This pic gets top billing! :))))
2 Utah Entertainers off to Afghanistan: Jason Hewlett & David Archuleta. http://t.co/tH2KCYsTpx pic.twitter.com/Ioyqs0rVHs
— Joani @Coupons4Utah (@coupons4utah) July 10, 2014
2 Utah Entertainers off to Afghanistan: Jason Hewlett & David Archuleta. http://t.co/tH2KCYsTpx pic.twitter.com/Ioyqs0rVHs
— Joani @Coupons4Utah (@coupons4utah) July 10, 2014
Omg Kyla, gigi & Tia with David Archuleta 😦 pic.twitter.com/37XUAMBpUp
— Jessa Mendoza (@Mendozajessaaa) July 10, 2014
“@KimboNation: Me and the famous David Archuleta from American Idol! ☺ pic.twitter.com/9GCsWRa0Sz” < GREAT picture! Thanks for sharing! 👍
— Marylee~♪♥DA2014♥♪ (@Marylee_NCGirl) July 10, 2014
@mlpb3 very! He was nervous on stage it was so cute lol
— Kimberly Bolf (@KimboNation) July 10, 2014
And from Jason Hewlett’s amazing blog (I won’t post the pic of D. sleeping ‘cuz, well, you know):
Yes, after 40 hours of flying we arrived at our destination, only to be held up at Customs for never having been there, and then being told our luggage hadn’t arrived. This is a custom I have practiced for many years on Delta, thus my reasons for not having checked a bag in 3 years since they lost my $10,000 worth of costumes on a direct flight to Las Vegas years ago. I apologized to everyone, since I checked a bag and cursed our luggage 🙂 Remember, Delta stands for:
Don’t Expect Luggage To Arrive
Hoping we get our gear, we are all in the same outfits now for 60+ hours. Stinky! But the shows must go on, hoping Dean gets his keyboard, but luckily he’s a genius and can figure out all of the songs for David, and as we all know, David can sing the phone book anyway.
Let the Tour begin! More photos coming soon.
Also, I have been informed that I am NOT allowed to post where we will be going, only AFTER the fact, so I apologize to anyone following and hoping to catch us on this tour. Obviously, this is not a secret we are here, but needs to be a secret where we’ll be, in order to protect all involved as well as the Troops. Thank you for understanding and still following. It will be more like a 5-minute delay watching the Grammy’s rather than seeing it LIVE, which as we all can agree, is probably the best way to run things nowadays.
Love you all! Thank you for your kind words and comments on the Blog Post regarding our travels here. It’s been a wonderful trip so far, we have been treated incredibly well by all those from this country and ours. Beautiful hotel, incredible food, I accidentally gained 18 lbs on the flight over.
Enjoy videos of our trip posted on my Facebook Entertainer Page
God Bless!
TODAY’S POST!
With little sleep, no bags or luggage, confused and dazed, we had an incredible First Full Day on our Tour in a fascinating place: Bahrain.
It was so hot my face fell off the second we left the hotel. I think it was between 120-130 degrees today. I didn’t dare ask for fear that my skin would retreat from my body. Literally, my face just melted right off, so gross, people were screaming….
And then I realized they were screaming for David Archuleta, who was walking innocently behind me. It’s like Beatlemania with him. Man, this guy is popular everywhere in the whole wide world! Not sure if anyone could be more deserving of success and adoring fans than David, he’s a legitimately kind, spiritual, determined, talented, and calculated person. I’m learning a lot just being around this kid (I call him a kid because I’m like an old man compared to his youthfulness, and to me it’s a term of endearment. But let’s be real, he’s now a man and even requested a razor at the front desk of the hotel in order to shave his manly beard growing in, since DELTA lost our luggage. I offered my razor but it still had some coarse back hairs stuck in it and he started crying….not really but that would be hilarious).
This morning we went shopping for Ramadan appropriate clothing. Dean and I looked on as Dan tried to find clothing for his 6’5″ frame in a country where he’s considered the same size as a camel. David found a nice outfit for the show tonight and looked dashing. Dean and I went with our clothes from the flight over, day 3 for these bad boys, once I got back to the hotel I took off my shirt and it ran away across the floor.
p.s.
And he’s answering questions on his blog!
“David is well, we go on stage in a few hours, his voice has been heard in elevators and through the airports as he hums along working on a few new songs to perform tonight.”
“David has fans worldwide, even the front desk of the hotel in Bahrain had his song playing on their ipod as we checked in! They didn’t know if it was really him on the list but freaked out when we showed up. Really cute. We will hope to spread joy and love to all we meet.”
P.P.S.
How awesome is this picture????!!!!!! (Plus it makes David’s hair look soooo long! lol)
P.P.S.S.
Hope you guys don’t mind but I’m just going to keep adding to this post… no point in blogging while Jason’s around! LOL … Seriously though, I love that he’s sort of taking the pressure off of David fan-wise by sharing so much of what it’s like to be on their tour for the U.S. troops… he’s been great about responding to fans (does he KNOW what he’s gotten himself into??? 🙂 ) so maybe peeps will give David a break , you know?
Thanks to the lovely peppertara, snippet of “Bring Him Home” HERE … gahhhhh. And THIS from the also lovely TheRealNewangel:
This pic is from Jason’s latest blog HERE … loved this: “We … feel we are making a dent in the often hurting lives of those who enjoy our show” *sniff* … I sure hope David knows that he does that every single time he sings anywhere.
So do you think they’re starting to chant, “DA-VID! DA-VID! DA-VID!” before every show? 😉
NEW Jason Hewlett blog post HERE!
MORE PICS! (Source)
SnowAngelz: Canadian fans of David Archuleta 
Jason has become my new favorite person!! He had me in tears reading his blog about preparing for this trip….truly a wonderful man <3. And I know I'll be finding myself searching for a new blog every morning now lol. Heck yes…he's got my vote for President!! 😀
PS…no need to post the pic of David sleeping (we all know how he feels about those pics lol) because I may or may not have that one tucked away safely in my little (embarrassing large) David album on my phone 😉
oooo video clip of David leaving …..
and singing crush!!!!
Dean Kaelin for President too!!!!!!
From his FB page:
Well, the good news is that all of our luggage finally got here. The bad news is that it didn’t get here until 11pm so we had to do our first show without my keyboard. (# days with the same pair of socks…pretty sketchy, even though I did wash them out this morning! haha. All in all the show went well though. We rounded up a keyboard and the hall and sound guys were great. We had to go to the navy store and get David some clothes since all he was wearing was shorts and a t-shirt. I was surprised how many people knew David, even way over here. We got stopped in the hotel, and all over the navy base when people saw him and wanted to get a picture with him. The audience was different than we expected; a lot of families and younger kids, so we adjusted the show and they seemed to like it. Btw, David sounded great. He performed “Crush” for the first time in over two years, but the show stoppers were “Imagine”, “Everybody Hurts” and “Bring Him Home”. Jason was hilarious and Dan told great, motivational stories. Also, Jason is doing a blog about our tour if you want to follow it. Here are the first two:
Blog Post 1: http://jasonhewlett.com/performing-for-the-us-troops-at-wartime/
Blog Post 2: http://jasonhewlett.com/us-troops-tour-leg-1-bahrain/
The highlight of the day definitely though was driving to an LDS branch after the show and doing a fireside for about 70 members. Some drove all the way from Saudi Arabia to be there. We started at 9:30pm and didn’t get out of there until after 11pm. It was great. The message was all about that we are children of god and we are all unique and we need to be the best “you” that we can be. I did a medley of primary songs, David sang “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” and “If the Savior Stood Beside Me” and told a cool story about following the promptings of the spirit on his mission, even though it pushed him way out of his comfort zone. Dan and Jason were great. Funny and spiritual. We were all embarrassed to be in street clothes, but they were kind to us. There are no missionaries here, and officially no one can proselyte, but there is an understanding with the government that lets them meet. The branch president is a convert from South Africa where I served my mission. That’s enough for now. Be well.
Okay, I need a video of “Bring Him Home,” stat!!! 🙂
Love Jason’s blog and Dean’s facebbook posts. It’s great to get all the behind the scenes information. Jason is so funny too. I love that David is popular worldwide.
Oh I really do hope we see a video of “Bring Him Home”! What a terrific guy Jason is and hilarious! So wonderful that he (and Dean) post updates. More than I expected actually. Aww, seems they still know and love D worldwide….well, of course they do. What an awesome tour for the troops. Bless them all.
Glad David and the guys are all managing to do okay in 120-130 deg weather, yikes!
These blogs, vids, pics, and reports have gladdened my heart. Such an amazing thing David is doing–both for those who get to see the team perform and for David himself. Who knew he would still be so well recognized in places he’s never been. Yep, this is all awesomesauce and I’m really thankful for my new favorite comic, Jason, and Dean for their writings. They took us along!
This is awesome!!! So awesome to get a bit of an idea what it is like to be over there doing what they are doing… awesome all around!! Really would be special to get some vids later… I have a feeling that Jason will be on top of it!!
What a wonderful pic of David with that very young military man, so nice! Ha, yes it does make D’s hair look long.
Have you seen this? Oh my goodness, a small clip of David singing Bring Him Home! A piece of Heaven, how does he do it….that voice, got me teary eyed from that small clip, beautiful.
Hope this link works, click on the top photo (or video) at top of page.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10203517279106650&id=1054336941&_rdr
While this is not a style of song that would make miPod (sorry!) I can certainly appreciate David’s incredible voice and fantastic technical mastery on it. So extremely happy to get this clip!
oh sweet peaches!!!!!! thank you, pepp!!!!!!
I think what I find most poignant about him singing Bring Him Home is thinking about young D. watching that Anniversary special all those years ago singing this in his living room and now getting to perform it for such a worthy audience, sharing his gift with them and maybe inspiring someone listening in a whole different way. Not full circle but different points on an upward spiral, as JR once so beautifully put it. Not sure I’m making sense, lol. … oh and I also LOVE all the cheering & applause at the end! 🙂
Need to hear the whole thing! #greedyfan
From Dean’s Facebook:
Day number three. We did two shows today; one for army people at a Patriot missile base and one at the Isa base. The first show was more intimate and was just parts of our full show. We had no P.A. and I had to accompany all the songs David sang on guitar. The evening show was a lot more people and the full show. It was a nice theater at the base. The show we are doing is quite different than what they usually get here and they seem to be enjoying it. There were a few hickups in the show tonight as we try and tweak things and make it better, but all in all they seemed to enjoy it. We also visited a place called “The Tree of Life”. It is a tree out in the middle of the desert. It is a wonder how it grows with seemingly no water anywhere. It truly is a desert here and the wind is hot and sand blows a lot. It has given me new appreciation for the people of Moses wandering around for 40 years. Yesterday we went to a mosque. It is Ramadan here for the Muslim people; so they fast (no food, water, gum or intimate relations) from sun up to sundown. Every time we are off base we can’t eat or drink anything and we must wear long pants and long sleeve shirts. I have been using one of David’s since I didn’t bring any long sleeved shirts. (Who would want to bring long sleeved shirts to a place that’s so hot?) After the show I hung out with some of the servicemen and won all of my ping pong games and also the bag toss game that they had in their place. Tomorrow we fly early to Kuwait and it is supposed to be REALLY hot there (so apparently Bahrain has been just warm? Yikes!!) It seems to be worthwhile and all is well.
https://www.facebook.com/dean.kaelin.18
OM Freakin’ Gosh. Been away from the internet for 2 weeks…in the mountains…and then this! Woo Hoo! Loving the blogs and snippets of music. Just grateful really.
Thanks TOfan for bringing this all together. And, yes, “Jason Hewlett for President,” yes indeedy!!
Love ya’ll at SAz!! Big hugs and many kisses!
moarrrrr!
New snippet of Crush from Bahrain Day 2! So good to see him at the keyboard!
JR’s at it again, bless her!!!
A few more photos from Dean Kaelin! 🙂
Cool to hear a run-down of their show and how it’s designed to help the U.S. troops:
For anyone interested, I’ve added links at the top of the sidebar for posting online messages of support to Canadian peacekeepers and/or U.S. Military posted overseas.
Good to read Dan’s newsletter, they are doing a lot of good…..and thanks for putting this all together TOfan….and for the links to Cdn Peacekeepers and U.S. Military overseas, appreciated.
I am loving all these updates, photos, inspiring blogs and the most incredible musical song clips one could ask for. Thanks to JR too, wow, so love that BHH little vid.
A wonderful bunch of guys on this journey and I’m sure they are making more than a dent in what they are sharing with the troops. A great blend of inspiration, beautiful music and great humour.
I also really love that David is singing ‘Crush’. So sweet to see him sing this signature pop song of his again, after quite some time. Something quite special about that. ❤
I saw that Jason felt honoured about this blog and this, ha: @JasonHewlett for President!!!! Well, we're all very grateful!
Bless David and his companions and bless the troops.
he did? awww Must have missed that, lol.
I agree, pepp, cool to hear David singing Crush again!
Breaking news: Top button not fastened! (It must REALLY be hot there). 🙂
http://instagram.com/p/qZ_uDZoGR6/
I’ll just keep spamming myself here HAHAHAHA
I’m reading, and listening, and watching and dreamin’!
Thanks TOfan!! Saw Jason shout out to you in his blog. You da’ woman. Yay!!!
From Jason’s most educational, entertaining and heart warming blog:
sound pls 🙂 🙂 🙂
sound, yes!!!
and {{{{Ms. Kiz}}} have missed you! Great pic!
*gulp*
(added some pics to the end of the post btw 🙂 )
Miss you too! When I post pics they seem to go on the Jumbotron, lol. *scratches head*
Love the pics you posted up top and at the end. The gift that keeps on giving!!! How can I not but just love it.
Jumbotron is perfectly fine! LOL
Here’s moaaarrrr:
David, there is a lavatory right there… feel free to do a vlog! 🙂
And new Jason blog!!
“Dan Clark and David Archuleta had the experience of a lifetime and got to go up in the cockpit and stay up there the entire flight!”
http://jasonhewlett.com/us-troops-tour-kuwait-to-afghanistan/
Wow. What a sobering blog. One of a kind pics for me. As Jason said: “God bless our troops, God bless you, God bless America.
Wow…it’s all just wow.
Such (another) worldly experience for David…and still all at only 23! Growing leaps and bounds, that guy.
Have really appreciated seeing all the pics, blogs and now Dan’s video recap, from the tour.
That “top billing pic”…it’s what an DA pal & I like to refer to as David’s “krinkly smile” …it is unmistakable when you see it, and it only comes out when he is truly in a joyful or funny moment. Little kids/fans seem to bring out the best in him, naturally.
And the pic with the blonde female soldier, made me smile…David makes even the toughest among us swoon just a tad in his presence…particularly after the Voice has awakened the senses. 😉 #TrueCalling. ..if ever there was one. 🙂
#TrueCalling, for sure amb4da. Have this been posted yet? A highlight video from Dan, it made me wonder if David is singing Angels on this tour, would be perfect really.
https://fbcdn-video-a.akamaihd.net/hvideo-ak-xpf1/v/t42.1790-2/10464555_10203546374034005_208309752_n.mp4?oh=a956effc9f81e57a51bf76314a26e242&oe=53C5BE1D&__gda__=1405468201_78f9c40ef9898eed3960863f11693dc3
Speaking of which (singing Angels on tour), I’ve often thought, and hoped David would “dig Angels out” again someday on tour, and enough time has gone by now to do it.
To me it will always be iconic David, and now it feels right as one of his “standards” to pull out of his hat. And you KNOW he will “refresh” it. And I KNOW it will move me to goose bumps again and again and again…if I hear that song from him forever. Plus it also has a nostalgia to it…I always go back in my mind to Idol tour, first time hearing him in person after a season of Idol & being blown away by him on tv …the fog machine that brought the piano and David out from the floor…I couldn’t even contain my emotions that night. Ok sorry if I’m a bit OT from the current tour…Angels ramble…done. 😉
I have a new appreciation for our servicemen and women from reading the blogs, seeing the pictures and videos. I can’t imagine what David is feeling actually experiencing it all. I hope it comes out in a great song. It is great to hear that the troops are enjoying the entertainment by “our guys”. Someone suggested they make a video of the whole show to sell. That would be awesome. I’d love to see it. I doubt it will happen just like no DVD of Nandito Ako, but a girl can dream.