My voice belongs to Daddy...?

I only follow "AI" through the news reports, and this one caught my eye. Click here or on the title to read it in its entirety, but here's an excerpt:

The Associated Press and other news outlets reported over the weekend that David Archuleta's father has been banished from rehearsals by Idol producers.

The reports say that the action came after Jeff Archuleta demanded phrasing from Sean Kingston's Beautiful Girls be inserted into David's rendition of Ben E. King's Stand By Me last week. The change cost the show additional song-clearance fees. The AP cited an unidentified source associated with Idol who was familiar with the situation; an Idol spokesman declined to comment Sunday.

I think I can safely say that my parents didn't do things like this when I was younger and singing. To be honest, they tried to rein me in when I got too conceited (which, regretfully, was often).

On the flip side...I remember a parent who (supposedly) went to my high school choir director and complained that I was taking attention away from her daughter's talents and what was he going to do about it? He put me in the back row and didn't give me any solos...that's what happened there. He didn't defend his decision, he just plunked me back there and that was that. I never forgave him for that, but I realize that he was caught between a rock and a hard place and had to do something. If I were in his place, I would have done something different, but that's me.

When you have a child that's talented, what do you do? Do you stand back and let your kid be manipulated by the Powers That Be or do you get in there and fight for your kid? I'm not for Mr. Archuleta's actions...and to me, he seems like he's trying to live vicariously through his son. But if I were a parent, I would be hard pressed to know what to do.

This isn't high school, though...AI is a business. Apparently, Mr. Archuleta didn't know (or care) that his actions regarding his son's song choice cost the show extra money in copyright fees. Moreover, it compromised another artist's piece, and was pretty lame all the way around. Yeah, "AI" is a multi-million dollar enterprise, but Sean Kingston could also sue the show for allowing copyright infringement, correct? (If there are any lawyers reading this, please clarify...)

If I met up with Mr. Archuleta, I don't know what I'd say other than "Back off". Yes, this kid is a minor and shouldn't be taken advantage of. However, this kid needs to know how to deal with things on his own and have his own bumps and pitfalls. Daddy needs to rein himself in and let David do his thing. Once the final votes are tallied, then Daddy can do what he needs to do to help his son.

Wonder if Daddy realizes that 18 isn't too far away and then his son might tell him to shove off? Only time will tell. Right now, all I can say is that there are many good therapists out there that might make some $$ taking on David's case file. Lots of Freudian stuff there to munch on for the next several years.

But I guess after reading this article, I should thank my parents for their approach. They pushed me, but they loved me. I'm sure there was more I could have done, but they let me make the choices and those choices made me who I am.

I'm not famous - I'm just me, and I'll be OK with that.