Mention the name David Archuleta and people the world over know exactly who he is. He became famous, when at the age of 16, he became the runner-up of season 7 of the reality television show American Idol. He returned to the show earlier in 2016 to participate in the opening group number of the show’s series finale. Even before the days of American Idol, David was a rising young star. At the age of 10, he won the children’s division of the Utah Talent Competition, and at the age of 12, he won the Star Search 2 Junior Vocal Champion award. Not only has his fantastic music touched the hearts and lives of many people but he has inspired millions with his calm demeanor, angelic voice, and genuine personality making him a perfect role model for his peers.
In March 2012, David put his music career on hold to serve a two-year full-time mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the country of Chile. In a January 2015 blog entry on his official website, he described his mission as a turning point in his life. David commented, “As I was in the wave after American Idol, touring, making appearances, the only focus was trying to make everybody else happy, and in the process, I lost myself. I’m so grateful for the mission because I found myself again, and not only that, I discovered so many new things.”
Now, four years after his mission, David Archuleta has released a song that is perhaps somewhat different than the types of songs that people usually expect to hear from him. On 3 November 2016, he released a lyric video for his new song “Numb,” and on 17 November 2016, the full music video was released on his YouTube channel. The song, written by David, Trent Dabbs, and producer Jamie Kenney, came to him after returning home from his mission in March 2014. Tarek Kasmi directed the video, and the song is now available on iTunes and Spotify. As of 18 November 2016, the full music video has garnered more than 12,000 views, and the lyric video has garnered over 232,000 views.
Speaking about the song in a recent interview with Billboard, David said, “It was during the time that I returned from my mission trip of two years in Chile. I was trying to get accustomed back to becoming a performer and an artist, and getting back into the whole business of it.” He continued, “It was hard and challenging, and I was wondering if I even wanted to keep doing it, and I was having a hard time. I was missing Chile and doing something that wasn’t about me. It was so much the opposite, and what can I do for other people and helping them in whatever way. I was just missing the people I was with.”
At one point David just wanted to throw in the towel and give up on music. However, having a writing session already scheduled in Nashville, Tennessee, he decided to follow through with it to see what the outcome might be. While in Nashville, he started talking with Dabbs and Kenney and expressed to them how he was feeling inside and what was on his mind. As he spoke, they listened and finally made the comment that he should write about what he was feeling. David said, “It didn’t occur to me that I could write about what I was feeling, and we just started writing and that’s what came out of it. Numb was a result of the experience, which he described as “therapeutic.” David further expressed that he feels that there are times when people want to “connect with what’s coming from someone’s heart, from their soul, and what they’re going through. I feel like this was a song that was that for me.”
