Screams, screams and cheers punctuate David Archuleta Day festivities
Scott D. Pierce and Nicole Warburton
MURRAY— That wasn't some sort of terrible accident at Murray High School Friday afternoon.
No, all that screaming was just David Archuleta and 5,000 or 6,000 of his closest friends getting together to celebrate him being only two votes away from being this year's "American Idol."
"It means the world to me that you guys came here," Archuleta told the crowd. "I can't believe it. It's crazy. I can't thank you guys enough."
Oh, and among Archuleta's new best friends were Murray Mayor Dan Snarr; Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. Huntsman, by the way, required less security than Archuleta. But then there aren't thousands of teenage girls screaming Huntsman's name, either.
The pep rally/celebration/carnival/concert, co-sponsored by Murray City and Murray Schools, filled the stands on both sides of Murray High's football stadium as well as about half the field. There hasn't been that much orange and black since Halloween.
Hundreds of Archuleta's friends and classmates were in attendance. While all were excited, some said the fact Archuleta has gone so far on "Idol" is a little bittersweet.
"I'd rather have him here with us," said Caitlee Meyers, a junior. "To us, the people who know him, he's just David Archuleta from Murray."
Jessica Judd, also a junior at Murray High, spent the whole day with Archuleta Friday. She said it was a surreal experience, but she's excited for him.
"It's crazy that so many people are here for someone I have known for so long," she said.
The audience cheering Archuleta was packed with young girls and mothers with children. When he was introduced on the stage and began to sing, people stood on tiptoe, holding their cameras in the air and chanting Archuleta's name.
Hundreds of friends/fans were wearing orange or white shirts declaring voting allegiance to Murray's favorite son. There were signs declaring, "David, your music makes my heart beat," "David, you are our hero," "David is a hottie" and lots of signs with some variation of "David, will you marry me?"
The whole marriage-proposal thing was a recurring theme throughout the day.
There were speeches and proclamations and photo-ops, but the fans also got what they really came to hear. They heard Archuleta sing three songs —"Stand by Me," "Imagine" and "Angels."
Some of them may not have been able to hear the songs very well because they were screaming too loudly.
It was the climax of David Archuleta Day (as declared by the governor), a day filled with interviews, visits with family and friends, and two public events (including one earlier at the Gateway) that brought out thousands of fans. A day that concluded when Archuleta sang the national anthem at the Jazz-Lakers game.
The ever-humble Archuleta actually went so far as to apologize for trouble he was having with his voice at the Murray rally, although it wasn't readily evident in his performance.
"I'm sorry, I wish I had more of a voice for you guys," he said. "But I'm giving it the best I can just for you guys."
And, urged by emcee Big Buddha of local Fox station KSTU-Ch. 13 to tell the fans to vote for him, the astonishingly modest 17-year- old couldn't bring himself to do it.
"I just hope you guys enjoy the performances," Archuleta said.
The Big Evening Event took Archuleta to the EnergySolutions Arena to sing the national anthem. Ironically, he said earlier in the day that he'd once auditioned for that gig and the Jazz had rejected him.
Surrounded by security, Jazz personnel and a horde of cameramen, Archuleta gave fans on the front row high-fives before heading over to the scorers' table where he graciously smiled (imagine that) for the flurry of flashes. The smallest guy to perform on the court on this night then drew one of the biggest roars of the night when he was introduced to his hometown crowd.
Archuleta's take on the national anthem, complete with impressive runs that displayed his range, was received about as well as a game-winning shot by Deron Williams. Fans cheered at every pause and went bonkers when he wrapped it up with a big finish and an even bigger smile. Many stayed on their feet, cheering as he was escorted to his lower-bowl seat.
At the Gateway, too, Archuleta faced thousands and thousands of screaming fans.
And the thousands and thousands of fans brought Archuleta to tears. Literally.
The 17-year-old "American Idol" finalist from Murray was clearly overwhelmed by the enormous turnout at the AT&T store at the Gateway. Well, he was at the AT&T store; the crowd stretched the length of the shopping center.
"I can't believe this many people turned out," Archuleta said. "I thought I was just going to be at a little table down there and just say hi to a few people.... I don't think you realize how much this means to me. Thank you so much for you guys' support."
At which point he turned his back, trying to hide the tears that welled up in his eyes as his mother, Lupe, put her arms around him.
"I can't believe this," Lupe Archuleta said. "I'm so proud of him. I never thought anything like this would happen."
Archuleta's appearance was like a combination of the Beatles invading America and Barack Obama making a campaign appearance. The most-heard phrase of the day (after "I love David") was "Isn't this crazy?"
The crowd was spread out through the Gateway Center, but it easily numbered in the thousands. It may have been the biggest crowd of screaming fans for something other than a football or basketball team anyone had ever seen — and this was hours before the big pep rally scheduled at Murray High later in the day.
"I've never been to anything with this kind of enthusiasm," said Marty Clark, director of sales for AT&T in Utah. "I've seen big crowds, yes. But not this enthusiasm."
Attendance must have been way down at quite a number of local schools Friday. The crowd was at least 90 percent teen and pre-teen girls. And if you don't count the fathers who were there with their daughters, it was probably more like 98 percent girls.
(And that bodes well for Archuleta in the "American Idol" voting, because research indicates that's the demographic most likely to phone or text in their "Idol" votes.)
One of the few boys who was there without any girls, 17-year-old Karlo Velez of West Jordan, was there on an errand.
"My cousin in Hollywood wanted his autograph," he said.
Maddie Hansen, Tiffany Harding and Maddee Hales, classmates at Fremont High in Plain City, were first in line and were among the few who got autographs — but they arrived at 4 a.m. "because we are so excited to meet him!" Hansen said.
"I'm probably going to pee my pants," Hales said.
There were "I Love David" shirts everywhere you looked — some professionally printed, some hand-made. One girl held up a sign plastered with pictures of Archuleta that read "My Future Husband."
Surrounding Archuleta was the kind of media crush you see in television shows and movies. In addition to camera crews from "American Idol" (which will use the footage in next week's shows) and Fox-owned KSTU-Ch. 13, there were cameras and reporters from competing local TV stations.
(And local television stations are loathe to report on a show that airs on any network other than their own.)
Archuleta's every wave and gesture was greeted with screams and cheers. And the diminutive high-school junior couldn't keep a huge grin off his face.
What with the crush and the crowd and the tight schedule, Archuleta was only able to sign autographs for a tiny fraction of those in attendance. When he headed back toward his limo, the crowd surged around him was like, well, a rock star.
Or maybe an "American Idol."
He did stick his head and shoulders out through the sun roof on his limousine, which was enough for some of the fans.
"Mom! Mom!" 13-year-old Meghan Carpenter of Highland shouted into her cell phone. "We didn't get his autograph, but he waved at me! Twice!
"And he is so cute!"
Archuleta kicked the day off with an early visit to Fox 13's morning studio, telling the hosts he's thrilled to be doing something he loves on such a grand scale.
The 17-year-old also said he's ready for his life to change if he wins the popular music competition.
"I'm so ready for that," he said, flashing his trademark shy smile. "I've wanted to do that for so long already and now that it's finally happened, I'm so happy now. You can't be happier."
He talked about a few flubs on the show where he forgot the words to songs, but said "a lot of people have done that." Archuleta also said he can't believe he's gotten to the top three in the competition and said there was no animosity between the three finalists.
"It's been a long road — just go, go, go, go, go," he said.
Archuleta answered questions from "American Idol" viewers as far away as Puerto Rico, but also fielded questions from students at Murray High.
One student asked Archuleta, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whether he planned to serve a two-year mission for the faith. Archuleta responded that it was something he planned to do if he wasn't still doing music.
"I feel like I'm serving a mission right now in a way," he said.
Archuleta described how he believes his music has changed lives. He has received letters from people, thanking him for singing a song.
"I'm doing something I love and performing and it does something for people," Archuleta said. "I can't believe it."
A second question was asked by Murray's mayor, Snarr, who wondered whether Archuleta had learned any good pickup lines. Archuleta smiled and said he had heard one line where a guy could ask a girl whether she liked water. If the girl responded "yes," then he could say that his body was about 70 percent water. "You must like me."
Following that response, Archuleta sang "Smokey Mountain Memories," by Dolly Parton. Girls and young boys in the audience held signs and looked at him with smiles. The performance ended with cheers and screams.
Archuleta ended his visit to Fox 13 by answering a few audience questions.
"Being able to sing is what I love to do," he said. "I feel so blessed to be here."
After leaving Fox 13, Archuleta climbed back in the limo and headed to a couple of radio stations.
Scanning the dial, it was clear even if Archuleta wasn't going to be on that station, the morning hosts were talking about him anyway. Some stations talked to people who had had a David-sighting and, since many stations share the same building, some ran up the hallway to report on the events in neighboring studios.
Frankie and Danger Boy at 97.1 KZHT commented that this was "bigger than the time we met Michael Jackson," noting the phone calls, constant updates on Archuleta's whereabouts and overall excitement. "That's crazy!" Archuleta said when the DJs played a clip of Ashton Kutcher talking about him on "Ellen."
Archuleta also stopped at 101.5 The Eagle, where humble and down-to-earth Archuleta was surprised that anyone knew his schedule, commenting, "I don't know how they know where I am."
The Eagle, which has been playing Archuleta's "Smokey Mountain Memories" for many weeks, asked him about his daily life in Los Angles. "We live in a bubble most of the time," he said. Asked whether or not he likes the other contestants, Archuleta said, "I love them, they're amazing. We really all get along." How about the paparazzi? "They find out where you are and take your picture," he said shyly.
At both radio stations, fans filled the parking lots, wore "I voted for David Archuleta T-shirts" and girls flashed their phone numbers.
About the only thing that didn't turn out as planned was that windy weather precluded the planned hot-air balloon ride at the Murray rally. On the other hand, an otherwise gray and somewhat forbidding day suddenly turned bright with sunshine just as Archuleta arrived at Murray High.
It's was, after, all, David's Day.
Deseret News | Screams, screams and cheers punctuate David Archuleta Day festivities
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