BIOGRAPHY OF A FUTURE LEGEND

FanBlast originally published this information on March 16, 2008 and updated it on August 3, 2009.

For a new fan or a first time visitor to FanBlast, this is the perfect place to start to get to know David! FanBlast is a loyal community to thousands of dedicated fans of David Archuleta who visits at least once a day, every day!

Here’s a spotlight quote from a fan:

“David Archuleta has a gift you rarely see, especially around his age. His voice transcends age, gender, race, religion, etc… I can go on, but I won’t. That’s the power that David has. I’m 33 and grew up during the birth of hip-hop and grunge: for him to draw me in like this, well, that’s what an American Idol is all about.”

BIOGRAPHY:

David James Archuleta was born in Miami, Florida on December 28, 1990 to Jeff and Lupe Archuleta. Jeff is a jazz trumpeter born and raised in Utah. Lupe emigrated from her hometown of San Pedro Sula, Cortes, Honduras. In her hometown, she sang pop music in English and Spanish and also danced Salsa and Merengue.

He is the second oldest of five children. His siblings (from oldest to youngest) are Claudia, David, Daniel, Jazzy (name is actually Melissa Jasmine), and Amber. He is also a member of the Boy Scouts of America. He grew up listening to just about every kind of music, from Hispanic to jazz to pop and gospel.

After the family moved from Miami to Sandy, Utah, in February 1997, Jeff put the Les Misérables 10th Anniversary Concert on the television to keep the kids occupied while he and Lupe unpacked their belongings. David became so fascinated with it and—after repeating the video a number of times—could sing the songs from memory along with the accompanying English and Cockney accents.

His first public performance was in the Utah Talent Competition, where he sang “I Will Always Love You” at the age of 10 and received a standing ovation. He won the Child Division in the contest. He later made an appearance on Good Thing Utah and sang “Imagine”.

He made his major television debut on The Jenny Jones Show, singing “And I Am Telling You” on the August 22, 2002 show about future Latino stars. It was here that he met AJ Gil, American Idol’s Season 1 contestant, and through him, he met and sang “And I Am Telling You” on September 1, 2002 for all of the contestants in a hotel lobby during the week of American Idol’s first finale.

He sang “I Will Always Love You” and “God Bless America” on September 11, 2002 to New York City Firefighters’ Station 54 at age 11.

He met his voice coach, Dean Kaelin, on the recommendation of Seth Riggs when he was 12. After that meeting, he was on Star Search’s second season with Arsenio Hall, where he competed against fellow American Idol contestant, the then-11-year-old Alexandréa Lushington. He won the Junior Singers division on March 19, 2003 after he received a perfect score of 20 points by the judges and took home $100,000, $10,000 (10%) of which was tithed to his church. Some of the prize winnings went to recording equipment for David and time in the studio. He released two singles: “Don’t Tell Me Why” and “Dream Sky High” in preparation for a CD, but that fell through due to his vocal issues.

It was around this time when he began having trouble with his voice after a bout of bronchitis during Star Search. After noticing he was struggling to keep his voice together on and off the show, the family took him to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) doctor, where they discovered he had partial vocal paralysis. The doctor told him he had two options: To undergo surgery and take the risk that he might never sing again, or do extensive voice therapy in the hopes he’d regain the use of his voice. After receiving this bit of news, David took a break for the next few years, singing only occasionally at weddings and school talent shows and focusing on school and rehabilitating his voice.

The two most noted recordings during this time are “Angels In the Alleyway” and “The Most Beautiful Part About This Is”, both of which were written by Merrick Christensen, and David did the songs to get more recording experience in the studio.

He worked as a sound tech at Murray Park Ampitheatre during the summer of 2007. It was during this time when he found out that American Idol was holding auditions in San Diego. He wasn’t going to go because he wanted to work. However, when it came down to the wire, he quit the job, traveled to San Diego with his father, and as they say, the rest is history.

STAR SEARCH SONGS:

Preliminary Round
“Who’s Loving You” by Jackson 5

Semifinals
“Fallin’” by Alicia Keys

Winners’ Circle
“A House is Not a Home” by Luther Vandross
“Climb Every Mountain” from Sound of Music
“Ain’t No Sunshine” by Bill Withers
“Get Here” by Oleta Adams
“Wind Beneath My Wings” by Bette Midler

Finals
“You’re All I Need to Get By” by Marvin Gaye

Battle of the Champions
“I Surrender” by Celine Dion

AMERICAN IDOL SONGS:

Televised Audition
“Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer

Hollywood Week Day 1
“Crazy” by Gnarls Barkley (Note: This audition was never aired due to licensing issues. The link is a substitute for the AI video.)

Day 4
“Heaven” by Bryan Adams

Top 24 (Top 12 Guys)
“Shop Around” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles. Performed 6th out of 12 on February 19, 2008.

Top 20 (Top 10 Guys)
“Imagine” by John Lennon. Performed last out of 10 on February 26, 2008.

Top 16 (Top 8 Guys)
“Another Day in Paradise” by Phil Collins. Performed 2nd out of 8 on March 4, 2008.

Top 12
“We Can Work It Out” by The Beatles. Performed last out of 12 on March 11, 2008.

Top 11
“Long and Winding Road” by The Beatles. Performed 3rd out of 11 on March 18, 2008.

Top 10
“You’re the Voice” by John Farnham. Performed 8th out of 10 on March 25, 2008.

Top 9
“Smoky Mountain Memories” by Dolly Parton. Performed 3rd out of 9 on April 1, 2008.

Top 8
“Angels” by Robbie Williams. Performed 7th out of 8 on April 8, 2008.

Top 7
“When You Believe” by Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston. Performed first on April 15, 2008.

Top 6
“Think of Me” by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Performed 4th on April 22, 2008.

Top 5
“Sweet Caroline” and “America” by Neil Diamond. Performed 4th on April 29, 2008.

Top 4
“Stand By Me” by Ben E. King and “Love Me Tender” by Elvis Presley. Performed last on May 6, 2008.

Top 3
“And So It Goes” by Billy Joel, “With You” by Chris Brown, and “Longer” by Dan Fogelberg. Performed his songs first on May 13, 2008.

FINALE
“Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me” by Elton John, “In This Moment” (original composition sent in for the songwriting competition), and “Imagine”. Performed last on May 20, 2008.

DAVID TRIVIA

• David is left-handed and currently stands at 5 feet 7 inches.
• David’s favorite food is Pad Thai.
• David plays piano and guitar and has also written a few songs.
• His toughest obstacle in life has been believing he could be successful having a singing career.
• His favorite American Idol moment was when Tamyra Gray sang “And I Am Telling You”.
• Murray High School’s colors are black and orange and his locker number was 607.
• His Grade Point Average (GPA) during his sophomore year was 4.0. It slipped a fraction of a point when he received a B during the third term while competing on American Idol.
• His American Idol audition number was 11394.
• To battle his performance nerves, he says a prayer before he goes onstage.
• His “lucky charm” on Idol was a rubber bracelet his friends gave him to remind him that they’ll always have his back.
• 19-E/Jive Records signed David on June 5, 2008.
• David did not graduate as expected due to being unable to complete his senior year coursework.  He’s working on his GED.
• He likes the judges on American Idol because of their personalities and opinions.