I took a long bus ride this past weekend and as a change from listening to O Ven… again … I went back to David Archuleta’s debut album, which I hadn’t listened to since… tbh I can’t actually remember the last time I listened to it.
Wow, what a difference a little time makes. MH was still my favourite track but what surprised me was that I didn’t skip over TMH the way I used to back then.
It got me thinking that maybe we fans made a big mistake stopping that song from being the 2nd single. Remember? When a lot of us made our voices heard on Snarkies’ and FOD polls and TMH was switched for ALTNOY as a result?
Back in 2008/9, I thought TMH sounded sooooo bubblegum cheesy. But listening now (maybe after hearing David kill it live so many times) I realize it was probably the perfect follow-up single for Crush.
It tells the story he was living out on stage at the time. He loved the song and literally reached out to the crowd every time he sang it.
I still love ALTNOY but it probably wasn’t the radio-friendly 2nd single that David needed back then. We’ll never know of course.
But I think TMH will always serve as a reminder to me whenever I’m tempted to spout off career advice for him that I have no idea what I’m talking about.
What do you guys think? Were you team ALTNOY or TMH? Did we let David down back then? What’s your favourite TMH?
SnowAngelz: Canadian fans of David Archuleta 
I agree 1,000 million per cent dawg. This was one of the times Jive had it right and why I constantly remind myself never ever to chime in on David’s career (except that hopefully one of these days – before I die – if David ever really wants to play guitar I would not object). Ever. Ever. Never. Case closed.
Yep. Better demographics. My daughter, age 16 at the time, was a “normal” David fan, not obsessed like some of us, and this was always her favorite. She’s very much in touch with the popular trends, so I’d trust her.
I actually always liked both songs so I didn’t care which song was the second single. It probably wouldn’t have mattered which song was chosen as the second single. I think it was more about Jive pushing the single to radio which they failed to do effectively after David’s first single. I really blame Jive not the single selected. But who really knows? Radio play is just hard to figure out. There is a lot more to it than a good song. It is all water under the bridge now. I’m just excited to seen what the next chapter will be when David returns to his music career.
TMH—yes, yes, yes! And not because I don’t like ALTNOY. TMH is such a “sweet spot” song for David, and the perfect concert opener. It just engages the crowd immediately. Of course there is no way to predict how it might have done on the radio, but it wasn’t hard to imagine collective chair bopping.
My favorite TMH has to be in Rexburg (June 2010), mainly because I was there and the entire evening was absolutely electric. The TMH video by @muldur conjures up memories of a crazy, appreciative crowd, and a happy—make that “joyful”—David who threw in a few extra musical embellishments for us during the song.
ohmyheck the screaming! I’d almost forgotten what those shows were like. #goodtimes
I like this TMH too, he’s so… loose 🙂
I wasn’t around then so I’m not sure what my choice would have been for a 2nd single. I like both songs. Like Grammyj, I do think lack of success of the 2nd single had less to do with the song and more with the label not pushing it to radio like Crush. I hear quite a few crappy songs getting spins lol.
Picking favorites is always VERY hard for me but I do love the rehearsal one from Malaysia that’s posted up top! Also have a weak spot for this one from Memphis (when everyone had a birthday at once and sweet 16 meant David would sing TMH)
I agree with Grammyj and Tina that ALTNOY could have done well if Jive hadn’t abandoned it. I think I even heard somewhere that djs liked it but Jive told them to pull it (probably to push some one else in their “stable”). It always seemed strange that they’d film this glossy video for the song and then let it drop.
What I remember most about those early TMH days is when it finally was released as a single and David performed it live on Idol (and I thought he did just fine), he tweeted his apologies because he wasn’t happy with his performance and said something like “I’m still alive.” 🙂 My favorite TMH I think is the AOL sessions version. 🙂
this mjs review & comments are on this topic too… ❤ TMH
http://www.mjsbigblog.com/song-of-the-week-touch-my-hand-david-archuleta.htm
Thanks for posting the link. Interesting read.
Touch my Hand was always my fave choice for David’s 2nd single and I was not involved in the push to switch, as i recall. Still love singing along with TMH in my car~ the ultimate opening concert song ~ crowd goes wild every time. SO looking forward to hearing what David has in store for his lucky fans upon his return! 🙂
I loved TMH from the start and am still fond of it today after watching it in so many concerts. It always reminds me of the huge reception David got at the AI Tour concerts. I also remember the time David performed TMH on AI–and the audience wasn’t allowed to reach out to touch his hand (you can’t tell me none of them wanted to). Plus there seemed to be something David didn’t expect about the background music–for a few measures he was actually off key, which we all know NEVER happens. I wasn’t surprised he was disappointed in that performance. My heart went out to him.
As to the “second single controversy”–the MH and the TMH camps both had good points, though I still think the MH lyrics are too esoteric for pop success. When it became known that David had been in on the writing of ALTNOY it was the first song we knew he had contributed to and suddenly we loved it. Fans wanting that songwriter success for D did influence the selection of the second single. I went to 4 of David’s Jingle Ball concerts and saw the crowds roar for TMH and settle down for ALTNOY and I knew ALTNOY wasn’t going places. Besides, David gave it the worst intros, “It’s about being a little too not over someone.” Okay, then.
Thanks for taking me down memory lane!
I don’t mean to complicate the discussion but perhaps if Jive had allowed David to put ZG on his 1st album (and perform it at those first Jingle Balls), it might’ve ended up as a single. Certainly a crowd pleaser, even more so than TMH, which has really grown on me too I must say.
I will always love TMH. I can’t guess what would have been or will be as I am usually wrong, wrong, wrong, lol. But I do think David has been making his own decisions and will continue to going forward. He gives the deceptive appearance of amenability, and, he will go his own way.
Oh, btw, David touched Mr. K’s hand in Gwinnett when he sang TMH as the opener on the Demi Lavato tour. Mr. K still talks about that periodically when singers and concert topics come up.
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