A Songbook Retrospective

Who Owns This Song Now?

When David sings a cover of a song, he invariably does it better than the original. It must be uncomfortable to have David take on one of your songs, to see the way he makes it his own, adding a run or a softening an edge to make it just right. That’s his gift.

So let’s take a musical journey, and look back at the songs David has performed that he has made more beautiful, or more fun, or more emotional – because that’s what he does. And we’ll move way past his American Idol days and begin with his Solo Career. These won’t be in order because I’m picking the video that you can hear over the screaming.  So just jump along with me back and forth through time.

Apologize by One Republic – I really like this song, and Ryan Tedder’s voice has an interesting breathy quality. But I love it when David lets loose with this even more. Let’s view the version that David performed in his summer tour. There is a sadness in his eyes when he sings this song here, and many speculated that he had his own personal reasons for singing it. But you can see real emotion in David’s eyes when he sings any song. He has the ability to make us believe that he has lived the lyrics of the song, no matter what they are. If he sang about taking a trip to the moon, I’d believe him.

Angels by Robbie Williams – It is hard to separate this song from David at all – or to even remember that someone else wrote it. When David sang it on AI, it was the first opportunity for him to stay at the piano and sing the whole song while playing. Then during his AI tour, with his emotional and intense rendition, he made the song his own. Now,  even when David plays his electronic piano and sings this song all by himself, it is full and rich and still can bring many of us to tears.

Stand By Me by Ben E. King – Of all the songs that David sings, I think this one shows off his swagger better than any. And we love a little ArchuSwagger with our music, don’t we?!?  Manila loved it, too.

The Medley – One by U2, , Gotta Be by, Love Song by Sara Barielles, I’m Yours by Jason Mraz When David pulled this medley out of his hat in Virginia Beach at his first solo concert, the crowd went crazy.  David’s voice combined with the song One, by U2 caused some of his ardent fans to start a campaign for him to sing the whole song. They even delivered the letters to him personally. I suspect we all still hope he’ll have a chance to perform the whole song in the future. In the meantime, we got to hear a little snippet at the start of this Medley .

Bubbly by Colbie Caillat This was a fabulous surprise for many of us when David sang this for the first time at the summer concert in Pittsburgh. And though the song as sung by Colbie Caillat has some interesting sexual undertones, David seems to be able to sing the whole thing with a kind of lightness and laughter and purity. Go figure.

Fields of Gold by Sting Is there anything that can be said about David’s performance of this song that hasn’t been said? No. So, just enjoy it once again.

The Riddle by Five for Fighting The first time David sang this song, I wasn’t sure he’d made a good choice. His performance, although never weak, was tentative. David seemed to hold back, to keep his powerful voice in check. Perhaps it was nerves, perhaps he wasn’t sure he’d remember the words. In any case, with a bit of practice he took this song and made it his own.

Prayer of the Children by Kurt Bestor This song was made for David. With his ability to use his voice to render both gentle tenderness and desperate anguish, David makes us feel the prayer of the children. Who can listen to this without knowing the deep conviction David has for those less fortunate than himself.

~Marlie

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