The lovely oliveoil’s comment today (on this post from last summer) … along with David’s blog today… got me to read this post again, and I realize I still feel the same way I did then — and I’m thrilled he does too.
What did you guys think of his blog???
(and hey, is this not an A+++++ smile (no science needed)?
http://instagram.com/p/yvWG-_ly-x/?modal=true
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(repost from June 2014)
I thought this before the vlog, but it became even clearer to me after watching the vlog (which was awesome and all that, but just reinforced my own personal opinion on this)… David’s a grownup and can clearly tell us off in his own lovely David way, but this is my rant and I’m sticking to it:
7 reasons David should stop reading fan comments (on Twitter, youTube, wherever):
1. Life’s too short. For the thousands of supportive “I’m a forever fan” comments out there, the handful of “WANT VLOG NOW!” or “YOU SUCK!” … or worse … are the ones that stick. I heard a novelist interviewed on the radio this morning who said he was depressed for six months over a single bad review (despite all the glowing ones he got). It’s human nature. He no longer reads reviews, btw (and probably doesn’t read Twitter comments either. 🙂 ).
2.We are a bunch of freaks (myself included). Nice, well-meaning freaks, for the most part, but freaks nonetheless. I’ve embraced my freakdom. Face it. It’s just not “normal” to obsessively follow a 17-year-old singer for six years. I’ve accepted that fact. And if you haven’t, answer me this? Is your David fandom something you’d list on your list of “interests” on a job application? Online dating profile? In your Christmas letter to extended family? Fan (short for “fanatic”) freaks — who have no idea what it’s like to live their idol’s life or to forge a career in the music business — don’t generally offer helpful insights to that artist. Just sayin’.
3. David owes us nothing. Zero. Bupkis. We are a self-interested bunch. Unlike David, who pursues music because of what he can give, not what he can get, we fans operate the other way around. We want, want, want, MORE from David. Even paying for a CD or a concert ticket doesn’t entitle us to anything… we get so much MORE in return. Like the credit card ad says, “CD: $12.99 … hearing David sing: PRICELESS.” More reward than we actually deserve, imo. David did not ask us to wait for two years, vote in polls, start or read fan blogs, all that other stuff that some peeps seem to think he owes us for. He doesn’t.
4. We are fickle and sometimes outright lie to him. “Ooooo, take as long as you need for yourself when you get back” many fans wrote to David online to welcome him home. FALSE. Two short months later many of these same fans were nagging him online for news… sounds like some even called him “lazy” (as if). So why should he pay attention to anything we say, when our adoration and loyalty can turn on a dime if we don’t get tossed enough cookies.
5. We care too much. You can’t trust the opinions of people over-invested in you — no objectivity there at all. When I see peeps tweeting other celebs, suggesting they work with David, I cringe. (Have I done this? Possibly, I can’t remember… that’s what fan freakishness does to you — affects your memory and your judgment.) Gives me flashbacks of my mom calling the mother of a classmate I had a crush on asking the mom to ask her son to take me to the school dance. I knew she meant well but NO! Just, NO!!!!!
6. It’s asking for trouble. Remember after the Idol finale, where David practically left his aorta on that stage, and he said, “I hope that’s enough for them”… broke my heart, but he was right … it will never be enough for some of us. I’m not saying fans shouldn’t voice their opinions. Go for it! Knock yourselves out! (In some cases, literally.) But should David open that Pandora’s Box? (Which might look like it’s filled with rose petals, but it only takes one hidden viper to poison you.)
7. Our opinions matter… to us! David does not need to see them. IMO, they only add to the pressure he’s already under, and distract him from making the amazing life-changing music he was born to make. What if Michelangelo had been on Tumblr and kept having to read, “Dude, enough with the chapel ceilings! How about something for us agnostics!” (And yes, I did just compare David to Michelangelo.)
Even reading the positive, supportive comments is not a good idea. I remember when Bonnie Hunt gave David great advice to not listen to either the praise or the critics. I doubt David goes near fansites with a 10-foot-pole but if he does … STOP READING NOW AND NEVER COME BACK! We need to hear what you have to say — in music obviously, on Twitter, in vlogs, Instagram, whatever you like — yes, it is part of your “job” … but, trust me, you do not need to hear what we have to say. Even this post. It’s a test. Avert your eyes.
So, am I nuts? What do you guys think?
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NO ONE strummed those silent strings like Salschuleta.
SnowAngelz: Canadian fans of David Archuleta 
