of Paper Magazine. But if they don’t start cultivating that direction soon, he may miss the chance altogether.
It’s easy, of course, to engage in armchair marketing. David’s people would be justified in their resentment and dismissal of those of us who constantly tweak their very able and, I suspect, for the most part well-intentioned noses with how things should be done. But David isn’t just any young new artist, and despite the fact that every über fan of every artist probably feels that way, even an objective reading of David’s attributes will reveal an extremely unique individual indeed. I hope David’s people can find it in their hearts to forgive us for blathering on about how much we care and how much we think we know.
We love him, that’s all.
Update:
After this emotional week and the controversies generated, I have come to the conclusion that my sensibilities may be too incongruous with the majority of the DA fan base at this point in his career, and that my own energies are needed elsewhere. I sincerely hope that my departure will not result in a preponderance of non-critical happy talk.
I want to extend my truest and heartfelt thanks to the warm, brilliant, hilarious, and remarkable people who have made notingDavid such a rich source of engagement and entertainment. I sincerely hope that we have been able to add some measure of support and worthy perspective to the evolution of David’s career.
Mostly I want to thank David for being such a remarkable source of… well, everything. Life itself, sometimes. Despite the opinion that so many have of me, I have not one scintilla of desire for David to be anything other than who he is and what he chooses to be. My hopes for him are whatever his hopes for himself are.
I will leave the comments open for another few days, and then close them. The site will remain up, and folks may communicate with me if they wish thereafter through the contact form.
Let’s not overanalyze this, it’s just time for a break. Many other duties call. If, at some point in the future, David’s career has matured to a degree where my own sensibilities may not be as antithetical to what most perceive as his best interests, perhaps I may jump into the fray once again. I leave with no hard feelings for those who oppose me, no regrets for anything I have said, yet with a sincere sense of sorrow for the beloved regulars who consider this place home.
It has all been for one, glorious, shining purpose:
The miracle that is David Archuleta.
Until we meet again,
Rascal
By rascal
Since my video for “Somebody Out There” seemed to get such a powerful response, I thought I’d try my hand at David’s new one.
[MEDIA=18]
By rascal
After capping off several weeks of malls, parking lots and pizza joints with an appearance on Nikelodeon’s iCarly, I have to acknowledge that my earlier speculations on David’s marketing strategy were all wrong. Mea Culpa.
Jive is clearly not marketing David to teenagers. They are going after ten year-olds. And really, why not? What better way to insure that David’s nuanced technique, his enormous emotional intelligence, his rare and sublime vocal artistry will emerge into its rightful place in American audience appreciation… twenty years from now? That’s insurance we can all appreciate!
I agree with the sentiments expressed here recently that David himself has some work to do in order to encourage what is becoming a badly needed course correction: No one is going to take him seriously as an artist until he makes the decision to take himself seriously as an artist. I have no doubt that he takes his music seriously. But it’s time for him to acknowledge his skill and his power and take responsibility for it.
Otherwise, the chances of seeing David on the cover of Rolling Stone will become inversely proportional to the chances of seeing him on the cover of Kraft Lunchables.
By rascal
Reading of the reaction by musicians to the $159 million, 22-month upgrade of Alice Tully Hall, part of Lincoln Center’s $1.2 billion renovation, I couldn’t help but long for the day when David will be recognized and appreciated for his vocal genius (and when the music he selects and writes conforms more closely to this dimension of his talent), and be invited to perform in places that cater to those who will by that time crave the kind of Archuexperience such venues offer.
I quite realize that those days are years away. David must surely cultivate his peer audiences (I guess), and have some fun exploring “who he is as an artist.” When his artistic oats sowing reaches its denouement, a singular focus will remain: The Voice.
By rascal
I received an interesting correspondence from a member who expressed an interest in discussing the implications of David’s choices of favorite music and musical artists, as evidenced by things like his “song of the day” suggestions. The only concern I have about highlighting this as a topic is our ability to confine discussion here to David’s artistic interests and inclinations. Comments could very easily lead to speculation about David’s personal life and private thoughts, and as those are not supported categories of discussion on notingDavid (at least not until such time as David decides to make them public knowledge), I would ask that we please be extremely careful and respectful in this regard.
I did want to blog about this perhaps especially because the member who wrote to me expresses what I fear is a fairly common set of perceptions and expectations among the DA fan base, views that I feel are at least in part somewhat misguided. In regards the song, “A Stranger in Moscow,” my correspondent speculates on what contributes to David’s enthusiasm for this song:
…Is it the “message” -? That’s what scares me about our David liking this song. His life to present has been so “special” – does he feel isolated deep inside – does he feel he has to go out in the rain at night to find new friends?
And, later on, this:
… (I) wonder what a “young”, barely-18-year-old-Mormon-boy with such wonderful gifts and talents sees in Jason Mraz …I guess I’m “judging” him personally with lyrics (such as those) from “Butterfly” that just don’t seem to fit with the image of what I feel DA is trying to create.
First and foremost, I do not agree that David is trying to create or maintain a particular public image. That strikes me as far too contrived for him. David simply is who he is, and as many have already remarked, not all of his fans are likely to agree with all of his choices as his career unfolds, and I dare say quite a few of them are likely to be very surprised by a few things–especially things like lyrics.
Even though I do not believe it is a contrivance, David’s public persona is just that — the public face of a private person. I do not believe it is disingenuous, but neither does it represent by any means all that David is as a person. It is enticing to buy into the “sweet Mormon boy” image (an image created not by him but by public interpretations of his manner and his biography), but this view is a caricature. David may be sweet and he may be Mormon, but he is also a fully realized human being, now an adult, with all that that implies.
All one has to do is listen to any of the slightly more serious songs that David has recorded and it is instantly clear that he has a depth of understanding about the human condition that suggests both an inner and outer life that involves far more complexity and contradiction than may be hinted at in any dimension of his expression or persona except his music. As I have said before, David does “darkness” very well. Michael Jackson is a highly controversial figure, and it does not surprise me that David identifies with him; the innate musical genius, the child-like wonder, and, yes, the isolation, the darkness, of being so uncommon.
As for the highly sexualized nature of the some of the music produced by some of David’s favorite artists, just because David currently chooses not to engage in such expressions in his own work, doesn’t mean he rejects or cannot appreciate such aspects in the work of others. I confess I would be far more concerned if David harbored some categorical repudiation of anything beyond the bounds of strict piety (I’ve decided to consider the shorts drawing incident an aberration; besides, life and art are two very different worlds for David). That is decidedly not the framework within which artistic temperament tends to flourish.
Finally, I have a distinct sense that we will always know a lot more about David from his music and from his appreciation and discussion of music than we will ever know otherwise. On the one hand, I think it is easy to read too much into these musical selections, on the other hand they are probably more revealing than any interview will ever be.
By rascal
I realize the Clayton photographs are old news already (sometimes I think this fan base gets news of things before they actually happen), but I’ve been waylaid with attempts to mitigate that impact of the financial crisis on practically every aspect of professional and personal business. Occasionally my career has to come before David’s. But only occasionally.
I like the Clayton photographs. I don’t love them. Aside from the styling (not diggin’ the hair), the problem for me (and it’s not really a problem so much as it is a stylistic choice) is that there is really nothing in the way of attitude or viewpoint in these layouts. Nothing to really sink your teeth into, as it were; nothing even remotely inscrutable. Clayton is a skilled photog, but more of a talented journeyman than an artist. His work is lovely, classic, fresh, and authentic. He avoids, for the most part, anything mawkish or trite, even as he stays quite safely within the bounds of well-established convention. Nice work, nothing more.
I remain in a state of chagrin about the continued pimping of David in those awful teen magazines. I was given a vivid reminder of why I’m so against this strategy (or lack of one) when I read recently about the actor Chris Evans, and the issues surrounding a much passed-around shirtless photo spread of him that appeared in Flaunt magazine. The shoot lead to a ban by the actor’s publicist on photo shoots of that nature, so as to protect his chances at becoming a serious actor. Said Evans of the shoot: “I really didn’t think twice about taking my shirt off at the time, but my current publicist would pull her hair out if I did that photo shoot today.” Evans’ publicist is exactly right. Image is everything in show business and the careful crafting and aggressive control of perception is especially critical if an artist wants to be taken seriously. David cuddling stuffed animals in the pages of Teen Bop Tiger Pop undermines his potential to be seen as a serious musician just as surely as Chris Evans flaunting beefcake in Flaunt compromises his intentions as a serious actor.
It’s time for David to decide what his intentions are, and make certain that the people who work for him are carrying out his wishes.
By rascal
At the core of everything Archuleta is The Voice. For those of us who connected with this phenomenon early on–in some cases from the very first note of the very first audition–the sheer magnetism of the instrument was enough to dismiss every other aspect of this goofy kid’s inaugural public persona: the awkwardness, the inexplicable grinning, the almost suspicious kindness, and of course the all but unbelievable humility. And yet, these remarkable incongruences quickly became part of the charm.
Just as soon as there was an appreciation there was also a knowledge.This knowledge was perhaps confined to the early adopters, to the Original Archies, who had a distinct and tangible sense that beneath the Ivory-scrubbed exterior of a sweet, sheltered Mormon boy lied the heart of a true artist — not just an entertainer.
What these recent weeks have so thrillingly revealed is that this initial sense of depth and breadth was not a mirage. Day by day, city by city, song by song, heart by heart, David has emerged as a voice. Not just a voice for the interpretation of song, but a voice for the communication of self, and the way in which self can transcend individuality and connect with universality; the way in which self can stand as a testament to principle, without having principles define the self.
David has also without effort or preconception charmed the most allegedly cynical entertainment pundits of our time–people like Elvis Duran, Jay Leno, and even the famously intransigent Kathy Griffin. This is no accident. Neither is it an intention. It is simply the miraculous consequence of true authenticity.
David’s voice is both entirely other than who he is, and precisely at the center of his being. That makes his life an unusual one. If the past year is any indication, we are all in for a series of astonishments. Some of them will astonish David himself, because David’s deepest understanding of the world is undoubtedly through his music. And that will make for interesting evolutions indeed.
One of the wisest and most compassionate things David has ever said is that his fans are as much a part of this journey as he is. Let’s make certain that we provide enough pillows and blankets and cheers and sighs and just plain friendship. And love.
For The Voice.
By rascal
Thanks to Clee1107 from IDF via Snarky for the concert shots.
After seeing the range of fan-cams and hearing from folks who were there, I’m ready to speculate that something very special happened on Wednesday night. It looks as if David has re-integrated. Over the course of the year, he has been developing different aspects of himself as a performer: the balladeer, the competitor, the pop prince, the heart-tugger. It looks as though it all came together in Sacramento, and David owned every one of them. There looks to be a new ease, a new comfort, a new confidence. And, I believe, a new recognition of a familiar fact: There is no place David would rather be than in front of an audience. We’ve seen it. Now, he knows it, and plainly cherishes it.
The freedom that is so vivid in this performance is utterly infectious, and I think we are witnessing the launch of the full fruition of what may someday be titled, David Archuleta: The Early Years. As he prepares for his first independent performance tour, it seems clear that his audiences are about to witness the true measure of this man, in all his youthful permutations. Playful, soulful, exuberant, generous. There is nothing terribly serious on the song set menu, and at this point in the Evolution of Archie, that’s probably just right. I confess I wondered whether David would be able to craft enough connection without the searing poetry and emotive power of songs like “Imagine,” “When You Say You Love Me,” or “Don’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me.” But the kid has done it. He brung it. His connection with his audience is unmistakable and true.
What may also be written about in times to come is the early and increasingly ironic fallacy that David lacks versatility. I predict that this will ultimately be laughed at or simply tagged as apocryphal. As we begin to see the live performances of his first album effort, it becomes evident that given just a little time for marinating, David can make a feast of almost anything. What are we going to be in for when the serious stuff starts?
Paddles, please.
