The name David Archuleta is a name that is familiar to people of varying age groups. The world-renowned singer, songwriter, and actor is perhaps best known for his stint on the ABC reality show, American Idol, in 2008, where he came in second to David Cook.
During Pride Month, in June 2021, after spending the last almost fifteen years as one of the most prominent celebrity faces of the Latter-day Saint community, David came out publicly as being queer and a member of the LGBTQIA+ community. In the year since his announcement, he has struggled publicly (and sometimes painfully) with remaining true to his faith and its anti-gay stance and being true to himself on social media and in the press.
At the time of his coming out, the then-30-year-old David explained that he was perhaps somewhere on the bisexual spectrum as he had interest in both females and males. However, he did later admit that he has a stronger sexual attraction towards males and had reached the point where he is no longer dating females. He also explained that he could probably be asexual — a term that is used for those who don’t feel sexual attraction to either sex or that don’t feel romantic attraction in the typical way.
Speaking about his faith and spirituality, David said, “You can be part of the LGBTQIA+ community and still believe in God and His gospel plan.” He even reiterated that statement and called for people to be more understanding and compassionate when he performed and spoke at the LoveLoud 2022 festival, which was held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on 14 May 2022.
Where does David stand now in terms of his faith? Well, he is not sure. In a recent Billboard interview, David commented:
You know, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was my everything. I did everything for it, I sacrificed so much because that was my number one. I was like, “This is more important than my career, than any relationship I could have, this is the number one thing.” And now I’m just kind of, like, thrown for a loop. And most of [my shows] are in Utah, so I guess I just [must] be honest with them like I always have. Like, I was honestly, genuinely in love with my beliefs before. And now I just [must] be honest with, like, “You know what? This is where I’m at. I’m in a limbo state now.”
On Wednesday, 21 September 2022, David released the official music video for his new original song, “Faith in Me” on his YouTube channel and other music streaming platforms. The song and music video feature David dancing freely and singing about new love. The sentiment behind the song is that he wants people to have a little faith in him. Billboard asserts, “The aptly titled ditty is unlike anything else in the American Idol runner-up’s discography: a giddy, up-tempo rush that perfectly captures the butterflies that come with a new romance.” Billboard also mentions that “the visual starts with him [David] receiving a flirty text and while the sender’s name is only identified by the letter “E,” it’s safe to say that the person on the other end of the line probably isn’t female.”
David spoke about the inspiration behind his new single, “Faith in Me,” in a post on his official website. He said:
With this single I wanted to have fun and be light and carefree. I wanted it to feel like a newer Bryan Adams, including his late 80’s look. The song is about escaping and leaving all your worries behind and just going for a new adventure. Not caring what anyone thinks, let go and take off. We rewrote it to accommodate where I’m at now as we began writing it before I came out. But the main objective was to just go forward with someone and not care what anyone thinks.
During a visit to Utah, where he had just spent the summer playing the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at regional theater Tuacahn Center for the Arts, he told Billboard, “This is the first song I think I’ve released feeling like, ‘OK, I’m at terms with myself, I’ve accepted it, cool. . .. This is what it feels like when…I can just enjoy who I am. And I don’t have to feel like I’m a horrible, evil person just because of [being queer]. Maybe I can just be happy.”
David also told Billboard, “[And, like] I don’t even know what I am. I don’t really call myself gay. I know I’m David. I know who I’m into… So, I think I’m still trying to figure myself out. But that’s why I just say ‘queer,’ because that helps people know I’m not a heterosexual person.”
David hopes that people will come along with him on his journey.
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