David Archuleta’s new album, The Other Side of Down, has been released on iTunes, following a slightly early shipment of the Fan Edition from the official DavidArchuleta.com site. Fans have waited for months, watching David’s tweets about where he was, who he was writing with, and how excited he was that the album would show his “quirky, dorky” side. We’ve waited with a combination of anxiety and excitement that is unique to a group of dedicated fans. Questions that we asked ourselves were, “Will the reviewers like it?” “Will some of the songs get some good radio play?” “Will he have a hit single?” and of course, “Will Jive promote it enough?”
During last week’s streaming of the full album on AOL, the reviews began to come in. And now we have a few of our own. So over the next few weeks, we’ll be taking the songs from The Other Side of Down and reviewing them one by one. We hope you’ll join us and give us your perspective. And to help you get started, our own JR has put together all of the lyrics for you to download from the album.
Lyrics – The Other Side of Down – The Album
Song Review – The Other Side of Down

Optimism Personified
The title track of David’s new album, “The Other Side of Down,” could well be his personal anthem, given that the lyrics represent David’s stated current perspective about his life. No matter the difficulties, David will “put one foot in front of the other,” and keep on moving forward.
But one also has to wonder if there are days when David feels overwhelmed by all the changes in his life over the last two years. And perhaps that is what he means by the phrase, “In a whirlwind, spinning, now somehow, it knocked me off my feet, but I know better than to let it get the best of me. I could give up, I could stay stuck, I could move on…”
So many people – fans, DJ’s, TV interviewers – point out David’s inimitable optimism, and we read in Chord of Strength about the tough times that both David and his family experienced, as most families have. But David doesn’t whine and complain (that’s another song), he looks for opportunities in his circumstances: “I think I spot a silver lining hiding in the gray. I might get tossed around, but am always bouncing back…On the other side of down, it keeps calling me, where I want to be.”
Although The Other Side of Down is not my favorite song from the album, there is something catchy about it. After listening to it, oh, 20 times in the last few days, I noticed a certain shoulder roll taking over my body and the percussion has a distinctive beat that makes my toes tap.
But the pull of this song is not the melody, nor the beat, nor even the Davidesque lyrics; what draws me in is David’s voice – buttery smooth and without any apparent strain and perhaps the mellowest vocals of all of the faster songs on the album – even while he sings the falsetto, “down, down, down.” The velvet quality that drew us to David’s voice on Idol is still his defining musical characteristic. His complete control over his chosen instrument can make even a so-so song something special.
Give me David Archuleta singing almost anything, and I’ll fall in love with it. And that is what will take David where he wants to be – the voice. As he says so clearly in this song, nothin’s gonna break his stride.
Click to Listen:
[wpaudio url=”https://www.thedavidchronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/01-The-Other-Side-of-Down-2.mp3″ text=”The Other Side of Down” dl=”0″]
Great review, Marlie! This is by far my favorite track from the album.
Here’s my album review: http://bit.ly/9KgH7R
Very cool to have a chance to enjoy this album through a series of articles -- enjoying David’s songs, morsel by morsel.
When I first heard TOSOD, I wasn’t particularly impressed. But I suddenly found myself going through an entire day with that dang verse, and then later the chorus, going through my head. If there is a science to making a melody catchy and stick with you, David seems to have it down.
The chorus jumps off from “So I put one foot front of the other” and it’s this optimistic, looking-straight-ahead vibe. I find myself walking down the street, and if I’m not feeling particularly good for whatever reason, this song seems fitting.
According to the song credits, this song is penned entirely by The Archuleta. From the jump we get the feel of an entirely different album from his freshman effort -- an insight into that quirky brain of his. Given that, it’s interesting that throughout the whole song he emphasizes the word “down.” Also I like the word play, and how quickly he says these words in the verses.
I agree with Marlie that this song currently isn’t one of my favorites (those will come :)), but still I really like it.
The MTV interview:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/news/579791/david-archuleta-explains-how-hes-matured.jhtml#id=1649301
Late to the partay due to … errrm some domestic issues.
Anw, I put the 3-part interview of David on MTV into 1 file for easier viewing.
In case not yet posted, here is the YT version of the AP Live Interview which I split in 2 parts only
Part 1 of 2
Part 2 of 2
Did you notice? I took out the distracting ticker tape at the bottom. He-he
I adore this interview. Mr. David Archuleta -- substance & form indeed.
PART 6 of TOSOD Preview: special feature on MKOP
Whoo-hooo! Today is D-day, album at #8 on iTunes. Yeaaa!
That’s great, highervibe!
Are there other albums dropping today? How are they doing?
Just wanted to say that the 2 songs I think might do well on radio are (and these aren’t my favorite songs necessarily):
Who I Am
Look Around
What do other people think?
That AP Interview was fantastic. The interviewer let David finish is thoughts and we got much more depth from him through that method than we almost ever get.
Hello highervibe! Exciting day, isn’t it? 🙂 🙂
Ronald:
I think Who I Am is definitely one of my picks for the radio. And for some reason, I really like Good Place. It’s not typical radio pop, but I think it has a bit of a rock vibe and appeals to the older fan. It fits more the college age (and above) people.
Hehe Marlie, I was about to post that “Good Place” was my other choice. 🙂
Over at IDF they’re talking about this song being good for the HAC radio format, which I think stands for Hot Adult Contemporary.
And btw, it’s also in the genre of rock pop that I think David’s detractors during AI would have said he couldn’t sing, and that David Cook was perfect for. Imho, David Archuleta’s voice is more suited to these anthemic rock ballad songs, and can take it “higher” (if that makes any sense) than most alternative rock singers on the radio today can. Not that it matters anymore, but it’s kinda cool to think that. 😀
David did a fantastic job with “Elevator” at Z100 this afternoon — new runs, etc. I hope it will show up later on YouTube. Meanwhile, you can find it here:
http://www.z100.com/pages/chat/
73. Falling Stars -- David Archuleta
(The iTunes Pop Top 100 Chart)
Here is that performance of Elevator -- this is absolutely amazing! You go, David!
This one from our own JR!
Marlie and JR — thanks! That is a remarkable performance.
“Falling Stars” has moved up to #67 on the iTunes Pop Chart now.
That’s great about Falling Stars. It’s the sleeper hit on the album. I noticed it has the most downloads of any song on there!
That Z100 performance was fun to listen to, and even funner to watch! Did you check out those hand motions? I love it when the inner diva comes out! 🙂
Ronaldsf: Those hands -- OMG -- full court DIVA! 😉
Goom Interview:
Loving the AP interview. Loving seeing David as an articulate, thoughtful, soulful young man.
Just got my CD in the mail today! Woot!
Liz: Enjoy the CD. I really like it. There are a few songs that aren’t exactly my favorites, but none that I skip 🙂
Marlie, xoxox!
Awww, Liz. Miss you!