…OH MY GOSH! …Absolutely outstanding!!!

Whoa, this was worth the 7-month wait! I like the originial version but David slows this down so listeners can really hear and understand what the song is about, he puts so much emotion into it. That’s what David does when he sings--tells a story with passion. Awesome!

Thanks, daisychain, corrected.

That was just beautiful. Had to listen 3-4 times at first. How do we get a download of this?

Thanks Rascal for putting this up so quickly. You know we were all anxious to hear it.

Kait….I don’t understand it either.

Alright, if I can stop shaking……this young man is freaking incredible. This song, this much anticipated song, exceeded my expectations. I too was worried about how he would make this song fresh. I mean everyone put their spin on this song…..some more successful than others. This reminds me of Ray LaMontagne’s version, only better if that is possible. It’s like David gets to the heart of a song, understands a song, and then just renders it in his own unique way. I am not one of those who say “until David came along, I was disenchanted with music”. But I will say that I have never seen a youngster take control of my emotions the way that David does. Frankly, it’s a bit scary. How good can he actually become?

Words fail me on this one, I simply can’t find any to convey anything about phenom boy. I’m sure glad rascal and caseydog can!!

How does he find these songs? Always curious about who the songwriter is, and the story behind any song that David sings—as I hear David and dad etc are—I found this link to the lyrics and about how the song came to be:

http://www.elyrics.net/read/g/gnarls-barkley-lyrics/crazy-lyrics.html
EXCERPTS
Jun 10, 2008 at 03:49 AM by DenCore
The song’s lyrics, written by Cee-Lo, were inspired by a conversation he and Danger Mouse had in the studio with the instrumental playing on repeat: Danger Mouse was “caught up in thinking that people have to believe you’re crazy to think you’re an artist.”[8] After the conversation, Cee-Lo recorded the vocals for the song in just one take.
thank you Wikipedia
- -- - -- -
Nov 03, 2007 at 03:30 PM by katiesmeghead
…More about life in general and all the little (and big) problems and joys that it brings and how even if something bad happens it can still end up good -- ‘…I remember when I lost my mind, There was something so pleasant about that place’. And in a way I think this song has taught me to BE crazy because the point in life is to live it to the full and sometimes we need to be crazy to do that. Fab song and I can’t get enough of it!
- -- - -- -

Another song choice smacked WAAAAAAAY out of the park!

I meant to add (but I can barely string a sentence together right now, I’m so blown away) that after watching and enjoying David belt out the “big” tour numbers that blow the roof off of every arena, these two off-the-cuff unplugged songs (particularly the last half of WOTWTC — astounding) give me a flashback to how physically shaken I was when I first heard David sing.

His exquisite vocals on both performances are so soulful and magical, I swear I felt them seeping beneath my skin and coursing through my veins like liquid sunshine. Like, WOW.

Hola everyone!

Archie does it again!!! If I were a singer I will not let Archie touch my songs. He always do it better than the original. But if I was a songwriter I will pray for Archie to sing my lyrics. He always takes them to another place. He elevates them and find a way to connect his voice to the message and make us sense his passion and the feelings in his heart. The original version of Crazy its catchy and funky, but Archies own version its so soulful, heartfelt and intimate that haunts you and don’t let you go. After all the months of waiting for this song David did not dissapointed us. He exceeded my expectations and again proved he is on another league. He is trully just one of a kind.

It was so unexpected to listen to Archie sing WOTWTC. I loved his version and he puts so much feeling and passion that you are just trasported to another place! Its nice to see Archie just being himself and singing without the pressure of the competition. He is just brilliant, natural and so humble… He is indeed the World Idol.

Wow, this is amazing! When you think you have heard everything that David could do to send chills up and down your spine, you are awed back into reality. Wow…

Beautiful…beautiful! Just getting my last fix before heading to Salt Lake (Yiiippppeeee!) for the concert tonight. I’ll be the silver head among the young’ens (my daughter is a lovely blonde), the one with the binoculars and earplugs! I’ll try to find you daisychain, we may have to do some deep yoga breathing to survive this! CANT WAIT.

Brilliant. Simply brilliant. He took a radio friendly more “urbanized, alternative” song and made it a radio friendly ballad.

That’s true talent right there.

Okay, I havent read all the posts because I’m now melting into a useless puddle watching David singing CRAZY with the keyboard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! OMG, I cant get over the fact that he accompanied himself on the keyboard, exactly how it happened in Hollywood!!! The starting strains of CRAZY were just too stirring.

He forgotten his lyrics again during Waiting on the World to Change, deja vu!!!! Kinda adorable the way he smiled knowingly. And I love his version on MyFox Utah and wanted him and Dean to start some serious vocal jamming at the end of the song.

So this is heaven and answered prayers! Thank you David!!!!
Now I’m gonna hope for “I’ll be” and “A Thousand Miles”.
Meantime, lots of videos and news to catch up. Woohoo, SLC, give it for David!!

Just got in from work and rushed to the computer to SEE David sing all of “Crazy” (only saw a small portion of it this morning). What a performance! He should put this on his first CD. My guess is that he sang it this way at the Hollywood Audition only in that one he was smiling a lot more. But I smell a rat (or rats). AI said that the reason they didn’t show that audition was because there was a problem getting a clearance. I have never heard of that before, at least on American Idol. Someone sang “Crazy” on Australian Idol, no problem there. David didn’t even know he was going to sing this song at the studio until just a day or two ago. Did KSL have to get a clearance for him to sing it? I don’t think so! I believe that Idol did not want America to see David singing that song because he was obviously so brilliant that the outcome of the show would have already been decided even before the Top 24. There would be no surprises, no competition, what would be the point of even watching? So they made up an excuse, Jason also sang it but they can’t show that because if the excuse applied to David, they had to extend it to anyone else who sang “Crazy.” The problem was that TPTB realized that it was only a matter of time before David sang the right song and everyone would fall in love with him. That happened when he sang “Imagine.” But it would have happened THE VERY FIRST TIME HE OPENED HIS MOUTH if we had been allowed to see it. AI wanted to delay that reaction as long as possible but it happened sooner than they would have liked. I’ve often wondered when the manipulation with David started. I figured it was around March but now I am beginning to feel that they had it in for him from the start. He was going to win unless they could do something to stop it--and they did. Why should they let him win when they know that they could make just as much money off him if he lost? Am I making sense? I’m not saying this theory is definitely true but I have been suspicious about the “clearance excuse.” It just made no sense to me. What do you David-lovers think? Anyway, I’m glad we all finally got to see and hear him sing this song, he really makes you feel the lyrics. All good things come to those who wait!

OMGosh, Lulu and I are on the same wavelength, just 10 minutes apart…

A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! Superstar! O’-)

lulu -- In general I am reluctant to support discussions here about the AI season because (a) it’s over and done with and (b) I believe the best possible outcome was ultimately achieved, even if by gross Machiavellian means. However, in this case I will break my own rule so as to share a theory I’ve held for quite some time.

I am not enough of an authority on music rights to know if there might be a difference in the scope of clearance that may be required by AI versus a single live performance on a news or talk show (AI almost certainly needs the right to re-package, excerpt, promote, record, distribute, etc., whereas other circumstances do not, and may thereby be covered by the blanket ASCAP live performance provision), but, even so, I do happen to agree with you that TPTB sought to diminish David’s impact from very early on.

My first indication of possible manipulation was the number of strange circumstances that surrounded the week of the infamous forgotten lyrics. They started out by giving David a disco version of We Can Work It Out rather than the R&B arrangement he had requested. After finally correcting this (which I somehow suspect that Jeff may have had a slightly strong-armed hand in), David felt the rehearsal did not go well. Nevertheless, the producers still placed him last on the roster for the evening--not only the choice spot, but one which David had already had only two weeks before… Why? It was highly unusual, if not unprecedented, for TPTB to place a contestant in the so-called pimp spot twice in such a short span of time — especially considering the fact that journalists were already questioning whether it made any sense to keep watching the show in light of what appeared to be such an inevitability in David Archuleta. Why pimp him yet again? Indeed, it was such an extremely unlikely thing for the producers to do, that one is nearly forced to conclude that there most certainly had to be method in this madness. My take on it is that they knew, or at least had very strong suspicions, that in this case the pimp spot would backfire.

Let’s also remember that this was Top 12, the week after the very first press outing. Prior to that, David had no sense at all of whether anyone was even paying attention. But when the group was trotted out that weekend, Archuletamania was already well underway. David suddenly realized that there was a huge spotlight on him, that the stakes were high, and that this was all really happening--in front of the entire country. The pressure was on. Oh, and he was also still sick with strep throat.

The fact that David not only failed to wow in that performance but actually forgot the lyrics--not once but twice--was icing on the cake for TPTB, who I envision as being up in the booth during the performance, stroking their chins, rubbing their hands, and grinning widely as their petty little plans pay off.

Yep, they had to make it into a horse race. David A was a sure thing. So why not manufacture another $-making “winner”. Don’t get me wrong, I like David Cook, but he is Salieri to David Archuleta’s Mozart. This version of Crazy reminds me of the haunting way David performed Nature Boy when he was younger. Simple accompaniment that showcases his amazing voice. He doesn’t need to power the song to touch our hearts.

Janey once a while back coined the phrase ‘Brotherhood of Fans’. I loved it so much then, I never forgot it, and in fact have made several references to it since then. In a recent posting on FB, I made a connection between Rascal’s blog on David coming ‘full circle’, and that ‘brotherhood’. These are my thoughts that Janey asked me to share:
See, not only has David come full circle, we have too! On this journey with David, we have grown and come to know not only ourselves more, but each other, and others in the world. There is an understanding and a compassion for the joys and the sorrows we all share, that has been sharpened, honed, and purified by our spiritual and emotional reawakening. It’s like hope, love, and joy existed before, but we had come to experience them only on a one dimensional plane. David is a prism that takes that one dimensional light and lets it shine through him and come out in a dazzling array of sparkle and color, that is simply breathtaking and mesmerizing to watch. We were too afraid to open ourselves up in that way, afraid of being hurt, afraid of rejection, afraid of being alone. David’s courage to do that in spite of the fear, has led us all to believe we could shine like that too.

We all have posted many beautiful commentaries on these very themes, Rascal leading us the whole way. They are a testament that we have truly come full circle from David’s first singing of a ‘brotherhood of man’ to becoming ourselves that ‘brotherhood’.

I think I’m going crazy watching and listening to David’s CRAZY countless times now…”That makes me crazy….” so ironic that his fans are gouing crazy over CRAZY, full circle indeed! His vocals, controls, runs and phrases are so awesome. So soulful….OMG, no wonder people were blown away during Hollywood week. I’m always excited watching David at the keyboard/piano. Woah at the last “me”.

Oh, was Rascal at the concert?

I had already reserved myself in believing that it was a ruse! Never had any “Idol” deserved the title more than David! He wanted it since season 1 when he sang for the contestants. He sang all their songs, throughout all the next seasons. He waited til he was old enough, and his family deemed him ready. What a rip-off! I couldn’t ever watch the show again. I said it from the beginning, if David Archuleta did not win, I was done with AI! Well, its worse than that. I will also call it what I had always defended against. A popularity contest, a cheezy karaoke show, definately not what I had thought the show was. Most people around me thought I was a little weird being such afan of the show. I always thought it was good, clean, fun for the young people. At least they weren’t out doing drugs or breaking into peoples houses! The one and only positive I find in the show is they brought David to us! God Bless Him!

Reporting in from the SLC Concert Monday Evening -

Besides the fact that I’m now deaf (hopefully not permanently), it was a joy to “listen” to David Archuleta sing live. Okay, so I really couldn’t hear him very well, but I did love seeing him perform. They forgot to pass out the t-shirts at the door with rascal’s observation on them, “You can’t hear him sing if you’re screaming.” But, that’s okay. You could hear a lot of his singing, and the level of appreciation expressed was so beyond anything imaginable, that by the last line of WYSYLM (When you say you love me, know that I love you). He could hardly get it out because he was moved to tears. Yes! Mission accomplished. Message received. We love David Archuleta better than anyone in the whole wide world! He had a hard time talking between songs, but the crowd would let him talk a little and he’d express his appreciation that he wouldn’t be there if it weren’t for us and then the crowd would erupt again. And again. And, at the end, he couldn’t do his usual quick exit -- we “held” him there with our screaming for some time.

The roof? They are currently repairing it so that there can be another “roof raiser” tomorrow night.

So back to the beginning, everyone was arriving on “MST” -- Mormon Standard Time. That means late. We were there early. Very early. The lady and daughter I sat next to (if you see this blog, correct my story if I get it wrong) and we were commenting on how empty it was. By the time Chekezie came on, it was quite full and by the time it was going for a half an hour, it was PACKED. Full house. The crowd was very giving tonight, giving screams and ovations and great applause for everyone. So much so that I wondered how it could get any louder for David, and hoped we could make him feel “Special.” Not to worry. I thought everyone performed well, and I enjoyed at least one number by each of them -- just not a loud rock fan. I did have earplugs in. My husband was wearing his artillery earplugs from when he was in the army. High powered. I took mine out for some songs, but by intermission, my ears were ringing. Anyway, I was saying… not to worry that we could make David feel special. As Syesha said “this next performer… a dull…. no an Intense roar went up. Then we let her say her peace -- but we could see the floor opened up and were anticipating…. Angels was sung through a dull roar with periodic spurts of greater cheers with the big notes. Ha ha. It makes me laugh thinking about it. Apologize was incredible. He gives so much to each song. It’s just amazing. So, someone else can tell more details. I’m exhausted.

I did want to share a little story that the lady next to me told me. She lives in Murray. About two blocks from David. She said she saw Lupe in the grocery store today. Anyway, I asked if she was in David’s ward (parish) and she said no, he’s in a different stake (group of wards) It’s Utah -- congregations are grouped geographically and it only takes a few blocks of houses to fill up a chapel. Anyway, she said that he sang in their ward one Christmas. She said he had a solo part with the Ward Choir. He came to the rehearsal and the choir had been practicing. They didn’t know much about him, but this kid shows up, shirttail hanging out, hair uncombed, listens to the choir for a little bit, hums a few bars and that’s it. Then came the performance, and when he sang, it was incredible -- he had no music, he just sang his solo part with the choir as back up and it was so moving that the choir had a hard time keeping their emotions under control and the audience was all in tears. So…it reminded me of what we witnessed this morning with Crazy and WOTWTC. Incredible, Incredible.

Elannbo -- you might consider going to a concert in Cook country -- because maybe you’ll be able to hear the music

I’m very glad I went to hear David. He is an incredible performer and an incredible person and I feel it was such a privilege to be there tonight to show appreciation for him for sharing his talent with the world.

I do look forward to a full two hour concert some day of just his music. That will be “Heaven.”

So someone describe the Stand By Me experience and do a better job with WYSYLM. I’ll check back tomorrow after I rest to see if any more needs to be added, but there were some really special moments there that I wish I could relive. Ohmygosh -- did we have him smiling

OMG. I’m in tears after watching the clips from SLC -- just as David was while singing! And he did that special ending for Angels again! Unreal. Totally freakin’ unreal.

Thanks for telling us about the big Utah welcome, Daisychain. I would’ve liked to have been there to add my cheers. Alas, I live in Cook country and must attend two concerts there. (One in KCMO, one in Tulsa.) My hope is that I’ll be able to hear David A’s set — and that I’ll be able to cheer enough (between songs) to let him know that he is well-loved all over the dang world.

There is far too much screaming in this video of WYSYLM in SLC last night for me to post it here, but if you can slog your way through it (David’s voice does sound spectacular, and there are one or two great new flourishes), watch the stage screen during the the last line to see him wiping the tears from his eyes. It’s quite moment.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=y3EhHcWmbds

Mamma Josie texted me after the concert last night with the following:

“He was more than brilliant he cried and struggled to finish WYSYLM”

It’s gratifying that David can get that kind of experience from his fans because the tragedy in being David Archuleta is that he’ll never be able to feel what it’s like to experience David Archuleta.

For a laugh, go read Scott Adam’s blog, Live Performance, about his attendance at the Idol’s tour. He’s the guy who does the cartoon, Dilbert. It’s hilarious, and he has great words for David and Cook, as well.

Here’s the link: http://dilbert.com/blog/entry/live_performance

#51 -- I read that! Hilarious!!

A little mental song to AI:

who do you, who do you, who do you, think you are
well bless your soul
you think your in control
well I think your CRAZY!

After SLC and all the other performances, I think it’s quite clear that DAVID is in control NOW!

Rascal: Thanks for posting the MP3 download.

David music is astounding and getting to listen to him do Crazy and WFTWTC was incredible.

In WFTWTC there is a lyric he sings about how TV bends information, and, his voice changes just a bit when he sings that--maybe my wishful thinking--but it sounds like that to me.

As far as AI, the whole season, I felt like I was one of PT Barnums’s proverbial “suckers” but I watched to hear David sing and support him.

The influence of AI manipulations was highlighted several weeks ago. I am in healthcare and travel quite a bit. I had dinner with a well-known surgeon, analytical, brillant, scientific, knows heatlhcare media and PR intimately--he is a big AI fan for years and votes like crazy. He spouted off all the tabloid info on David as incontrovertibile truth and even told me David should sing Opera. He totally bought into all of it. And this is a highly educated professional with superb critical thinking and analytical skills.

OK, enough said. Looking forward, I am excited that David is being recognized for his talent and character. His future is his to define and his fan base is ever expanding. As you so articulately and definitively stated, the only tragedy is that David Archuleta will never see David Archuleta the way we do!

Thanks Rascal for your site and great dialogue.

Rascal, I so agree with your A.I. theory and sentiments — so many twisted machinations, Shakespeare would have had a field day.

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE how beautifully David has risen above it all and is soaring (musically and otherwise) to new heights every day.

Re “brotherhood of fans,” Tinuviel & Janey, no fair, choked me up. And Daisychain, thanks for your concert post and story about the choir. David (and his hometown fans) are such wonderful goodwill ambassadors for Utah. I bet state tourism numbers are up!

go to deseretnews.com
Yesterday’s paper (Monday the 14th) had an article talking a lot to Jeff Archuleta. It was a very good article and you all would enjoy (sorry, I’m bad at figuring out how to post the exact link)
Today’s D-News has the concert on the front page: “American Idolmania.” Lots of pictures inside and a couple of articles.

Be back later -- I’m watching grandchildren. I did watch WYSYLM while they watched and the 2 year old said “Gramma…I want to see the screaming again!” He He He

Janey — Going from the TCO to underdog was the best thing that could have happened to David as being part of that program. It just goes to show that faith, truth, and love can turn even malice and persecution into a force for good.

Janey, isn’t it ironic that Paula, who had asked him to “just have fun and be 17,” chose for him the middle-aged and heartbreaking “And So It Goes” when she had the chance to do his song choice? *rolls eyes*

Don’t get me wrong. That performance ranks high among my many favorites from him, but still…

Anyway, I agree that the David we are witnessing now is very much the uncontained, pressure-free, fun-loving David we all fell in love with, and I only hope it keeps getting better and better (if we can imagine how much more phenomenal that will be! )