Providence, RI August 22, 2009

As we go through our busy days, it can be very easy to focus only on ourselves and the things that we have to do.  We may not stop to give much thought to what is going on with those around us.  It might seem that a busy performer like David Archuleta, who has a schedule filled with touring, recording, travel, and many other things, would have even more reasons than most of us to concentrate on only his own feelings and activities.  A couple of recent occurences, though, seem to show us that this is not the way that he approaches things.

On August 17, David had a solo concert in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  On the day of a performance, David has many things to keep him busy, usually including sound checks and meet and greets in addition to other preparations.  Besides this, on this occasion, he was just getting over a stretch of time in which he’d struggled with losing his voice and suffering from allergies, making it very difficult for him to do what he loves to do — sing for his audiences.  All of these things would seem to, on their own, be enough to take up all of David’s attention.  Yet, some time before the show was scheduled to begin, David posted the following update on Twitter:  “It’s rainin’ big time!! And there are people waiting outside! Ah! We’re going to try and get them sheltered! lol.”  Rather than thinking only of himself, David was concerned about the fact that the fans gathered outside to await the concert were caught in a heavy rain, and he wanted to try to help them out of that situation. His online message was short, but it provides us with a nice example of the consideration that David has for others, and it is certainly not the only instance that shows us David’s lack of self-centeredness.

A week earlier, on August 10, David was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for another solo performance. He had been having trouble with his voice for at least a few days, and on that Monday, he was supposed to completely rest his voice before the show in an attempt to save whatever voice he did have left for the concert that night. This meant that David would not be able to sing for or talk with the fans assembled for that afternoon’s VIP pre-show gathering at all, as he usually would. So, after David had signed autographs and posed for pictures, he and the fans waved goodbye to each other. Under the circumstances, it might seem that someone in David’s situation would have been preoccupied with concerns about his voice, wondering how he was going to make it through an hour and a quarter of singing later that evening, and glad to move on from the meet and greet to get some rest or try to get ready for the show. As David walked out of the room, however, he looked reluctant to leave. Minutes later, to the surprise of the group of fans, David returned. He said that he wanted to at least sing a verse of something for the group and proceeded to share a lovely portion of a spiritual song that was, I believe, new to at least most of his listeners. Then, he smiled and left the room again, apparently much more content with what had taken place. Despite all that must have been on his mind, it seems that David wanted to give something more to the fans that had come to see him, even though by doing so he might risk making things still more difficult for himself later by putting extra strain on his overworked voice. I was one of the people present at the pre-show event that day, and I really appreciated what David chose to do for us. It was disappointing that we did not have the chance to see and hear David, the amazing singer and musician, accompany himself on the keyboard while performing a couple of songs for us or David, the charming, fun, and amusing guy, chatting with and answering questions from the crowd. We did, however, still get to see, hear (just a little bit) and experience David, the caring, dedicated, unselfish, responsible young man of integrity, and that’s a pretty wonderful thing to witness in itself.

There is a (likely unfair) stereotype that labels celebrities as self-absorbed people who don’t really care about others. From all that we have seen, this description certainly does not fit David Archuleta, whose concern for other people is just one of his admirable qualities. Hopefully, we can all make an effort to look beyond ourselves and try to pay more attention to the needs and feelings of the people with whom we come in contact.

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