I know we’re all about #DA2014 but what does that mean exactly?
Does it mean David will step off the plane in 2014 and tweet, “in Utah”?
Does it mean he’ll take a few months, or longer, to reconnect with family and friends before tackling any career stuff sometime next year?
Does it mean he’ll take whatever time he needs to craft his sound before releasing new music… possibly later than 2014?
Or will he feel he needs to rush something out to us STAT! to thank us for waiting (and to earn a living)?
And what about us?
We’ll have waited two years by then, will waiting longer be nbd?
Or will we feel he owes us something for waiting?
Or that he’d be committing career suicide if he takes too much more time or makes the wrong moves?
David said before he left that he realized he might have to start over again when he got back. And let’s face it, he was always going to have to start over, even if he hadn’t gone. At least now he’ll have had the time and space to figure out what comes next.
As much as I miss him, I hope he takes all the time he needs to start again his way.
What do you guys think?
SnowAngelz: Canadian fans of David Archuleta 
I actually read something a while back that was talking about the adjustment period for returning missionaries and they suggested no more than 2-3 weeks before getting back into “things”. Whether that was a job, school, or whatever. As I have no experience with returned missionaries, I have no idea if this is sound advice or not. Maybe some fans with experience in this area could offer perspective?
i’d be curious to know about that too, but 2-3 weeks isn;t very much time after 2 yrs away. i was overseas for a year once & it took me a couple of months to readjust to life back home but i guess it depends on the person.
But did you spend those couple months after you returned just hanging out at home? Or did you get back out there — to work or back to a normal routine and such? To me, it seems logical that you wouldn’t fully readjust until you were back doing whatever it is you do.
i pretty much hung out at home seeing family and friends, reconnecting I guess. and it was a culture shock for a while and i had to get used to everything again. but for David and his music, that’s just part of who he is so even if he’s just practicing or working on stuff at home, he’ll still be creating-and he’s always said he’s all about moving forward. 🙂
I actually think when David gets back he’ll probably spend some time with his family … how long? I don’t know… maybe a couple of weeks? I think he’ll be itchin’ to get back to recording and singing and doing what he loves doing. I don’t think he’ll feel he owes us anything. I think he’ll WANT to say “hi” to us. I’m hoping for a nice vlog so we can hear him speak.
I think David should take as much time as he needs when he gets back. He knew the sacrifices he made by going on his mission and to readjust to being away from all that for 2 years will take time. It would be nice to see him do a tour when he gets back and of course to release new music, but we need to be patient as best we can no matter what he decides to do. If he’s taught me anything by going on his mission, it’s to be patient and to know no matter what happens, it’ll be worth the wait. I have faith that things will work out, no matter the struggles or obstacles he will face next year. We just need to have that faith, and everything else will fall into place 🙂
I voted for the last option and it looks as though a lot of others did as well. 🙂 If I’m being honest I have to say I am torn between wanting him to take all the time he needs and wanting him back. 🙂
I can somehow picture David spending a few weeks just catching up on all the music that has been released since 2012. He certainly must wonder how the industry will have changed and how it will welcome him back. But he’s determined and focused and hard working and stays true to himself and I do believe he is well respected for his talent in the industry, so that will serve him well.
Very interesting poll. I have felt several of these options at some point, but I chose “I don’t know how I feel…” because I don’t, not really. It may have something to do with the fact that I am a little selfish when it comes to David Archuleta’s career. I tend to get all pseudo-philosophical as 2014 begins to look real.
David has a permanent place for music in his brain, and in his very bones; he can’t help it. I think that alone will be a driving force to get his career going again and to reconnect with fans. He certainly worked hard before he left, and he is still working hard, now with leadership responsibilities. However, I can almost guarantee there will be a non-missionary period of adjustment, with timing unique to David. I say that based primarily on my keen observational skills 🙂 and my experience as a Mom to three returned missionaries (Oh, the stories I could tell.). Suffice it to say, my missionaries’ diverse personalities remained intact, along with their goals and dreams.
As for David’s return to music, I am very optimistic and excited. Well, as excited as I can afford to get at my age.
I had some of the same thoughts you had. After having read this post and before reading comments, I was drawn to this again. I think we can all use the reminder from David’s own words:
“Thank you for all you do and for waiting. This is my thanks to you for everything in the past, present, and future. That No Matter How Far, what was in the heart before is still here, and will be here when I return.”
I see no way David isn’t itching to get back to what he lives and breathes….music….and the mutual lovefest with those of us who love and support him. ♥
tbh i never totally understood how NMHF was his thanks to us when there was only 1 song we hadn’t heard before
This is an interesting poll, but a difficult one for me. The mom in me wants to check different boxes than the fan in me does. The only one I wouldn’t check is the one that says “I’m open to whatever direction he takes, even if it’s not music.” I just can’t make myself go there. I’m a fan. I want to hear him sing.
All of the above. Honestly, a live concert at the foot of his airplane arriving from Chile (with songs in flawless Spanish, “Contigo” would kill the unprepared) or months til he makes first contact works for me…I know he is in the driver’s seat of his destiny. How can one not feel but great joy that someone pursued his personal passion and dream. Bravo, David!
I’ll be waiting.
Interesting poll. It depends on so many factors to determine when David could do a first concert. I mean, so many venues are booked a long time in advance. But I do hope that shortly after he touches down, he gives the fans a nice vlog saying the experience was valuable, thanking fans for their cards and letters, and just saying his feelings about being back. That would go a LONG way with those of us who are waiting, don’t you think?
Yes, I do! My optimism includes a vlog, or a tweet, or something or the sort. He is not one to ignore his fans.
You’re right, Geez & Ms. B, he’s not one to ignore his fans… but I wouldn’t be surprised if he recorded his “I’m home now” vlog before he left to say “by the time you see this I’ll be back home but please give me some space for a while” lol *hides very far away*
What we need now is a “David Here – I’m Home Now (not really)” vlog.
😆
Oops! Typo. I’m just so quick to agree with you. 🙂
I’m sure he’s going to need time to decompress. How long that will take will be completely up to him. I hope that whatever he decides to do and however long it takes will not be driven by guilt or pressure from the fans.
For years he’s been trying to be everybody’s everything. I’d really like to hear from David himself what it is he needs from us when he returns and I’d like for him to be able to convey whatever that is to his fans freely and with the confidence that he deserves it.
I believe that, if we are wise, the fans possess the power to help him feel that freedom 😀
OK, that was my alter ego speaking. What I really want is for him to come home and tell us in a vlog that he has hit the ground running right back to his music career, put together a new band so he can perform all the brand new songs he wrote while he was away with his first tour stop being in Chicago. Is that too much to ask??? LOL
That’s more like it! I thought someone had hacked your account. 😆
Sounds more like it and I’ll come to Chicago!! 🙂
Wow TOfan…you like to make us think don’t ya!! Lol As much as I want David to jump right back into his old life, I think he really needs to take the time to readjust and really think about the direction(s) he’s going to take in life. Not for one minute do I think it won’t be music but I agree with your line…”lets face it, he was always going to have to start over”! As much as I love all of the music he has given us, he needs to step it up a notch and take his music to a different level if he’s still interested in a music career…no more singing about rainbows, butterflies, airplanes, blueberry ice, etc. I honestly think the OPM album was the first step in that direction and hope we see more of the deeper, adult side of him…the person he’s going to become maybe?? That being said, I also do think he’ll give us an “I’m back” vblog as soon as he can bc he knows we’ll be waiting :). And wait is what I’ll keep on doing while our guy is figuring out life and deciding what his next step will be because we all know it’ll be well worth the wait 😀
I really believe what he does, in terms of, re connection with us, will reflect the sacrifice we had no say in. He knows how it feels to be a fan!
I firmly believe he’s made the best decision for himself; but, there are lots of people who are forced to miss him because of HIS decision. His re-connection will reflect his thanks to everyone who is right where he needs & wants them.
One thing’s for sure, I doubt his first vlog will be about needing a haircut! 😆
90 minutes later and I’m still laughing at this.
ROFLOLOL
Ok i’ll jump in with my 2 cents….
I think the perfect way to ease back into everything is like this:
– tweet a picture of himself back home either the day of or day after he arrives.
– one more tweet the next day saying to watch out for a vlog later in the week.
– at the one week mark, do long, rambly, chatty vlog, promise to sing something in the next vlog.
– at the three week mark (2 weeks after his first vlog) do another chatty vlog, maybe talk a little about what we can expect in the future as far as communication etc, and sing us a song.
– at the one month mark I think he should start thinking about getting into some sort of regular communication with the fans. I think the ideal balance would be a tweet once a day or every other day and a vlog once a month.
I think he should take his time putting out some music. It will be his big come back that everyone in the music industry will be watching for and will set the tone for the coming years. Most of all, I think it needs to be a true reflection of ‘David’s sound’ because I think it will guide people’s future perceptions of him. Is he the teen kid from idol or is he the new, all grown-up, prodigious David Archuleta?
As time goes on (thinking the first several months) he should try to do some one off performances that fans can attend.
And hopefully there will be some bigger projects within the first year or so…a US tour or Asian tour, with some acting and modelling thrown in for good measure maybe. But those things take more planning and money of course, so just whatever he can work out.
I think in the first several months the fans will want to see him and hear him but he probably won’t be ready for shows and tours etc, so I think in place of that he should sing acapella in his vlogs and be as chatty as possible and post pics of himself on twitter.
What I think he shouldn’t do is burn himself out. And I think beyond the first initial vlogs or tweets, he should start off like he intends to go on, so fans have appropriate expectations.
What I am fearful of is…lots of chatter about ‘David isn’t doing this’, ‘David should be doing more of this’ and the ‘We waited 2 years already so he owes us now’. I hope we as a fandom can remember that we’ve waited 2 years, so what’s a few more weeks or months…and give David the space he will need to truly establish a new foundation, without us pressuring him. At least we will be back in communication with him, getting to hear his voice again and see his face in real-ish time. 🙂
I just want to clarify what I meant here when I said…
” I think in the first several months the fans will want to see him and hear him but he probably won’t be ready for shows and tours etc, so I think in place of that he should sing acapella in his vlogs and be as chatty as possible and post pics of himself on twitter. ”
I didn’t mean be as chatty as possible on twitter, I meant be as chatty as possible in his vlogs. I tend to think that sometimes twitter was a bit of a burden at times for David…like a twice daily task always in the back of his mind, that he couldn’t get a break from. That’s why, I think he should tweet less from the start, and set everyone’s expectations right from the beginning. Always remembering that twitter and vlogs will be critical whilst he gets his foundations set.
you’re hired! lol Seriously though, Shanny, I agree with you. Someone commented earlier that maybe Kari could continue to do the promotional type tweets for David (adding her “KS”) — since he doesn’t like doing those and he sucks at it, tbh — and he could just stick to whatever random thing he wants or has time for. Lots of other celebs use that approach.
“set everyone’s expectations right from the beginning” — I think this is critical, and where his team fumbled on NMHF, imo. Drumming up excitement for something much bigger than what it turned out to be.
BREAKING NEWS!!!!! We got an actual sort-of tweet from David!
The whole thing:
“A quote David heard that he wanted to share: ‘What we love determines what we seek. What we seek determines what we think and do. What we think and do determines who we are – and who we will become.’ (KS)”
Oh my goodness! The irony of him tweeting out of the blue like that when we were just speaking of him tweeting! lol
Well that sure is food for thought for me right now in regards to a few things.
Tofan, I think Kari doing the promotional tweets with her initials, would be a great idea actually.
That is ironic, Shanny! 🙂 It was nice to see David’s tweet but also to know he wanted to share something with us.
And I see that the last choice in the poll is still in the lead, interesting. 🙂
When he has taken whatever time he needs, I hope he resumes his Nashville exploration that he started and interrupted. Somehow he never finished that. Probably the Mission call or whatever.
Saying the Serenity Prayer now!! God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the Wisdom to know the difference. 🙂
Perfect prayer, Heidijoy! lol I’ve been saying it alot myself lately.
…and yay! that you were able to comment, I know you said you were having a hard time getting through!
new post/thread!
🙂
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