David Archuleta’s Earthly Delights Tour had its kickoff in Phoenix last week with a sold out show at Valley Bar. Fans of all ages descended to the basement, packing in tight for Archuleta’s first proper headlining tour in years- and the enthusiasm ran deep. His personal and musical journeys have collided in huge and public ways in recent years and this tour was a celebration of Archuleta at his most authentic and happy.
Backed by a duo of musicians and dancers, Archuleta emerged from the shadows in a chic fringed jacket to “Dulce Amor” and “Give You the World”. Fan reaction ranged from huge smiles to high-pitched shrieking and Archuleta soaked up the response with a matching grin as he watched his audience reciprocate the love.
The set primarily focused on Archuleta’s newer music but he made sure to sprinkle in old favorites as well. “A Little Too Not Over You” went over in a huge way before the setlist pivoted back to more recent material- including a mashup that blended Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” seamlessly into “Movin’”. The dancers flitted on and offstage, adding yet another dimension to the performance while Archuleta showed off a few of his moves as well.
Archuleta’s public coming out story and the subsequent ripple effects through his own life and that of his career were addressed directly in the middle of the set to a very positive response from the crowd. This is the first time he’s been able to speak to his fans in such an intimate setting about these topics and the audience stood at attention throughout his mid-set monologue. It was a heartfelt way to segue into “Hell Together” and a soft keyboard rendition of “Pink Pony Club” and “Home”. While the show had plenty of wholesome moments, this was also Archuleta’s time to be fun and flirty onstage- a vibe that perfectly complements his new music.
The main set came to a resounding conclusion with “Something ‘Bout Love” before Archuleta and his dancers reappeared for a celebratory cover of George Michael’s “Freedom” and the forever-popular “Crush”. Watching Archuleta perform all these years later is seeing a massively talented singer take the stage with the weight of the past lifted from his shoulders. He sang and danced with a lighthearted energy that spread to the whole room and not one person left Valley Bar’s basement without a smile on their faces. It’s the start of Archuleta’s most candid era yet and we’ll be on the lookout for his next visit to Arizona.
