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Hanging Out In David Archuleta's Hometown
I spent the weekend up in Salt Lake City on the set of a certain sequel to a TV movie phenomenon, which I’m not allowed to tell you about until Wednesday. This also gave me the opportunity to go hang out in David Archuleta’s hometown of Murray, Utah, which I heard was a, “small town just outside of Salt Lake City.”
After seeing David’s hometown visit on last week’s “American Idol” results show... with the mayor sporting a handle bar mustache in what looked like a classic Main Street America town, I was expecting a small, quaint little village. Much to my shock, this was not the case at all when I arrived in Murray. This is a suburb. Not a small town. It’s got a population of about 46,000 people. It’s filled with classic suburban commercialism – Best Buy, Office Depot, Costco, Staples, Barnes and Nobles and car dealerships galore. Not that there is anything wrong with suburbia, it just was not at all what I was expecting.
The people that I met in town could not have been nicer though, which did make it feel like small town America. I started out meeting that handle bar mustached mayor, Daniel Snarr. He cruised up on his yellow Indian motorcycle and told me about how proud Murray is of their local “Idol” star,
“The thing we are most proud of is not only is he an unbelievable talent with an incredible voice. The most important thing he is a humble young man."
Apparently, David is not the only famous face in Murray. Ken Jennings of "Jeopardy" fame also hails from this area, according to Mayor Snarr,
"David was willing to stand up and say I come from a great city, Murray City, Utah. We had Ken Jennings and he always said he was from Salt Lake City but he lived in Murray right by the high school. So we are proud of David for saying, 'You know what? I’m proud of my city.'"
Next, we cruised up to the studio of David’s vocal coach of six years, Dean Kaelin. This poor guy has been working overtime to defend the reports that David’s father, Jeff, is a horrific stage dad. Doing so has even gotten him his first hate mail! He talked to me for about ten minutes about Jeff, and from what I can tell, the guy really is getting a bad rap. Because of Jeff’s musical background (he was once a professional trumpet player) he is more involved then other parents have been in the past on the show. Dean says he just wants what is best for his son,
“Jeff has always been concerned about trying to help David with his dream. It’s David’s dream and if David decided right now, ‘OK, this is too much for me I’m gonna stop singing,' he'd say, 'OK, great what do you want to do now,' and he would support him with that as well."
I was surprised to learn that Dean actually helps warm David up for his performances over the phone, a practice he started with another student while she was on ‘American Idol,” season two contestant Carmen Rasmussen,
“I have a piano here at the studio. I have a piano at my house and in my car I have a portable keyboard that I carry around. So, whenever he feels like he needs to call and get warmed up or he has a problem I can always warm him up."
Next, we dashed down to meet neighbor and family friend, Brett Hales, quite possibly one of the nicest men I have ever met. Brett has MS and up until three months ago was in a wheel chair. David would come over and sing to him while he was sick and swears the kids voice has magical healing powers! Brett showed us around David’s neighborhood. Signs showing support for their hometown Idol were everywhere. A huge banner hung from the window of the Archuleta home which sat empty since the entire family is in LA for the finale.
Then, Brett brought us up to the amphitheater where David worked as a tech last summer to meet his good friend Adam Ruben, an adorable high school student who filled me in on what I already knew - that when David came home to his high school, he all of a sudden became a lot more popular than he actually ever was. I remember watching the Murray High School cheerleaders practically attack him during that hometown piece thinking that they probably never gave him the time of day when he was in school. I was right. Some things never change.
After meeting the people of the city of Murray though, I have no doubt that shy, sweet little David Archuleta will not be changed by fame.
American Idol is imparting vital knowledge through out world.
Nice Story..Keep it up buddy