I had the awesome opportunity to meet David Archuleta again this weekend in Greenville, SC. This was my third time meeting him since American Idol. The first was on the American Idol Summer Tour and the second time was last summer. David performed at the Zoo-A-Palooza on August 21st. The event was held to raise money for an Animal Clinic at that zoo location. (Once again… David is always willing to help a great cause!)

Photo Courtesy of B93.7

I met David before the show started. B93.7 based out of Greenville, SC hosted the event. It was really cool to get to talk to him again although it was really quick. The line was kind of long so we rushed through so he could have time for the show. I was still able to talk to him briefly which was great! I told him about my favorite chapter of his book, Chords of Strength. For those of you that have not read his book, I definitely recommend it. Chords of Strength is great for anyone who loves music and wants to think about the affect that music can have on those that come into contact with it daily! I gave him a letter that I had written. He was extremely friendly as usual! He told me thank you and we took a picture before I left. He gave the familiar Archie thumbs up!

After the Meet and Greet, we went back to the stage area and watched the opening act perform. The group is Runner Runner. I had never heard their music before but I really liked it. They are very talented guys. I will definitely check into more of their stuff.

After Runner Runner completed their set, it was time for David to take the stage. He opened the show by telling us all that he had been “hanging out with the primates backstage” in the zoo.

Photo Courtesy of B93.7

The first song that he performed was his newest single Something ‘Bout Love. This was his first live performance of the song. Everyone really got into the song and we were all really excited to hear it for the first time live.

The next song on his list was a cover of Gnarls Barkley’s Crazy. This was the second time that I have heard David sing this song in person and he never disappoints. He adds so much to that song and makes it very unique. He accompanied himself on the keyboard.

David introduced a new song called Elevator that he co-wrote with Mike Krompass. It was definitely a fun tune with a catchy melody. This was the first time that he had performed this song anywhere. Was that an awesome opportunity for us as fans or what? He talked about his new release that is coming out on October 5th called The Other Side of Down.  He said that he had been having a blast in the studio but that he really missed performing for everyone. This was one of his chances to do just that!

David ended his set with his classic first single… Crush. The crowd was excited when he started performing this song. I cannot believe that so much time has passed since we first heard Crush on the radio. Wow… time flies!

The Zoo-A-Palooza event had over 3,000 people in attendance. I was so proud to see everyone gather in South Carolina to give David a nice, warm welcome! (This was only the second time that he had ever been to South Carolina. He came last summer when he was on tour with Demi Lovato.)

We all felt honored to be the first audience for the live, acoustic version of Something ‘Bout Love and the premiere of Elevator!

I will be looking for a tour schedule later this year and if there is a show in or near South Carolina… you better believe I’ll be there!

If you are interested in pre-ordering David’s newest release, The Other Side of Down, click the graphic below.

Don’t forget that you can leave comments below. I love to hear what all of you have to say!

Tags: David Archuleta, The Other Side Of Down

The winner of American Idol Season 9 is Lee Dewyze! I am happy with the result. I would have been happy if Lee or Crystal won. They are both great in their own way. I do feel like Crystal will benefit from not being in the American Idol winner’s contract. I think this worked out brilliantly for both of them!

Watch this special tribute to Simon Cowell:

I love this! I just wanted to share it with all of you. It is a duet between my two favorite contestants from Season 8 of American Idol. It was less than a month ago. The Scientist by Coldplay:

What do you think?

It is important to mention at this point , that according to the Nielson ratings… this was the least watched episode of American Idol since Season 2. If that does not back up my feelings about this season, I do not know what will.

After a rough week for most of the contestants, the bottom two was very uncertain. After the nationwide vote, Aaron Kelly and Big Mike took the two spots. This was surprising for some because Mike had stood out from this night of performing Sinatra tunes. Either way, the contestant to go home this week…

Aaron Kelly

I did not like the theme this year but I think the mentor was one of the best in a very long time. Harry Connick Jr. had a great sense of humor and added a lot to the show.

Siobhan Magnus has now exited the American Idol competition! I’m not a huge fan but I hate to see her go. She can definitely sing! This season has just been so lackluster that I cannot bring myself to care too much when anyone exits. That’s sad to say but definitely true.

I wanted to share Carrie Underwood’s performance of Change on Idol Gives Back last night. She did a fantastic job!

I also thought that I would mention that Carrie Underwood won the Entertainer of the Year award at the ACM’s this Sunday!

Here is a look at past Idol Gives Back performances from Carrie Underwood:

Do you have a favorite performance? I love all three but I think my favorite is Change.

Another contestant left American Idol tonight during the Idol Gives Back episode…

Tim Urban

Although, I will admit that I am not a Tim Urban fan and often times I was annoyed that he was even on the show… I feel that he consistently got better throughout the competition. However, I am not shocked that he went home this week.

We lost two contestants on American Idol tonight. The two contestants leaving the show this week are Katie Stevens and Andrew Garcia. I am sad to see these two contestants leave. I think Katie has a lot of growing to do but I can definitely see her with a great pop album in the future. Andrew Garcia had the curse of the “stand-out” performance since Hollywood Week. After he sang Straight Up by Paula Abdul… he was doomed. Nothing he did from then on was acceptable to the judges. I love Andrew’s style and I hope to see an album from him later. We are now down to seven contestants. Make sure you watch next week for Idol Gives Back. There will be some incredible performances from: Carrie Underwood, The Black Eyed Peas, Elton John, Annie Lennox, Alicia Keys and many others!

Well, it has happened. The Judges’ Save is keeping someone on for another week. So who was the victim of the least amount of votes this week on American Idol?

Michael Lynche

But do not worry Lynche fans… he will be back next week because of the one-time judges’ save.

While I disagree with this move, I do believe Michael deserves to be on the show for a few more weeks. The problem I have with the judges saving him is that I do not think he has the potential to win. In my opinion, the judges’ save should be reserved for anyone who has the potential to break the Top 3. For instance: Crystal Bowersox, Siobhan Magnus or Lee Dewyze.

But mistakes happen… although I would love to see these three contestants get closer to the end, there is always the chance that their voting fans will not come through. It has happened before and it will probably happen again at some point. Chris Daughtry anyone?

This week we lost one of my favorite contestants…. Didi Benami. I’m very sad to see her go. I loved her phrasing and originality in every song. My favorite performance from Didi was during Hollywood week when she sang Terrified, written by Kara Dioguardi.

This was not a good week for Didi but I was expecting to see her bounce back next week. Unfortunately we will not get that chance. I was sure that Tim would leave this week. All I know is that a certain Mr. Urban is cutting it close. After a couple of weeks in the bottom three and several lackluster performances…. he should probably start packing his bags. We will see next week!