Jeff Archuleta: "I'm No Stage Dad"

Mr. Jeff Archuleta gave a great interview to US Magazine about the "stage dad" controversy which erupted after David Archuleta's lyrics escaped him on "We Can Work It Out" a few weeks ago. It's great to finally hear from the man himself and to get a glimpse of how he sees his son, and David's early years listening to Broadway musicals like "Into the Woods" (I love Into the Woods! -- Children will listen...) and "Evita." He said that David Archuleta liked to sing Whitney Houston and Celine Dion songs when he was a boy. Oy.

He also said that there is "absolutely no truth in any of the stories about me yelling at David, making him cry or withholding water from him."

I'm glad that this interview came out, but I'm just a teeny bit disappointed with regards to one glaring omission: Where is the unequivocal and angry denial that the "security guard box" incident never happened during Star Search? That's a serious accusation that Mr. Archuleta should have addressed -- and was the basis of the original articles written about him in the first place, and an incident Naomi Judd referred to.

Unfortunately, I think I know what the answer is so we'll just have to put this issue to rest. I have no doubt that Mr. Jeff Archuleta only has the best interests of David in mind -- and hopefully, if he has had a heavy hand in David's career in the past, it is no longer the case. What happened or didn't happen is over, so let's all look forward to some exciting days ahead for David Archuleta.

Here's the interview from US Magazine:

How would you counter reports that you're a stage dad?
First of all, I had to understand what the term meant. When I think of ‘stage dad,’ I think of the overbearing parent who raises their kids to [compete] in every beauty pageant there is and puts them through a lot of dancing and singing and piano lessons. Once I understood what people thought of as a stage parent, I didn't understand [why I was targeted]. I'm definitely involved with my son, and I encourage him, but I think that's a lot different from forcing and threatening and all that stuff. There was absolutely no truth in any of the stories about me yelling at David, making him cry, or withholding water from him. That was crazy!

How would you characterize your involvement with David's career?
Because I'm also a musician, I'm probably a little bit more involved. I kind of look at it like, 'I'm David's music consultant,' someone he can bounce ideas off, who can help him because I do have a lot of experience.

How do you collaborate with David?
When we have a chance to sit down and talk - which is usually at night or in the morning - we'll discuss the songs and the choices he has. He'll ask me what I think, and I'll ask him what he feels good about, and we'll arrive at a consensus. Sometimes he'll call his mom up and get her in-put. We have a family team that tries to help David feel good about his song choices.

Have you ever been tempted to confront the judges about a comment?
No — they're entitled to their opinions. Sometimes they overreact, but at other times, they've been very instructive. Most of the time I'm fine with them.

How do you feel watching David perform?
It's hard to describe in words. Definitely a lot of emotions come across me; certain songs really hit me right to the core. When David has a great performance, it's very easy to shed a tear or two.

How would you describe his talent?
He's a reluctant singer. When he was young, he just couldn't understand why anyone would like hearing him sing. I think he was blessed with a musical ear that was so far beyond his years. His standard was set so high that he never has been able to live up to what he thinks he should sound like. As a result, he didn't think other people would like to hear his voice, until he was about 10 or 11.

When did you realize he had this talent and how did you encourage him?
I first realized he had talent when he was 4 or 5, and his mom taught him to play “Little Drummer Boy” and a church song on the piano. He played very well, but he was very shy and didn't really sing much. When we moved from Florida to Utah when he was 6, we didn't have a piano. I gave him a video to listen to one day just to keep him and his little brother busy while my wife and I were unpacking. He listened to this video of [Les Misérables] literally the entire day. When I came back, David had memorized several of the songs, complete with the Cockney accent. He was just belting out these songs, in tune, and I thought, 'Wow, he's really got a good ear.'

Over the next couple of years, he got quite into musicals, like Into the Woods and Evita. He’d watch the videos and sing the songs, and I could tell he definitely had talent. When he was 10 and learning Celine Dion and some Whitney Houston songs, I started hearing that he was going after the runs and the licks that usually [only] the divas can do. But he still didn't want to sing much, so we just had to wait until he wanted to. Then when he did, we just tried to find opportunities for him. We never were the type of parents who had him be in every talent show. He was in one talent competition when he was 10, and the next one he was in was Star Search. He did very well. He had just turned 12 and ended up winning his particular division, Junior Singer. Obviously, he realized then that people like to hear him sing, and it gave him more confidence. The best thing was the feedback from people — that's been David's motivation. He thought, 'Wow, if I can make people feel good through my singing, then I feel good singing.' That's what he thrives on.

How will you guys celebrate if he wins Idol?
I have no idea, I haven't thought about it.

Has he ever written a song for you or anyone in the family?
He has written some songs, and they're more like the songs that you'd probably want to record when Idol's over. He's a very talented songwriter as well. When David was on Star Search, we talked with some record labels, entertainment attorneys and producers to get advice. All of them pretty much verbatim said, 'Have him learn to play an instrument ... have him learn to write.' But at that age, David was still really too young to write. When he was 14, he started writing a little bit. Over the last couple of years, he's written some really nice songs, and he's continued to work on the piano. He started to play the guitar about a year ago.

On the March 25 episode, viewers saw a glimpse of a girl. Ryan Seacrest said David was taking her to prom. True?
That wasn't accurate at all — that was just something Ryan said. Someone must have said something just because there was a friend of his [there] who happened to be a girl. It wasn't a girlfriend; she's more like his sister.

So David doesn't have a girlfriend or anyone to take to prom?
Well, that's not to say if there was an opportunity for him to go, he wouldn't ask someone. He went to several dances during the first half of the school year. He's the type of kid who will go on group dates. He'll get 5 or 6 guys, they'll ask a bunch of girls who are friends and all go together as a group. David's still very conservative about [girl], and he doesn't see any rush with having to match up with a girl right now.