“American Idol” runner-up David Archuleta got the crowd’s blood pumping (not to mention its hormones) with the hit power ballad “Crush” and other romantic fare. The material was formulaic, although there was no denying Archuleta’s formidable pipes, not to mention his puppy-dog eyes. True, he probably didn’t need that scarf in the middle of summer, but it made an interesting fashion statement.”

Coming from this particular critic, I guess it’s an improvement — considering when David’s album first came out, he gave it a one-sentence review, calling it bubble-gum.

The comments following his review, however, all raved about David. Check out the following comment by a Demi fan:

“I was at that concert and OMG I have never seen anyone sing and put so much emotion as David Archuleta. I remembered him on AI and I loved his song Crush, but until I saw him live I did not realize how amazing he was. This boy is serious about his singing. I loved all of his songs and found all of them unique and different. He had such a variety and I went and bought his album right after this show and let me tell you it is amazing, but there is nothing like seeing him live. He was touching hands and interacting with the audience and jumping all over that stage. How he can jump like that and still sing is beyond me, but he does an amazing job. I can’t wait to see him again! Next time I am getting the VIP so I can meet him up close and personal. The audience loved him.
Demi was cute but her band is too loud and I thought her voice was a bit strained. I couldn’t understand her half the time although I went there to see her. I was a bit disappointed in her performances. But I still love the girl!!!!!”

Okay. Stupor or not, I think I will continue my random thoughts about last night.

Marlie, It is such a pleasure meeting you in 3-D. Funny how when we saw each other — total strangers — we barely introduced ourselves and and just proceeded to talk as if were were resuming some conversation we were having before. Glad to have someone to commiserate about sitting in a sea of children/tweens and their parents.

Back to the VIP — I have not seen a happier roomful of people in my life! The moment he walked in, we were completely captivated, giddy with his mere presence in the room and in disbelief of our good fortune — before he even uttered a word! Stand-up comic David had us chuckle, smile, laugh, and clap at his every joke, random thought, gesture and body movement. At times it felt like we were just kindergarten children sitting in a circle listening to our beloved teacher.

Having seen him in the private M&G in April at the I-X center, what struck me the most is how HAPPY and how COMFORTABLE he was with people this time around. Last time he was obliging, courteous, and gentle. Three months later, he has morphed into a charmer and a natural conversationalist. I do believe the confidence now exuding from him came from a very secure knowledge of our love for him as an artist AND as a PERSON.
The way he sang Crazy, it’s hard to believe such marvel came from mere vibrations of some muscles in a pair of (or a single) vocal cord(s). Didn’t know God is a magician.

When we posed with him for the photos, I noticed he needed no personal space. He got as physically close to everyone as possible, putting his hand around our our back (including mine — feeling his hand firmly around my waist, I had to try so hard to stifle my inner screams).

Marlie already described the concert so vividly. I just want to add that I never loved a curtain as much as I did last night. That curtain should travel with him whenever he goes from now on. It reveals who he really is — a giant-sized awe-inspiring performer despite his smaller physical size.

Despite having watched endless Youtube videos and having been to his solo show in the spring, every song is a new revelation to me! I wish I had two pairs of eyes — one to watch the emotions on his face and one to watch the movement of his body. Not very good at multitasking when it comes to watching David perform live.

Immediately after his set, I ran with another “similarly-aged” fan to where the buses parked. There was only the two of us and we were perched at an upper level balcony, hoping to catch yet another glimpse of him. He came out, and we both screamed “David” involuntarily. He turned his head, looked up, flashed us a huge smile, and waived… and waived… and waived.

Right after he came into to the VIP room, he asked us if his blog was up — it wasn’t yet. He said he is in a very good mood because of all the historical sites he recently visited. He inquired about where we all came from — there was just a handful from Cleveland, out of about 60 VIP’s. He was very excited to know some fan came all the way from Alaska — he got out of his chair and walked over to the Alaskan fan and asked he could shake hands with her. He said it was the first fan from Alaska he ever met, saying how he is worried no one would should be at his show in Alaska!

He sang Crazy first. Being a few feet away from him, I was able to see how he went into a trance when he started to sing the song and did not come out until it was over. For me listening to it felt like an out-of-body experience. How do you describe it? Nirvana? Ecstasy? I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry! I know my whole body was frozen and time stopped. He later commented he never felt so good singing Crazy as he did tonight.
He then sang Heaven with the same complexity of emotions. Again, his eyes were closed throughout the song, in a trance-like state.
After we all came back to life, three questions were asked. The first question was if he could sing with his idol on a tour, who would that be. He said Eve Cassidy, if she were still alive. He went to talk about how he loved her. The second question related to how it was like to be in HM and I-Carly. The third fan asked if he could sing Happy Birthday for her sister — who was also there. He took a long time deciding which key to sing the song with, playing several keys in the key board and even asked us to pick one. He then sang the most beautiful rendition of Happy Birthday for several very lucky fans there.

I will have to gather my thoughts more later and recount the rest of the evening — I am still in a stupor induced by being in close proximity with David Archuleta.

Oh, oh, ohhhhhhhh. What a night! Just got through this thread after spending an evening with David Archuleta and I can only say I want so much for him to be successful.

He was in amazingly outstanding form tonight -- omg, the high notes, the low notes, the change ups, the extra long notes. Cleveland got the whole Enchilada!

I took my friend who had never seen David before -- barely saw him on AI, but afterwards tonight, she said not just that the performance was powerful, but the HE was powerful! And it was amazing how he appeals to such a broad audience. She is a great friend and didn’t even blink when I had tears on my face while listening to Apologize. Dang it -- he was beautiful tonight. And I caught my friend JUMPING during Zero Gravity -- jumping in glee and joy. It was fantastic!

I met YJfanofdavid who came over a talked to us after her VIP session -- she’s lovely! And we just clicked. So Glad to meet you YJ!!!!!

More….

David seemed to be completely energized tonight. He changed up probably every single song -- added runs, popped a couple of extra high notes in, completely changed (music, not lyrics) some parts of Waiting for Yesterday and Works for Me. He was in improvisation mode all night long. Apologize was particularly beautiful -- HE was particularly beautiful tonight -- glowy, smiling, and seemed so happy to be performing. It was pure joy!