World-renown entertainer, David James Archuleta, began his journey of fame and stardom after becoming the runner-up on season seven of the ABC reality show American Idol.
Fourteen years ago, in 2008, on the night that Ryan Seacrest revealed that David Cook, and not David Archuleta, was the winner of season seven, four diehard David Archuleta fans posted a video clip that went viral. In the clip the four enthusiastic fans go from eager anticipation to screaming in despair to sobbing in defeat.
In 2021, Archuleta took to social media and gave the four fans a personal shoutout on Twitter, writing, “Today marks 13 years since I lost American Idol. Thinking about these girls. Hope they’re doing fine, wherever they are!”
Archuleta is currently recovering from a recent vocal surgery, which caused him to cancel his tour for the third time. Nevertheless, he returned to American Idol as a special guest on The Great Idol Reunion, a show celebrating the 20th anniversary of American Idol that aired earlier this week. The thing that was different about this appearance is that he did not sing. He was there to surprise and finally meet in person, the four passionate fans — Natalie Blanock, Madison Shemansky, Kellie Duffey, and Natalie Burchesky —whose video went viral.
Yahoo Entertainment reports that the ladies arrived at the American Idol set sporting T-shirts with Archuleta’s face. Seacrest then played them the clip of their reactions. According to Decider, Ryan Seacrest said, “That was one of the most gut-wrenching moments in these girls’ lives, and they’re here with us tonight.” He then asked the ladies if they were still David Archuleta fans. After they confirmed that they still listen to his music and follow him online, Seacrest told them that he had a “surprise.” At that moment Archuleta walked out on stage.
Using his phone’s vocal-assistance app, Archuleta told them, “Thanks for creating such a fun and memorable moment for me and everyone else. Sorry I didn’t win!”
