Comments on: David Archuleta – Album Cover

By: idolfan86

idolfan86 — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 02:07:35 +0000

who is this mike k guy? is he producing davids album? wonder why we havent heard anything about who is producing it?

By: Davidsuperfan

Davidsuperfan — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:07:16 +0000

Robbie and Matthew are working on the songs with Producer/Writer Mike K who has known David and his father since David was 12 years old. Mike produced some of DavidÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s early demos which led Jeff Archuleta to reach out to Mike to again bring Mike K into the production/songwriting process for DavidÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s new cd on Jive Records. Mike K then reached out to Robbie and Matthew and invited them to come in and co-produce the songs with him. Rumor has it that Mike K will have another song on DavidÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s album co-wriiten with hit writer Steve Diamond and David himself!! You can read more about Mike K at http://www.myspace.com/mikek

By: anys77

anys77 — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 13:37:01 +0000

I agree with everything soundscene said. I really like the album cover and I don’t see sadness and tiredness but determination and a bit of a healthy attitude, kinda like him saying “Watch out, I am not who you think I am. Take me seriously.” – I really love it.

Weelassie, while I do like the retouches you did, I can also see why Jive did the album cover the way they did – it looks a lot grundgier (is that a word? LOL) and more interesting (as in discussion-sparking) than the classic look of your retouch. Nice job though!

By: weelassie

weelassie — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 07:02:08 +0000

http://thumbsnap.com/v/MR5Kwd99.jpg

Just an attempt to see if a difference will show with the picture.
I removed some of the darkness around his eyes, pulled some of the pinkness from his lips, replaced that grainy background that looked like paneling to me, reduced the shadow under his chin and smoothed it out a smidge, and a few odds and ends here and there. One thing that is really a small difference but makes an impression is to de-emphasize the darkness of his nostrils. You never want the nostrils to draw attention. Most images don’t emphasize them but when the head is tilted at a certain angle, it can happen. I am really a dope when it comes to pictures because I always want them to look the best they can. Whoever did the finishing on this image didn’t do it justice. It is small stuff but noticeable. At least to a dork like me. A first cover should be a gem, not an almost gem. There is only so much I can tweak with a low res image but it was fun to try.

By: clee1107

clee1107 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 06:06:41 +0000

I read all comments here. I agree with most of comments. My conclusion is not about the cover itself, cuz still we don’t know if it’s a final cover. As ggdoorsfan said, Jive did a great job to “catch our attention”. All his fansites are burning now. haha…I guess that’s what they want. I hope we’re gonna have a better cover when the album comes out, cuz David Archuleta is one of the most good looking guys.

By: ggdoorsfan

ggdoorsfan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 05:12:21 +0000

If the worst thing about David we can find to snark about is the style/styling of this album cover – I’m cool with that! :happy_tb: … for an artist, a little of the “expect the unexpected” is quite intriguing… I think Jive has accomplished their mission with this cover – catch our attention… David does have that knack of generating a lot of analysis, conversation and dialogue doesn’t he? Anyhoo… most of us have been aware of him, and his many facets of physical beauty from the beginning… it’s those who have not seen or been exposed to him as we have that Jive is counting on to be “hypnotized and mesmorized” by the image enough to snap it up… the substance of what should be inside that album cover I’m sure will negate all concerns about the cover’s “style”… :cool1_tb:

By: weelassie

weelassie — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 02:24:37 +0000

zeppelin
I totally agree with you. The nose jumps out at me but that is because they removed the natural shadows from around it. Why they made his eyes have those dark circles is beyond me. They blew out the highlights on his cheek area but shadowed his eyes and blew out the shadows the nose should have. He’s a cute kid but this pic is overworked in the wrong way. They sapped the life from his eyes and made his lips look “wobbly” and too pink. Wish they would have done something different than this. I would love to see the raw picture.

By: cruzceleste

cruzceleste — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:40:30 +0000

Looks at album cover again. No pastels, unicorns, etc. I still like it. (shrug).

LOL Charlie the Cookies mascot unicorn in Archie album debut…lol

By: jpfan

jpfan — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 01:00:41 +0000

Looks at album cover again. No pastels, unicorns, etc. I still like it. (shrug).

By: IGetCranked

IGetCranked — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:59:05 +0000

ROTFDL @ Zeppelin! OMG that was the funniest critique I’ve ever disagreed with!

IÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m positive his lips werenÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t that wobbly

This. Killed me!

I do agree that he has had better pictures but see, if I say that I don’t like it then he’s going to jump out of the picture and beat the h*ll out of me!

By: Zeppelin

Zeppelin — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 23:50:27 +0000

:blink_tb: :question_wp: :eek_wp: :longface_ee: :hmm1_ee: :confused_wp:

I understand them wanting to sex him up a bit or take a serious shot but WTH is THAT lmao?? Looks nothing like the kid. Archie actually has a really handsome, pretty face and from what I’ve seen, rarely takes a bad shot. This photo is IMO, one of his worst shots ever and yet they use it as the cover. I’m positive his lips weren’t that wobbly (for lack of a better term) or his nose that dominant. Where did his fierce jawline disappear to? His face looks like a ball and his eyes looked stoned. (I’m trying to be super nice here). This does not do the boy’s beauty justice. Seriously, WTH were they thinking lmao?

By: Aladdin88

Aladdin88 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:21:01 +0000

I think heÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s supposed to look Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…â€œsexyÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ but itÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s David Archuleta. IÃƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m sure girls his age are digging it!

LOL! Actually, a good number of them are not. They want a cute, smiley David photo. But, as I’ve already mentioned, I don’t think the tween/teen girls are whom Jive is trying to attract with this cover as Jive already knows they’ll buy the album anyway.

By: GEEK4VOCAB

GEEK4VOCAB — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 19:08:22 +0000

I think everyone’s being a tad too critical.

I think he’s supposed to look “sexy” but it’s David Archuleta. I’m sure girls his age are digging it!

By: elle

elle — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:22:08 +0000

He looks like an edgy drugged out Adams family like zombie with full lips taking a mug shot? Did I miss anything?

…with broad shoulders. And they are broad in proportion to his body. As are his lips full.

By: lucyfan

lucyfan — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:33:47 +0000

Does anybody remember the comic strip Dondi?

LMAO, MJ! Y’all are killin me with these comments. I am cracking up here. :lol_tb:

Seriously – love the cover photo. I love smiling Archie, but really – he can’t be smiling ALL the time. I think the pic looks much more like I would expect a typical 17-year-old to look; a bit more introspective and angst-ridden than the giggly kid we saw on the show. Sounscene said it best – we haven’t seen all of who Archie is, and I think that’s exactly what jive was goin for. For the record, I will happily buy both Davids’ CDs regardless of what the covers look like – can’t wait.

By: MrsTrep

MrsTrep — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:26:35 +0000

I think it’s awesome he’s not wearing one of those hideous jackets they always seem to put him into. They remind me of Michael Jackson’s Thriller and that was SO 1980! I’m hoping they continue to move on and he continues to wear the t-shirts and leaves the collared buckle snap jackets behind.

By: GwendolynD

GwendolynD — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:26:28 +0000

Does anybody remember the comic strip Dondi?

:laugh_tb: For the longest time, I thought he looked like a Monchichi, but he's outgrowing that baby face.

By: mj

mj — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 14:17:41 +0000

Does anybody remember the comic strip Dondi? I don't know why, but looking at that picture, Dondi just popped into my head. LOL.

By: GwendolynD

GwendolynD — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:42:56 +0000

Ehhhh…why is Archie trying to look all hard ‘n’ stuff?

I guess I didn’t expect him to grow up in four months….

By: jpfan

jpfan — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:42:53 +0000

I think it’s the first runner up album in three years that won’t discourage sales. Remember “open crotch” and “purple whatever.” As an adult, I won’t be ashamed to buy this album in a store Anything pastel might have stopped me. I’m enjoying the album snark though, very funny.

By: calimari

calimari — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 13:36:11 +0000

He looks like Eddie Munster. Never noticed that before.

By: sherryw

sherryw — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:28:11 +0000

I’m not digging the cover either. And, no, there is nothing edgy about it. There is something about it that is just….off, I guess. Can’t quite put my finger on it. Almost like, the Addams Family (as someone mentioned above) but as a Disney remake?

By: katrina

katrina — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 09:14:50 +0000

holy photoshop batman!

By: soundscene

soundscene — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 07:01:22 +0000

Oh yeah, the temporary website. Ugh. I don’t go there. Somebody will have to inform me when it’s changed because I just can’t look at it. I will be overjoyed-ecstatic-thrilled if his actual website used the theme and colors and photos from the above photoshoot.

By: clee1107

clee1107 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:57:15 +0000

“they should do something with his temporary site first.”

I totally agree. They should change that site right away.

By: frogcooke

frogcooke — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:51:10 +0000

Uggg eli… dont get me started on his site… LOL Thats a whole other rant right there. lol

By: elisad

elisad — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:40:33 +0000

I buy album because of cover, that’s why I have a lot of 4AD albums. When I was in high school, I picked album purely based on the cover. It’s an easy and quick way to tell the genre and artistry of an album. I think that’s a thing for alt. For pop, it doesn’t matter much. But to say this is to appeal to more mature audience, they should do something with his temporary site first.

By: RV65

RV65 — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:25:48 +0000

LOL you guys are knit-picking……..Im not buying the album for the cover but for the contents! As soon as I buy it Im going to burn the contents in my ipod anyway…………….oh well……………

By: weelassie

weelassie — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:19:11 +0000

hmmmmmm, not liking this cover at all. As a retoucher, it just jumps out at me as a terrible, terrible retouching job. But maybe, whoever did it wanted it to pop for the wrong reasons. The highlights are seriously overblown, the lips are saturated to be pink, the shadows are overaccentuated, overstretched and in some of the wrong places. The background looks like they plopped him in front of a grainy door. The dark shadows around his eyes should not be like that and his eyes appear to have no life in them. As someone who takes pics, I would never put a dark haired person up against a dark background like that. The hair receeds into the “door.” There are so many things competing in this picture that it pulls your eyes all over the place and doesn’t let your eye connect to his eyes. The overblown hightlights and shadows that are in the incorrect place pull your eye to his pink lips. Your eyes should be pulled to his eyes but they appear lifeless here. This is a cute young man and I don’t care if they were going for edgy-they missed it big time. This looks like they were going for more mature and serious but I just don’t like it at all. The lines radiating from his name make it even worse and pulls your eyes further from the focal point of a portrait which is the eyes that are called the windows of the soul. The initial image was probably nice but whoever did the finishing work just blew it. They didn’t do justice to him at all.
Saw a picture of David Cook today too that was seriously awful. These two are too good looking for this kind of image manipulation.
Of course, this is my opinion and I tend to “see” pictures a little differently than most people. If someone else put the highlights, shadows, etc in the correct places, everyone would immediately notice the difference and say ah, that is what is “weird” about it. But honestly, sometimes what is off works for some. I think I’m more traditional at most times. Shadows where they don’t belong bother me!

By: noctem seizure

noctem seizure — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 06:00:21 +0000

So what I am hearing everyone saying is:

He looks like an edgy drugged out Adams family like zombie with full lips taking a mug shot? Did I miss anything?

I’m gonna add one: a non-green version of “The Incredible Hulk”. It does look like they are trying to make him look “tough”. Odd.