David Archuleta rocks at the Stadium of Fire!
Although there was no doubt in my mind that David can sing well live after watching his season of American Idol, I have to say I was blown away by the way his voice has developed since then and when he performed at the Stadium of Fire he assure that people would notice this, and they did!
Even when David was the opening act for Brad Paisley, I just couldn't care less about the other guy, honestly I just watched David's performance and I wished he had done more songs or maybe he could've sing the just released Everything And More!
Anyways, he did a lot of songs (ALTNOY, The Other Side Of Down, Stomping Roses...) and you can see he put his heart on the performance, as always! Here is David performing at the Stadium of Fire! Enjoy!
More SOF articles after the break!Stadium of Fire got the crowds on their feet Saturday night with dancers, skydivers, big-name talent and a fireworks "concert in the sky."
To the music of "God Bless America," four skydivers executed landings in a relatively tiny space on the field as the crowd held its breath. The first and second divers landed feet from stadium seating. The third missed a barrier by inches, and the fourth -- who happened to be flying the American flag behind him -- clipped the same barrier with his feet, tumbling onto the field. The flag was grabbed up and marched across the field by military in uniform. The diver walked off the field unharmed.
Utah native David Archuleta made an unannounced early appearance on stage to sing the national anthem followed by the frisson of a flyover of the Hill Air Force Base 388th Fighter Wing accompanied by fireworks, which segued into an apparently live transmission to the audience from a member of the military on active duty.
Later in the show, Archuleta opened for Brad Paisley. Archuleta found fame on American Idol and established himself with his song "Crush" which reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and has since sold two million downloads.
"These mountains are beautiful, Utah is just beautiful," Archuleta told the crowd between songs. "I love it here. It's crazy how many of you are here. I love being home and want to thank all of you guys for the support you have given me." He closed by singing a patriotic salute to the troops.
Brad Paisley took the stage at 9:18 p.m. as cameras flashed and the crowd thundered. Paisley is the winner of three Grammys, 14 Country Music Association Awards, and 14 Academy of County Music Awards. He has 18 number-one singles and nine studio albums.
Former BYU and professional football player Chad Lewis introduced a commemoration of the Gettysburg Address and Civil War by saying that the true winner of the nation's seminal war was freedom. The Gettysburg Address "set America back on the path to our higher ideals," he said. The Stadium of Fire Chorus than sang a dramatic musical interpretation of Lincoln's famous speech. The music was commisioned especially for the event by America's Freedom Festival.
Dancers filled the field, depicting the Liberty Bell, forming a review for the presentation of the Colors, and forming the head of the Statue of Liberty.
The show was interactive. The audience was asked to text in whether it was their first time attending, or if they were veterans of the Stadium of Fire. Instant results revealed that 66 percent were attending for the first time. The audience also voted via text for the $10,000 winner of a talent search, choosing from among three finalists who performed during the show.
Saturday night's event was the pinnacle of more than 30 annual events put on by America's Freedom Festival to celebrate patriotism and liberty. Though America may have its critics, no nation in history has given as much aid to the poor and afflicted around the world, nor done as much to stand up for the liberty of people around the globe, said David McDougal, chairman of the board of trustees of the Freedom Festival.
"We are confident that if we continue to do our part as citizens, God will continue to bless America," said McDougal.
The Salt Lake Tribune:
Provo • The Stadium of Fire was a night dedicated to God and country Saturday at LaVell Edwards Stadium, and, by God, did country dominate.
Country music, that is.
Country singer Brad Paisley proved to be the perfect headliner to cap the well-run America’s Freedom Festival’s signature event, and Utah country group Artie Hemphill and the Iron Horse Band won the first Stadium of Fire Talent Search, determined by the crowd’s vote after the final three competitors (whittled down from more than 400 entries) performed on stage in front of the near-capacity crowd of about 47,000 spectators.
Because the patriotic night focused somewhat around the bullets that have defended America during this country’s wars, here are some bulleted points about the warm evening:
Paisley, with his traditional white hat and shirt emblazoned by a red, white and blue Superman logo, was an inspired choice as headliner. His 10-song set was dominated by songs that shared humor with proud-to-be-American themes, including “This Is Country Music,” “Old Alabama,” and, of course, the fitting anthem “American Saturday Night.” Absent, though, was his ode to liquor, “Alcohol.” Not a surprise.
David Archuleta, the Utah recording artist and former “American Idol” finalist, opened for Paisley with a five-song, 20-minute set that included “The Other Side of Down,” “Crush,” and “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” Wearing a red, white and blue-colored plaid shirt and flanked by eight dancers during part of his set, he was in fine form with his soulful vocals. At one point, he told the crowd, “It’s hot out here,” but because of the family-friendly vibe, chose not to start riffing lines from Nelly’s “Hot in Herre.”
On a side note, whoever programmed the music before the concert should recognize that Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” song is not family-friendly. And why did the night’s prelude to its impressive fireworks focus on a definitely-not-family-friendly Katy Perry?
Artie Hemphill and the Iron Horse Band won the crowd’s support with their Bakersfield Sound-inspired “Working Man Blues.” Brigham Young University pop-rock band The Whits performed “Give Me Back My Heart,” and 11-year-old Eve Asplund wowed the crowd with an especially odd choice of song, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” popularized by Jennifer Hudson in the film “Dreamgirls.” While far from age-appropriate, the song demonstrated that she needs to let Piers Morgan assess her awesome chops on “America’s Got Talent.”
While the night was more about flag-waving than team rivalries, one of the evening’s sponsors, Ryan Smith of tech company Qualtrics, told the crowd that although his company’s official colors included red, he instructed his staff to wear blue shirts at the show in support of the Cougars. And besides being hosted by former BYU football star Chad Lewis, the night also included the BYU basketball team being honored for its recent successful season. And no, Jimmer Fredette was not present, but he did speak via satellite.
A crisis was thankfully averted when four skydivers from Skydive Utah narrowly missed knocking over some of the 720 Stadium of Fire dancers.
One of the show’s sponsors, radio station 97.1 ZHT, had its host tell some jokes before the evening began. One of the funnier ones referred to the fact that you may be in Utah when more people are at the Stadium of Fire to see Archuleta than Paisley. But really, the night belonged to Artie Hemphill, his band and Brad Paisley on a great American Saturday Night.
Universe:
Even before the fireworks went off, the 31st annual Stadium of Fire was ablaze with pride and patriotism as nearly 50,000 gathered in celebration of country and honor.
Hosted by former Cougar and NFL tight end Chad Lewis, the festivities started on Saturday with a commemoration of the Civil War and a dramatic musical interpretation of the Gettysburg address, followed by the chorus’ rendition of “Proud to be an American” as the flag was brought into the stadium by parachuters.
The event, broadcast live to U.S. troops around the world through the American Forces network, also provided an opportunity to remember those still fighting to protect the great American ideals.
“The greatest casualty of war is being forgotten,” said Lewis, quoting a soldier he summated Mount Kilimanjaro with earlier this year. “Tonight we honor all those in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
The national anthem began with a video of then 13-year old David Archuleta’s 2003 performance at the Stadium of Fire. Then Archuleta emerged to finish, aided by the pyrotechnic dramatization of bombs bursting in air.
Donned in patriotic plaid, Archuleta retook the stage a short while later amidst a roar of audience appreciation.
“It’s crazy how many there are of you guys out there,” Archuleta told the crowd as he thanked them for all the support they’ve shown. “I love being home.”
Archuleta’s short set included a handful of songs from his two studio albums, and a special dedication to the troops that earned him a standing ovation.
Thunder, unheard since the football season, filled the stands as the stadium lights were brought down for Brad Paisley’s entrance. On their feet before he even hit the stage, the crowd got right into Paisley’s set, dancing and singing along.
Although not very talkative on stage, Paisley paused to honor the servicemen overseas, and wish the audience a happy Fourth of July weekend.
“It’s nice to see all your smiling faces,” Paisley said. “I’m so happy to be here. God gave us a great night for a concert.”
In less than an hour on stage, Paisley was able to give the audience a mere smattering of favorite hits from his musical catalog, and left them wanting more in all the right ways.
“He’s a consummate professional,” said Jenny Long, who came from Colorado for the show. “I could have listened to him all night.”
BYU graduate Stephen Jones was also on hand to help bring an end to the five-month search for the Stadium of Fire’s first annual talent contest winners. Drawn from more than 400 entries, three finalists had the opportunity to perform on the Stadium of Fire stage, including BYU’s own alt-rock garage band The Whits and 11-year old Eve Asplund of Farmington, who was out to prove that she has a musical future as sparkly as the sequined shirt that she wore on stage.
Voters overwhelmed the text messaging system, forcing Jones and Lewis to think quickly.
“Let’s hear it for breaking the system,” Jones joked with the audience as Lewis pulled out a decibel meter to determine the winner “the old fashioned way,” by volume of cheers. A few deafening moments later, age, experience and honest-to-goodness country music won out, and Artie Hemphill and the Iron Horse Band were $10,000 richer.
Capping off the evening was “America’s largest stadium fireworks show,” a half hour of tightly timed explosions of light and color set to popular and dramatic music.
By the end, it was impossible to pinpoint a favorite part, said 5-year-old Brooks Udy, a second-time Stadium of Fire attendee.
“Everything was too good,” Udy said. “It was better than Disneyland.”
However, the show was not without it’s minor glitches — the skydiver carrying the flag toppled onto the field after catching his feet on a barrier and firefighters had to rush to stamp out a small fire in the stands behind the stage as Archuleta sang about stomping the roses — but still produced a patriotic feeling among attendees.
“I’m not even from the United States and I feel like a proud American tonight,” said Rhys Clarke, a visitor from England. “The way that Americans demonstrate their patriotism is so special and unique.”
Cedar City’s Brian Brown said recognizing Independence Day is all about the liberties enjoyed in America, and how they were achieved.
“For me, the Fourth of July means freedom and sacrifice,” Brown said. “Celebrating like this just brings up the emotions.”
For Moriah Ihler of Malad, Idaho, one of more than 1,000 Stadium of Fire dancers, the evening even provided a glimpse into her potential future.
“I want to be a Cougarette,” explained Ihler, 17. “Yesterday was a long day. We spent a good 12 hours outside rehearsing, but this was just incredible. Just to be on this field dancing gave me that extra push.”
The night also included a tribute to the 2010-2011 BYU men’s basketball team, which Lewis pointed out ranked No. 1 nationally for the combination of winning percentage and graduation rate, and coach Dave Rose. In his six years with the team, Rose has amassed 159 wins and just 45 losses.
“And he beat pancreatic cancer while he was at it,” Lewis said.
The tribute included a special video message from Jimmer Fredette, thanking his former coach and teammates, several of whom were in the audience.
“It was nice to have him be a part of this, even though he’s in Sacramento,” said former teammate Brock Zylstra, who enjoyed the show with his wife.”This was my first time at Stadium of Fire and I loved it. Back home we watch the fireworks in a high school football field. This display was probably 10 times better.”
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