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Confession: I’m not a person who watches a lot of YouTube videos… *gasp* even David Archuleta videos.
I’m usually all about the audio.
Even the vlogs David used to do. I’d watch for sure once, maybe even twice, but that’s about it.
I think I’ve seen the SBL vid once. Numb maybe four times because I love the song so much.
But this one’s different. For a lot of reasons.
At first I kept watching it because of the lighting. HA HA HA, as if. It was totally because of the dancing.
When it came out, I didn’t even realize it had been released yet. The very thoughtful Refnaf emailed me, basically saying, “Where the heck ARE you??? The Up All Night video is up and DAVID IS DANCING! D.A.N.C.I.N.G!”
And I actually thought, “Nah, she can’t mean really dancing.”
Then I started watching it at work with headphones on.
I had to slap my hands over my mouth to stop from screaming and freeze myself in my chair to stop from leaping out of it and running around the office like a wild banshee arms flailing in the air because that’s exactly what I felt like doing.
And then I had to watch it again to verify that what I just saw really happened.
And once more to make sure I had three solid sources. #journalismschool
I was floored, as I’m sure many of you were. Not because he could dance… we all knew that … he telegraphed it with each subtle salsa-ish move, shoulder twitch and sly strut on stage.
But because he did dance. Openly. Freely. Unabashedly. Went for it.
As one youTube commenter accurately put it:”You ate up that beat @ 1:15 and i am all about it! Go get it, D.!”
The video was brilliantly edited to pepper his moves throughout the song, instead of one big show-stopping number… like breadcrumbs teasing you along… “did I just see what I thought I saw?” “there he goes again!” “I need to see moaaaaarrrr!” Genius!
But even more than the dancing, I loved how the video added even more layers to the story of the song, which is upbeat and joyous and simple yet has depth and real emotion to it, feelings I think we can all identify with… that yearning for “somewhere we belong.”
People have talked about the diversity in the video and, coming from a diverse, multicultural place, I loved that. It looked like home. Home with David singing and dancing in it, what on this Earth could possibly be better?? Not much, am I right? 🙂
And we see not just different shades of people, but pierced and tattooed peeps, and, heck, even grey-haired folks, and two girls dancing together, and then everyone was dancing together.
With all the dark and terrible things happening in the world, I want to focus on this kind of love and acceptance and inclusion… all THESE feelings inside, keeping me up all night, all these feelings inside.
Let’s watch it again, shall we?
How about you guys? Are you still watching it? What was your favourite part?? Do you think David will try any of these moves in his upcoming shows (which start in one week, btw, I repeat, SEVEN DAYS!!!)?
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Made a fascinating discovery about Spotify… (this is likely common knowledge, right? 🙂 ) … I downloaded it for free onto my desktop 
SnowAngelz: Canadian fans of David Archuleta 