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THE MESA TRIBUNE | DECEMBER 19, 2021
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Archuleta brings holiday cheer to the Chandler Center BY MADISON PERALES GetOut Contributor
F
or “American Idol” alumnus David Archuleta, Christmas means spending time with family enjoying music. He’ll bring that feeling to the Chandler Center for the Arts at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23, with “A Christmas with David Archuleta.” “One thing I love is with my family, music was a big part of the holidays for us,” Archuleta said. “Not just listening to it, but we would actually perform it and my mom would dress us up with the Santa Claus hats and go around and sing Christmas carols to the neighbors.” Archuleta’s family is very musically inclined, so much so that Archuleta’s mother decided to teach the family a couple of the Jackson 5 Christmas songs. “She taught us the choreography and everything,” Archuleta said. “We would perform those because there’s five of us siblings.” Singing Christmas songs wasn’t Archuleta’s only fond memory. He recalled one of his favorite holiday traditions – one that’s a little unique. “My mom carried out this tradition that my grandma started,” Archuleta said. “She would read ‘The Nativity’ with this fabric and she told little stories on it for kids.” Archuleta has been in the public eye since he was 16 years old, when he appeared on season seven of “American Idol.” His angelic vocals garnered 44 million votes to make him the runner up behind David Cook. Soon thereafter, he released his first single, “Crush,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Three months later, Archuleta’s selftitled album went gold, selling more than 750,000 copies in the United States, and more than 900,000 copies worldwide. After the COVID-19 restrictions, Archuleta is pleased to be back on stage, helping his fans celebrate the holidays. He admit-
American Idol start David Archuleta will be presenting a special Christmas show at Chandler Arts Center this Thursday. (Special to GetOut) ted the quarantine was hard on him. “At first I wondered, with pandemic life, what was going to happen,” Archuleta said. “It was kind of weird being home all the time, but because I live by myself, I felt like it was a needed time of introspection. “I think I needed that time to look at myself and figure out what’s going on, particularly with all the therapy I was
going through.” Even though Archuleta now has a busy schedule, he found time to publish a children book based on one of his songs. “My Little Prayer.” It was released in October by Bushel & Peck Books. “I always thought it would be cool to do a children’s book, I just never thought I would be able to do it,” Archuleta said.
“But then my manager was like ‘Hey, why don’t you make ‘My Little Prayer’ a children’s book?’” Excited about the prospect of it, Archuleta was ready to connect with a younger audience. “I love reaching out to kids,” Archuleta said. “I love the way they see the world and their purity and curiosity. I thought it was a really cool opportunity to share that they can talk to God, be close with him and be able to teach them that with a visual like a book.” Aside from that, he released the single “Beast,” which, he revealed, is about internal struggles. “I was finding that I didn’t have a healthy way of going about relationships,” Archuleta said. “It seems like every time I went through them, and got closer to someone, it felt like this monster would come out of me.” On top of Archuleta’s new single and children’s book, he is looking forward to 2022 and his six-week, North American “OK, All Right” tour. It supports his album “Therapy Sessions.” Although “OK, All Right” doesn’t hit Arizona, he’s looking forward to the holiday show. “The liveliness that Arizonans tend to have makes it a really nice experience,” Archuleta said. “Some venues are really beautiful, but in the end, what makes the show is the connection you feel and that you feel like the audience is connecting to what you’re giving them. It’s always been a really wonderful connection with the Arizona audiences.” ■
If You Go...
What: “A Christmas with David Archuleta” Where: Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23 Cost: Tickets start at $39.90 Info: chandlercenter.org
