Thank you everyone who contributed to this thank you video to David. Sincere apologize to those videos that were unable to be uploaded.
As you all know, Amy went to David’s My Kind of Christmas Tour in Santa Rosa, and she handed the video through Janey of FOD to be passed on to David .. Hoooray! Thanks Amy!
Can you believe it??? I still remember when he was a shy 16 year old on American Idol. It’s been a truly awesome journey that he has taken us on and what an amazing ride it has been!!
We’re not sure what David did for his 21st birthday but the AAMers had a grand time celebrating it here in Malaysia!!!
Here are the AAMers “armed” with our brand new David Archuleta wristband courtesy of the awesome SandyBeaches 🙂
You probably can’t tell from just looking at the pic but the age difference between the youngest and the oldest here is approximately half a century!!! What other young singer can lay claim to such a diverse fanbase? It is truly quite amazing if you think about it!
And of course, we had to cap off the night with a little birthday wish Malaysian style:
This vid may be a bit lot dark but the voices are loud and clear 🙂
Thank you to all the AAMers that joined us for this outing even if the notice given was a little short and Happy 21st Birthday again to the amazing David Archuleta!! May you have many many more and may all your wishes come true….
Also, if you haven’t seen this yet, here’s a beautiful birthday vid made by the super talented Kelvin Beh..
Lastly, this birthday vid is not ours but its definitely a must see for all David fans. Take your tissues out guys:
As you all know, David will be celebrating his 21st birthday on Dec 28.
A special birthday for a very special once-in-a-lifetime guy who has profoundly touched our hearts and given us an immeasurable amount of joy with his stupendously enrapturing singing;
and raced our pulses with his smouldering good looks and show-stopping smiles;
a guy with a vision of the world peculiar to himself in the face of the grim and grey music world in which we now live;
an uplifting inspiration in a cynical world with his doggedly perseverance even in the face of self-doubt.
All that by the age of 21.
…
Let us be thankful and rejoice in celebrating him and the presence of such a being living in our midst.
…
Now that he will be leaving us soon for 2 years to take on a full-time religious mission, there is all the more reason to celebrate him: for his strength of character and his steadfastness in his beliefs.
Let us keep the David-spirit alive by our forever love.
Let us pray that he will be kept safe and warm in God’s hands.
Let us hope that he will come back to us after he has done God’s work.
…
I have written him a birthday message on behalf of AAM, in a birthday card which I handed to Akang to be hand-delivered to Janey of FOD to be placed into David’s hands at the Santa Rosa VIP on Dec 14. Thank you to these lovely ladies for making it possible.
Trace
Below are pics of the 10 1/2″ by 10 1/2″ card and our birthday poem to David:
Poem for David
Dear David
xxx
Time has swiftly flown many months and so have you
Far away from us to take on another amazing cue
– Remember that you have taken with you our willing hearts
Don’t want them back just want you here again to energise us anew
xxx
We understand much of God’s work you ardently want to do
But do not forsake us, our love will never go askew
– Please remember that though we are many miles apart
There’s nothing that will stop us from joining your longest queue
xxx
It is your your 21st birthday soon your desires and wishes to renew
So sad we are unable to embrace you in the same venue
– Do not forget that, of us you are now an integral part
Birthday prayers we are sending up and not just a few
xxx
We pray that the sky is the limit for your music and you
We pray you do not turn your back on us and the world, refuse
– God has lovingly placed you in all the world’s heart
The figures get more daunting the more you think about it. It’s like a fast receding express train, the longer you watch it the faster it seems to speed away.
When I was told about David’s decision, I wasn’t terribly surprised. It was a possibility that was always hanging in the air for as long as we knew David. That someday he would suspend his music career in servitude of a higher purpose wasn’t as remote as we would have liked to believe. But we probably never expected that such a step would actually come to pass. That the hammer did fall was in many ways shocking and numbing.
The decision has been made – although not without some trepidation and second guessing the way I see it – to heed a call from God no less. A call that most if not all LDS members like David has to answer. He has chosen to hang up his mic so to speak , ‘disappear’ for 2 years so that he can do God’s will.
But does it have to be this way?
Can’t we serve God by being kind, thoughtful, caring and loving to our fellow humans? Can’t we do God’s work by championing the cause of the downtrodden, speaking for those who don’t have a voice or teaching that might does not always make right? Is humility and empathy not godly enough? How about using our music to give pleasure to those of our listeners? Isn’t it noble enough to stir the emotions and hearts of countless people with the power of our voice alone? Aren’t these virtues good enough in the eyes of God?
Does serving God require us to disengage, disassociate and disconnect from the world in general? Are we assuming that God can be so demanding and unbending in his decrees? Do we really have to assume anonymity while in our service to God? Doesn’t it seem like we’re smearing his good name a wee bit here?
Are we to literally aimlessly wander around for the next 2 years, much like the Israelite did for 40 years, until we reach our promised land? Are we being punished here?
2 years of nothing but paucity, aridity and emptiness. See you in 2 years time.
We’ve heard rumblings of this for a while now but most of the fans have brushed it off as just another rumour. 2011 was such an eventful year for David, what with leaving the label but still doing AMAZINGLY well with the Asian Tour, MKOC Tour, GCT, etc, so leaving on a 2 year mission with no contact to the fans or even the real world just seemed too far fetched to fathom.
But tonight, during his Salt Lake City concert, David himself made the announcement that he has decided to serve a full time mission next year. The announcement was greeted with a mix of support from his home town crowd as well as some crying and sobbing from some of the fans in the crowd. It was truly an emotionally charged moment as you can see from the videos below:
Here’s the vid from the Official Channel:
Here’s another Vid: A bit shaky but more close up:
This is Oh Holy Night which he performed immediately after the announcement:
He actually was emotionally even before the announcement and that should have clued us in a bit about the upcoming news. Here’s his emotional speech after Silent Night:
I don’t really know what to say about this decision because I think all of us will have our own different reaction to this and no one can really tell the other how to feel. What I can say is that David made a huge and extremely brave decision and truly showed what we already knew, i.e that for him it was never about the fame and fortune.
So what do YOU make of this decision? Please post your thoughts cause we would love to hear it..
Whatever your take on it though, we truly hope that you will continue to support David during his absence as well as when he comes back older, wiser and with more life experience. He’s definitely worth the wait..
@EL_FOD Gotta enjoy it while you still can life comes at you fast. 5 days ago
When I told her I’m 31 she said “oh…” and she and the people sitting in my row all threw their heads back in unison… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…5 days ago
@maxx_tennz Yes I thought it was weird until I hit 30 so just look at it as a long term investment 5 days ago