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Marc Anthony, Jennifer Lopez wow inaugural gala

WASHINGTON (AP) — Latino entertainers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony graced “la alfombra roja” — the red carpet — at Union Station Sunday to give a Hispanic flair to the inauguration pre-celebration Sunday.

They posed quickly for cameras with no visible signs of the marital distress that tabloids have been buzzing about recently. The two were to entertain the crowd at the end of the night.

Lopez, wearing an electric blue strapless gown, towered over her husband Anthony, who wore pinstripes. Her piled-high updo added a few more inches.

The couple said little from the carpet, but Anthony traded a hug with Miami-born Wilmer Valderrama, star of “That ’70s Show,” as he swiftly moved off the carpet.

Valderrama actively promoted registration and voting among young Latinos during the presidential election.

“All of us performers, not until this election did we really understand what we could do,” Valderrama said.

Though focus of the night was entertainment, the music quickly mixed with politics.

Tony Plana, who plays Betty’s father in the television series “Ugly Betty,” said he was ecstatic about President-elect Barack Obama’s victory. He said an Obama administration could improve the lives of all minorities.

But he also said Hispanics deserved a better spot on the inaugural festivities list.

“It’s a concern this event tonight is not an official event of the administration. It’s a little sad for me Latinos had to organize their own event,” Plana said. He said he hoped it did not mean Hispanics would be relegated to a back seat. The event was organized by the National Council of La Raza and other Hispanic organizations.

“American Idol” runner up David Archuleta kicked off the night with “The Star-Spangled Banner” and he was quickly followed with music by War.

Members of Congress filtered in and mixed in the VIP room with some of the stars.

Other entertainers at the event included Mexican singer Lila Downs, comedian George Lopez, actress Rosie Perez, telenovela actress Angelica Vale and others.

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Upstairs with the Archuletas

When I left for Park City, Utah, to cover the Sundance Film Festival, it was with the bittersweet knowledge that this conclave of independent filmmaking was possibly the furthest point from Idol Nation on the map. Imagine the wave of relief that swept over me when I learned that this little mountaintop resort would play host Saturday night to none other than “American Idol’s” Chosen One, Mr. David Archuleta. And imagine how my relief turned to wonder when I was invited to visit with David backstage before the concert.

Despite the cold, a crowd had formed outside the Stansfield Art Gallery hours before the concert. Archie fans came from leagues away on a moment’s notice (news of the show went out Friday online). I met one from San Francisco and another — co-founder of the Snarky Archies fansite — from Indiana.

As David met with a TV crew, I chatted with his father (and manager), Jeff, who told me a bit about what’s ahead for David: David’s second single is out, and his labels are planning for the European and Japanese releases of his album; in the near future will be an announcement about David’s first solo national tour — apparently about six weeks, in 1,000- to 2,000-seat venues, aiming for some areas the Idols Live tour bypassed. Then I followed David and Jeff up to the suite to await showtime, 11 p.m.

Suddenly I was in the midst of an Archuleta teen dance party. About a dozen Utah teens stomped to Lady Gaga and Flo Rida. They stage-bopped to elaborate dance moves, divvying up parts in the songs, dancing in unison and then in call-and-response.

Walking in, David was drawn to the dance as if by a supermagnet. Surrounded by family and friends who drove from his hometown of Murray City 40 minutes away, David seemed completely joyous on the dance floor, all traces of nervousness and awkwardness gone for a few minutes of musical abandon. “When my friends get together, we dance like crazy,” David told me.

Jeff, watching with me, nodded and said: “This is how Mormons party. It’s just like kids everywhere, just without the sex and drugs. But there’s always lots of music.” He credited the Mormon faith for encouraging this devotion to music. “It’s about instilling in them a sense that there are no limits to what you can be.”

If one wonders where a David Achuleta comes from — a prodigy who expresses himself more naturally in music than in words — this seemed a glimpse at the answer. Through the night, the wandering tribe of 9- to 19-year-olds rarely paused, breaking into song at every possible moment — even, as I soon learned, in extreme circumstances.

David and I talked between dance breaks, a wide-ranging conversation about all things “Idol,” his incredible journey over the last year, and where the road would take him next. When I last spoke to David, it was in Tulsa, Okla., on the last night of the tour, a very emotional time as he prepared to leave the “Idol” nest and readied his solo album. Even then, at the close of his “Idol” days, David was still the giggling, slightly-fumbling-for-words, slightly nervous boy America fell in love with.

The David I talked to on Saturday — between frequent visits from his three sisters (Claudia, Jazzy and the adorable 9-year-old Amber) and his brother, Daniel — seemed comfortable and worry-free, as if he was at last fully enjoying all that was happening to him.

He spoke thoughtfully and maturely about all that had gone on, emphasizing that above all else, family, friends and music were the sustaining influences of his life.

After the jump, read some highlights from our conversation and the night’s surprising epilogue.

Looking back to just a year ago — when he was a mere auditionee awaiting his turn on the Green Mile to find out if he had made it onto the show — “it feels like such a long time ago,” he said. “So much has happened.”

I asked if he’d watched the new season, and he mourned that he’d been traveling all week and had only gotten to see a bit of Tuesday night’s show. “I feel for them so much,” he said of this year’s hopefuls. “It’s so crazy to remember doing all that.” He recalled his own moment before the judges. “I was really dry and nervous and all of a sudden I was just pushed out there with the spotlights in my face.” Watching it all is “like a dream,” he said, “just to go back to that time.”

He recalled the night of the finale after the results were announced: sitting in his dressing room, exhausted and exhilarated that the long “Idol” season was at an end and wondering, “What’s going to happen next now that this part of my life is over?” Suddenly, like in a movie, there was a knock at the door and “Idol” Overlord Simon Fuller entered along with executives from 19 Management and Jive records. “We think there were two winners tonight,” they said, telling him they were excited to start working with him.

“And I said, Wow, this is crazy.”

Immediately he embarked on a new stage in the “Idol” journey. The pace almost dwarfed the frantic days of the show, both preparing and recording the album while rehearsing for and heading off on the 53-city Idols Live tour.

His work with the writers included some meetings with Kara DioGuardi, the “new” judge on “American Idol,” who was then in her final days as mere songwriter. “She is awesome. I love Kara. She is so spunky and tough, but really easy to open up to at the same time,” David said. He was shocked when he found out she was joining the show as a judge.

Asked about his favorite current recording artists, David demurred, saying he has too many to name a few. When pressed, though, he put Jason Mraz, John Mayer and Natasha Bedingfield in his top tier. He said the first album he ever bought was Avril Lavigne, when he was 11.

I asked him about how he learned of Eva Cassidy, the somewhat obscure tragic singer whom he has mentioned as an influence. He said he saw a piece about her on “60 Minutes” and not long afterward saw a Michelle Kwan Olympic routine to a Cassidy song. That jump-started his interest, and he began researching her.

When it comes to his own music, David said that hearing it play in public is “really weird,” David said. He told me about eating at an airport Chili’s restaurant: “The radio started playing one of my songs, and the people who worked there turned it up and shouted to sing along.”

I wondered who he’d most enjoyed meeting on his post-”Idol” whirlwind tour of America. He named Leona Lewis and fellow “Idol” alum Jordin Sparks, a labelmate he’s gotten to know a bit. “She is so cool,” he said.

In fact, he’s in touch with many former “Idol” classmates. He talked to Carly Smithson recently, and he stayed with Brooke White while recording his album. And he went to a Jason Mraz concert with Jason Castro. With Jason, he said, “it’s the story of our lives. I’ll call him and say, ‘I’m in LA,’ and he’ll say, ‘I just left LA. I’m going to New York,’ and I’ll say, ‘I just came from New York.’”

His advice to this year’s contestants: “Remember to have a good time. Remember to be yourself and to let America get to know you and see who you are.” He also said the schedule could get brutal — some days, he said, he felt that he was pushing up against his limits — but when you succeed, it’s a great feeling: “It was like, Wow! I got through it!”

What about the young girls whose video bemoaning the final results became a viral sensation, used on the premiere of Idol’s new season? Did he have a message for them? “I hope they are OK now, and that they are OK with Cook winning, because he really is an awesome guy. … I really appreciate all the support, but there’s no problem with Cook winning. And I hope they enjoy the music. And I hope I get to meet them someday.”

Explaining how he stayed grounded during a year in which his career skyrocketed, David gestured at the dance floor. “It’s being part of these people. They make me the way I am. My family and my friends. They make me remember myself and where I’m from, and how they love me hasn’t changed and how they treat me hasn’t changed.”

Finally, it was time for David to go onstage. I crowded into an elevator with his sisters Claudia and Amber, his brother (who for the first time would perform with him, accompanying him on guitar), and a dozen other teens, group-singing a Mraz song.

Immediately after the doors closed, it was apparent the elevator wasn’t moving. Many button-pushes later, the doors opened and half the packed house got out to lighten the load. The doors closed and the elevator lurched down slightly — then came to another stop. More buttons were pushed, this time to no avail. The doors could not be forced open.

A call on the emergency phone said the building’s manager would be alerted and would come in good time. We waited. A call was placed up to Jeff, telling him to hold the show until the guitarist could be freed. From above we heard David’s voice calling out to us. Daniel jokingly started the elevator crowd in a chorus of “Crush,” calling back to him.

And then, with time on our hands, we did what Archuletas and their people do: We sang. Rounds of “Lean On Me” and “Amazing Grace,” sung in wonderful harmony. Freestyling rap. Contemporary favorites. And even as the air grew warm and a bit close, the minutes flew by.

Finally, the doors opened. The kids cheered, piled out and raced down the stairwell, still singing, to see their friend’s show.

— Richard Rushfield
photo: Richard Rushfield

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