Warning: This is a suuuper duuuper long post. I love David Archie that much. Also I am writing in so much detail because this is one of the highlights of my life and I want to look back at this in the future and relieve my happiest memories.
Today is the 26th of October and I think I am finally ready to write a blog post about it without tearing up. I have finally recovered from my PCD. See, last October 20th was the best day of my life. It was the very first time I have seen David Archuleta in concert. I have been a huge fan since I was 10 and now I am 20. I have known and loved him way more than my friends in real life. All the people around me know that I call him my kuya because he is like an older brother I look up to. He made my childhood the best. Let me include here a few anecdotes. I remember collecting pictures and posters of him that I got from magazines or newspapers. I did not grow up in a well off family so just buying an album even took me several months of saving up. I will never forget that it was around Christmas time. My mother and I went to the mall. I brought my savings with me. I told her that I wanted to buy his album as a Christmas gift to myself. I think I purchased it for more or less than PHP 550 which is around 10 USD. It was a lot of money for me since as I have mentioned, we were not rich. We are still not rich tbh lol. My mom told me not to tell my dad about it because he will get mad that I have spent that much money on something that is “not that important”. My father is not really that supportive of my fangirling. Up until today. Well I guess that’s another story for me to tell. Still, I was the happiest when I got it. It became the most important thing I have ever owned. There was also this one time when I heard he was having a concert here with David Cook. Of course, I knew I would not be able to watch it because *surprise surprise* I could not afford it. I was already losing hope when I learned that he was doing a TV guesting on Eat Bulaga. I immediately told my mom we should go. I love how my mom has always been supportive with everything that makes me happy. She agreed and we were ready the next day. The thing was that my father asked where we were going so we had to tell him. He did not allow me to go because he thought there might be a stampede on the venue since it was David Archuleta, duh. Wow he actually thought David was a really huge star. I love it. LOL. I felt so sad at that time. I literally did not talk to anyone and I was mad at my father for ruining my dream of seeing my fave artist. My mom, who really is an angel, did not want to see me sad so she brought me to the mall instead. We played at the arcades. I got this cute stuffed smurf from the claw machine and to commemorate that day, I named it “Archie”. I would bring Archie everywhere with me. Like everywhere. To the park, to the rooftop, to the market, literally everywhere I go. My friends still remember Archie to this day and of course I don’t bring him everywhere I go anymore, but I still have him and he will always be special. I also remember when David released his book “Chords of Strength”. I saw it the first time in a bookstore and I think it was sold for around PHP1000 (almost 20 USD). Again, can’t afford. I would always return to the store and check the book if it was still available. I would come back during sale season and see if it will be discounted. Still could not afford. I would hide it behind the shelf or at the bottom of the stacks so people would not see it. 3 years later, there was another sale and I found that one last copy of the book and grabbed it immediately. I ran to the cashier without having second thoughts. It was like destiny really wanted me to get the book. It was definitely one of the happiest, proudest and most satisfying moments in my life. I still have a lot more stories to tell but this is already too long so I apologize in advanced lol. In 2012, David had to go on a mission. I never got the chance to see him while he was here in my country. I did not know when he’ll be coming back here. I grew older and many things have changed. I have met most of my favourite artists for the past years. Greyson Chance, Lawson, Connor Franta, Alex Wassabi, and a whole lot more. I have ticked off many things in my bucket list except for one thing. This one thing I finally got to tick off this year. I finally saw my most favourite person in the whole world. David Archie did not forget about the Philippines, after all. The timing was just very difficult for me. I promised myself that no matter what happens I will see him this time. I am in college now. I have a scholarship so I thought I would be able to afford it. The thing is that uni is messing with my fangirling. I had to spend loads on school requirements I was so broke during the time of ticket selling. I told myself that I would just borrow money from my friends. I have never done it so I did not know how I would ask. Just a week before the concert, a blessing in the form of 8List announced their giveaway. You just have to answer what’s your favourite David Archie song. There were loads of great entries and I have already lost hope in winning. It was the day before the deadline when I finally decided to enter and give it a shot. My answer was a bit cringey because of my bad jokes lol, but I had to do it because I want to get their attention. With the amount of entries, it’s impossible that they would still go through each one, so my comment had to stand out. To my surprise, I was one of the winners. I was literally shaking and crying when I found out I will see the love of my life. I haven’t felt that much happiness in so long. I am really grateful for the sponsor because they made my lifelong dream come true. I was counting the days and my inner 10 year old self is back. I was so looking forward to October 20th but surprisingly that was not the day I saw him for the first time. 2 days earlier, October 18th, I was informed that he will be at Venice Piazza Grand Canal Mall in Mckinley Hill. That was just one ride away from my home. Fortunately, we didn’t have a class that day and my cousin was dismissed early so we had this spontaneous adventure of going to the venue. There was a long walk before the mall but we already had a glimpse of the Wish FM bus which made us extremely stoked. I told myself “This is it! Your 10 year old self’s dream to see him is finally happening.” We were there at exactly 4 pm and the show was supposed to start but it was only after almost 30 minutes when he showed up. He was the most beautiful human I have ever seen to walk on this earth. I am not exaggerating. He looks so perfect. He is 26 and I look way older than him. I was shaking and I couldn’t control my hormones, I mean emotions, LOL. I was so close and the only thing separating us apart was the bus itself. He looked at me and I waved at him and he waved and smiled back and we had a moment there and I almost fainted I mean who wouldn’t?! The guy has the most beautiful smile I have ever seen. Please don’t think I’m crazy. I was just really overwhelmed. He did a short interview and then he sang. His precious voice, oh my ears were blessed. He first sang “Up All Night” then I started to tear up when he sang “Invincible”. It has finally struck me that it was real. I am hearing and seeing him in person for the first time ever. He sang the songs beautifully and they’re so meaningful. I am so proud I admire the right person. It sucks that he had to leave at 5:30. I did not even notice the time. That was like the fastest one hour of my life. We were waiting for him at the exit and I was lucky that I was standing there the whole time so I was near like I was literally behind the security guy. The people behind me were just pushing me which was kind of annoying but I understand because we were there for the same reason. David and I were just like two feet apart. We are breathing the same air you guys. LOL. I was trying to reach his hand, the guy at my back was able to do it but my arms were too short. It was alright, though. I am just going to put that on my bucket list haha. It made me more excited for his actual concert. Our section was in balcony so we were farther from the stage but seeing him that day, just 2 feet apart, is already enough for me. It already felt like a meet and greet. The time has finally come. His concert was on a Friday which means it is a school day. I was so happy that morning which is rare because I am not a morning person. I even wrote a letter during our break time because I was hoping to give it to him personally. I also prepared some little presents for him but sad news I wasn’t able to do those things. Maybe someday. We were dismissed at 4 PM and I came home at 5. I changed to my concert outfit which is basically a Sherlock shirt with a denim jacket paired with black jeans. Thankfully, there was no traffic. However, when we reached the MRT, there was a long queue. I was just glad the line was moving fast. I had to go in the male section because I was with my cousin and can I just say that was the wildest ride of my life?! The train was so packed. It smelled disgusting and I could not breathe. I felt relieved when we reached our station so I could inhale some fresh air. It looked like I came from a war. We walked near the Araneta Coliseum and after a few minutes we found the Kia Theatre. It was my first time there so I didn’t know what to expect. We immediately went inside. Someone validated our tickets and we went up the escalator because our section was on the second level. The view wasn’t that bad. The stage still looked close and the venue is perfect for an intimate show. It was already 8 PM but the show has not started yet. We made some friends with our seatmates during the show. They were also winners from the contest which is great. This is also what I like about being in a fandom, it builds friendships. At 8:30, Tippy Dos Santos performed an opening act. I did not know her before but she sounds amazing. I liked her voice and I also realized that she was the one who sang “Dati”. Archie came out on stage by 9 PM. Everyone started screaming. His first song was "Up All Night". We were singing along and I just melted when he did his adorable dance moves. When he sang "Invincible", I cried again. I don’t know why but that song just hits me hard. I think it’s my anthem. David is an amazing songwriter. He also did a mash up of "Parachutes and Airplanes" and "Thunder" by Imagine Dragons which was unexpected yet it turned out to be so cool. He did a duet with Tippy on You Are My Song. They sounded great together and I told my cousin “that should be me” lol. It’s always special whenever he sings OPM songs and it’s incredible how he still remembers the words. He sang my favourites as well, "Elevator" and "My Kind of Perfect". It’s funny how he forgot the keynote on MKOP but everyone still continued singing along. It was surprising when he sang "Don’t You Worry Child". It was like an EDM concert with all those lights. When he sang "Touch My Hand", he literally touched the hands of some fans in front just like the music video. I wanted to jump from the balcony so bad. I will add that to my goals. No, not jumping off the balcony, but touching his hand on "Touch My Hand". Of course, it’s not a David Archie concert if he didn’t sing "A Little Too Not Over You". People went crazy when he sang that. It’s the song that makes you miss the ex boyfriend you never had. He said that ALTNOY will be his last song then he flipping left the stage. The audience shouted "More!", so he came back. He sang one of the most awaited songs of the night which is "Nandito Ako". It got pretty emotional real quick. He did tear up while singing and I got triggered I cried too. It will always be a special song between him and his Pinoy Archies. I remember that Jasmine Curtis Smith was also there which made it more nostalgic. 2012 was a great year. He then sang "Glorious" which I am honestly not that familiar with but it's such a beautiful, powerful song I knew I have to listen to it more. Everyone shouted "More!" after that and he thought he heard "No!" which is funny. He made a heartfelt message and said MAHAL KO KAYO which melted our hearts, before singing his final song which was... wait for it... the legendary CRUSH. Everybody just lost it when he started singing that. Hands were up in the air, swaying. It’s like we were all singing along to the Archies’ national anthem. It was so magical and I didn’t want the night to end. I did an ugly cry after the show. I didn’t want to leave. It was the best concert ever. If I could just go back to that night over and over again... well, I guess I’d just read this blog post. He sounds exactly the same live as he does on the albums. The stage set up was simple. He only has his guitarist with him. No live band. It was just him with his pure talent. His great voice really stood out. He looks like he’s having so much fun dancing around on stage. The most important thing is that he’s genuinely happy because I know it makes us happy too. It honestly made me sad when he thought he had to start from scratch because obviously we are still here. We will always be here. I hope he comes back ASAP. I made a promise to myself that when he does, I will be in the VIP. I will touch his hand when he sings Touch My Hand. I will have a picture with him. I will have him sign my CDs and his book. I wish nothing but success for this guy. He is so precious and he has the one of the best vocals in the world. His songs are keeping me sane in this insane world. Thank you for your music, David. I hope you never get tired of creating them. I will always listen to them because they make me happy. I hope you keep doing the things that make you happy, too.
0 Comments
|
just call her "G"when she can't say it, |