Soul David:Waiting for the Other Shoe to Drop…

Sigh.

I’m not going to lie.  All the talk I’ve been having here on SD with hopes for David to part ways with Jive was my own wish for David to be proactive in moving on from a label that showed in so many ways that they were not invested in his career.  So, after every messed up thing the label has done to The Voice (a talent who they’re not even fit to ties his shoes or hold his water bottle for him) – from marketing him inappropriately to not having a vision beyond his first single “Crush” to letting a perfectly respectable sophomore album dwindle in the dust to not even banking on a perfectly fabulous Xmas album during the holidays to now, using low sales (presumably) to justify dropping (presumably) a promising young talent, when it was their fault all along (and this is the same song sung by every other unfortunate artist tied to their label – Alison Iraheta, Lil’ Mama, Big Boi, and Ciara, who’s trying to get out from under them) – I would not be surprised if the next big news we hear is that the label has dropped David. I mean, he’s already finished his three-album contract with Jive, and it’s very clear the label is having its own shake up.

But whither the music industry and their ability to launch new talent?  I have no faith in their abilities.  Except I had faith in David!  Sigh.

See, earlier this week, I was so excited when the Grammys went to little known artists, like Esperanza Spalding for Best New Artist and Arcade Fire for Album of the Year.

Then I realized: none of the entertainment news shone a spotlight on who they were and what they were about.  On the Grammys, Ms. Spalding was reduced to providing background music for a speech made by one of the execs!  Where was her opportunity to perform for a live audience?

And the only story she received for her Grammy win?  Oh yeah: her wikipedia page was hijacked by a bunch of angry Beiber fans!

And we wonder why Jive and management don’t know how to market someone like David, or why, if the label did send his songs to radio, why no one was interested in playing his music. Look at the culture in which he is expected to thrive.

I’m just deeply disappointed.  Three years ago, on AI’s Hollywood Week (which is occurring right now and which has yet to showcase a contestant who has captured my love and imagination the way The Voice did back in 2008), the first time I said “Hello, Gorgeous!,” when I saw The Face and heard The Voice, I was so sure we had found the next big thing.  And even before that season was over, we saw how media spin worked overtime to ruin his chances of winning the whole shebang.

And if that could happen in the course of a TV season, what about in a short three-year span?

How things can change in the span of a week, when I started with so much hope and now wait with baited breath – wanting to be optimistic but knowing how dismal and distressing the music industry is.

There is nothing else to do but wait for the other shoe to drop.

Must the nice guys always finish last?

 

 

by Hellogorgeous, www.souldavid.wordpress.com

Inspired by David Archuleta

As you may already know, David just got back from a successful travel in India to help Rising Star Outreach in serving the leper colonies in Chennai. The pictures about his successful visit at those colonies have been posted and I can’t help myself but to be amazed with what he did. Reflecting on what I’ve seen, I remembered what Henry Wadsworth, an American poet said. He said that “the life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service.”

The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and in willing service. -Henry Wadsworth

It is not enough that we just say that we want to help. It is not even enough that we just send out money to fund charitable institutions. More often than not, our physical cooperation is more important; our presence together with our companionship. Experiencing how those people live, will get us appreciate what we are currently enjoying. Knowing how they deal with life and their current situation will for sure teach us to give more importance on what we have, because not everybody has them. That, I supposed, is the same thought that David would like us to perceive.

The inspiration that he showed in India is something that we should think about. Not all celebrity can do what he did. And it is always neat to see how David manages to do music and charity seamlessly. His inspiration is beautiful and his heart is pure.

David Archuleta’s Captured Moments in India

Here are some of the pictures David Archuleta during a dinner at Rising Star Outreach. Thanks to David Archuleta Vietnam for the post!

Do you have any regrets? -David Archuleta

If something happens, I’m supposed to learn something from it…

-David Archuleta

Sometimes we just have to go with the flow and do everything that we can to make ourselves better. There would be times that as we walk the path to success we will encounter a lot of things that will try to knock us down. What important is we never let those negativity affect our pursuit to success. Never afraid to commit mistakes, always keep in mind that messing up does not mean failure, more often than not, mistakes happen because we are supposed to learn from it. We just have to learn on finding the positive part of it.

Song of the post: The Other Side of Down – David Archuleta

David Archuleta to visit India for World Leprosy Day

David Archuleta is flying to India to help Rising Star Outreach celebrate World Leprosy Day (January 31) David will spend a several days there volunteering with Rising Star Outreach. David will ride with a Mobile Medical Unit to a leprosy colony and assist the doctors with their work. He will meet the patients one by one. He will have the chance to touch them, not only with his music, but literally, as well. He will be able to see the progress of the micro-businesses and talk with the business owners, giving encouragement and support.

David Archuleta will spend time with the children at the Rising Star Outreach school (these are children from the leprosy colonies of India). They will teach him songs, and he will teach them songs. They will actually dance together.

Stacey Tookey, a judge from So You Think You Can Dance, Canada, along with a Broadway favorite, Shaun Parry will be choreographing dances for David and the children.

Also attending the celebration is documentary maker, Doug Jardine, who made the documentary, Profiles In Caring, about Rising Star Outreach, (which won an Emmy Award), he will be doing an updated documentary and World-renowned photographer, Jean Shifrin will be photographing the event.

David will be inaugurating the Pathway of Hope, cutting the ribbon, and walking the path! Archuleta fans world-wide have helped raise over $40,000.00 for several projects on the property of Rising Star Outreach, including the Pathway of Hope. A granite lined pathway created with motivational inscriptions from fans.

Rising Star Outreach needs many volunteers through out the year. If you would like to come and experience the same things that David will experience, please visit www.RisingStarOutreach.org and click on the Volunteer in India link. Volunteer sessions are filling up fast for summer 2011, but there are a few more spots open in a couple of sessions.

Source: David Beyond Boarders, Angels for a Cause