David Archuleta finished second on “American Idol” in 2008. He finished second on “The Masked Singer” earlier this year.
But he’s going to start out 2024 in first position at the Rose Parade in Pasadena, Calif. The Utahn will be one of four singers performing in the Rose Parade Opening Spectacular on New Year’s Day.
Archuleta will join Cassadee Pope (“The Voice” winner in 2012), Michelle Williams (formerly a member of Destiny’s Child) and hip-hop/R&B artist Rush Davis in what parade promoters are calling “a magical convergence of musical brilliance.”
That’s a lot to live up to.
What we know is that a lot of people are going to see Archuleta perform. The Rose Parade will air on multiple channels — including ABC, NBC, Univision and Great American Family — on Jan. 1 at 9 a.m. Last year, the parade drew 22 million viewers in the United States, and was seen in more than 60 other countries.
Archuleta, who turns 33 on Thursday, is still recording music and performing, almost 16 years after he was on “American Idol.” And there aren’t a lot of former “Idol” contestants landing spots on a TV broadcast that’s likely to attract 20 million viewers.
If you haven’t kept up with him, Archuleta performed at LoveLoud at the Delta Center a month ago, and appeared as a guest performer in “A Kurt Bestor Christmas” at the Eccles Theater in Salt Lake City a few days ago — a few weeks after he attended the funeral of Latter-day Saint apostle M. Russell Ballard; a couple of years after he came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community, and a year after he left The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
And that, he told People magazine, didn’t sit well with some of his old friends. Archuleta said it was “weird” to attend the funeral “no longer being a part of it and see, ‘You know what? It seems like everyone has moved on from me as well.’”
People who used to hug him “were cold with me,” he said, “and so it’s, like, ‘You know what? I’m still trying to get these people’s approval even though I’m no longer a part of this and don’t believe it anymore. I just need to move on.’”
On New Year’s Day, he’ll move on to Pasadena.
Drama
“Call the Midwife Holiday Special” (Sunday, 7 p.m., PBS/Channel 7) • One of PBS’ finest — and probably most overlooked — dramas airs its annual Christmas episode. In the 90-minute episode, the midwives face uncertainty just two weeks before Christmas, and a big snowstorm may complicate holiday celebrations.
(Andrea Southam | PBS) Trixie Franklin (Helen George) and Jonty Aylward (Archie O'Callaghan) in "Call the Midwife."
By the way, Season 13 of “Call the Midwife” begins on Sunday, March 17. And the show has already been renewed for Seasons 14 and 15.
Science fiction
“Doctor Who: The Church on Ruby Road” (streaming on Disney+, starting Christmas Day) • The annual Christmas special will include the debut of the 15th Doctor (Ncuti Garwa — the first Black, African-born, openly gay actor to play the Doctor) and the new companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). The episode features a baby abandoned in the snow, stolen babies, goblins and secrets revealed.
Comedy
Ricky Gervais: Armageddon (streaming on Netflix, starting Christmas Day) • Christmas seems like sort of an odd day to release Gervais’ latest standup special. But not to the comedian himself, who tweeted, “For the next 2,000 years, people will remember the 25th December as the day Armageddon was released on Netflix.” And, he promises, it will “break the internet.”
(Matt Crockett | Netflix) "Ricky Gervais: Armageddon" starts streaming on Christmas Day on Netflix.
Is “Armageddon” appropriate for all the members of a family to sit down and watch on the holiday? Not if all those family members are not adults.
Sports
NFL • There’s not just Monday Night Football on Christmas Day, there’s also Monday Morning Football and Monday Afternoon Football.
• Las Vegas Raiders at Kansas City Chiefs (11 a.m. Monday, CBS/Ch. 2): Not a bad game, although the Raiders (5-8) pretty much suck. You can always switch over to Nickelodeon and watch the “NFL Nickmas” telecast, complete with slime.
• New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles (2:30 p.m. Monday, Fox/Channel 13) • Not a bad game, although the Giants (5-9) pretty much suck.
• Baltimore Ravens at San Francisco 49ers (6:15 p.m. Monday, NBC): Potentially the best game of the day — the only one featuring two teams that have clinched playoff spots.
NBA • The Utah Jazz aren’t playing on Christmas Day, but 10 other teams are. If you tune in to ESPN, you can watch the NBA pretty much nonstop for 12 hours. (A couple of games will be simulcast on ABC/Channel 4.)
• Milwaukee Bucks at New York Knicks (10 a.m. Monday, ESPN).
• Golden State Warriors at Denver Nuggets (12:30 p.m. Monday, ABC/ESPN).
• Boston Celtics at Los Angeles Lakers (3 p.m. Monday, ABC/ESPN).
• Philadelphia 76ers at Miami Heat (6 p.m. Monday, ESPN)
• Dallas Mavericks at Phoenix Suns (8:30 p.m. Monday, ESPN)
Editor’s note • This story is available to Salt Lake Tribune subscribers only. Thank you for supporting local journalism.