Loyal Readers of this blog know that I think the musician Rick Springfield is one of the coolest guys in show business.
Somewhat less well-known (since I’ve never actually mentioned it) is the fact that I think exactly the opposite of David Archuleta, the young man who came in second on American Idol a while back. (I don’t know exactly how far back… it seems to me like that damn show is always running, and I don’t follow it closely enough to distinguish individual seasons.)
Now, L’il Davey, as I like to call him, just happens to be a hometown hero — he comes from Murray, Utah, a former industrial center located right smack in the middle of the Salt Lake Valley, not more than a 15-minute drive from my front door. Utahns are nothing if not savagely loyal to their own, especially one of their own who happens to have been on national television, so I am risking a lot of heat by dissing the kid in public like this. But I can’t help it. He’s just so… goofy. Whenever I say things like that, my mother and The Girlfriend are quick to remind me that he’s just a kid, that he’s probably had a sheltered upbringing, that he seems to be a very sweet boy, and all of that is undeniably true. He is also — in my humble opinion — awkward on stage, shy to the point of seeming eternally dumbfounded, and too sickeningly wholesome to be any kind of genuine pop star. He is not merely not-cool; he is anti-cool.
So what then am I supposed to make of… this:
Did you flinch, too, awaiting the inevitable explosion that must surely result when opposing forces are brought into such close proximity? We’re lucky we didn’t lose the entire west coast, if you ask me…
(Joking aside, this photo is actually an outtake from a session for this week’s People Magazine anniversary issue, in which Rick and David appear together as “Teen Idols Then and Now.” I think that illustrates pretty clearly why nostalgia comes so easily for me. It isn’t just the blandification of our iconic signage, although that’s certainly another symptom of the problem.
You can find several other outtakes from the People shoot on Rick’s official site, if you’re curious, and the actual magazine spread is on David’s site. There’s also a video here that includes a very funny moment when Rick tells David his mother is hot. To his credit, David actually comes up with an appropriate response…)
I do have to agree with you Jason . . . to some extent. David Archuleta is goofy and seems uncoordinated and shy most of the time. However, there is something refreshing to me about seeing a “teen idol” that isn’t taking their clothes off to sell a song, or going to clubs and making out with so-and-so and getting drunk until all hours of the morning. It seems he hasn’t gotten wrapped up in that whole aspect of fame. At least not yet. For that reason, I like DA. Plus, a couple of his songs aren’t half bad.
Interesting photo nonetheless. Rick almost looks a little shy himself in this pic.
Heh – yeah, I knew I’d be getting some blowback on this one! 🙂
David does seem like a nice kid, and I can see your point about his wholesomeness having its appeal. I personally always tended to gravitate more toward the naughty and bawdy types, myself. (And make no mistake: Rick S. was always a naughty boy, despite his reputation as a cute little bubblegum idol.) But hey, it’s all a matter of taste, right?
As for Rick seeming shy, yeah, he kind of does sometimes. I get the impression he’s often blown away by the notion that he’s still getting paid to do this after all these years… and by the fact that all the grown women throwing themselves at him from the front row used to have posters of him on their bedroom doors when they were 15!
I agree that Archuleta is absolutely NOT COOL. But then, neither am I. I don’t think anyone from my high school crowd has ever merited a spread in People magazine. Yes, David is difficult to watch in interviews because of his goofiness, but I guess that’s part of the appeal. And speaking from the POV of a father of four girls…I’d rather my daughter would bring home someone like David instead of someone like Rick. Knowwhatimean?
A bit off topic, but I forgot that Springfield was 60…wow! He looks younger than WE’RE supposed to!
Derek, I’m not a father, but I take your point. By his own admission, Rick was something of a cad in his younger days. All true rock stars are. Were. Whatever. It comes with the territory.
Still, I think I’d probably be rooting for my girl to bring home someone a bit more interesting than L’il Davey. He really is the Ned Flanders of the music industry… isn’t there some happy medium we hit?
Re: your tangent, yes, Rick is in really good shape, even up close when you’re at a concert. I suspect he’s coloring his hair these days, but otherwise… well, I’m feeling woefully inadequate now…
As a father, I can tell you that since David Archuleta won American Idol, the only place I’ve seen him pop-up is on one of my kids’ favorite TV show (iCarly on Nickelodeon).
It seemed like a good match. The non-cool, goofy, “aw-shucks” personality seems to play well with younger kids, and I’m guessing DA will live in that space for a while, until he gets old enough to “break out” and become a star that appeals to adults. Hopefully, he won’t choose to do this by having his girlfriend “leak” naked photos of him on the Internet (cf., Efron, Zac & Hudgens, Vanessa)
Point of correction: L’il Davey was actually the runner-up, not the winner, of American Idol.
Not that you’d know it from the fuss that people make over him around here. The “aw shucks” thing plays very well in conservative SLC, where the effect of the usual degenerate type of pop star on children is always a topic of concern.
Don’t misunderstand, I don’t want DA to be anything other than what he is, and I wish him no ill will. I hope he does manage to avoid the pitfalls of celebrity, and I never want to see naked photos of him.
But the aw-shucks thing annoys the crap out of me, personally, and I think it probably would have when I was a kid, too. I never did like “wholesome” much, even before I quite understood what it was.
Mea culpa – you’re absolutely right. He was the runner-up.
And, as long as we’re clarifying the record: I like his voice, but feel much like you do vis-a-vis his “aw, shucks” attitude. I’m just recognizing that I’m not his target market – my kids are.
Touche, Brian. 🙂