Singer and American Idol runner-up David Archuleta stopped by the Bru Show to talk about all things then versus now -- including his latest, emotional single.
LISTEN NOW: David Archuleta Talks with Bru
Back in April, David Archuleta returned to the American Idol stage almost two decades after competing. And when talking with Audacy’s Bru, Archuleta revealed that the reunion wasn’t exactly a perfect blast from the past. “It's like a family that brings back stressful memories,” he said of his fellow castmates, chuckling. “But it's like you went through it together, so it's like you bonded over the stress.”
For those who may need a refresher, David Archuleta was the runner-up on American Idol’s seventh season, falling just shy of that year’s winner David Cook. “All of us get kind of freaked out by being on that stage,” Archuleta recalled of the reunion rehearsals. “And I'm not sure why, like, even like over 10 years later, it still affects us that way. But I was talking to Melinda [Doolittle] and Kris Allen one time, we were having lunch and we're all talking about how we still get anxiety from certain things.”
The stress of the competition is completely understandable, as American Idol was at its all-time popularity peak in the mid-2000s. The show promised national exposure and a seemingly life-long career in the music industry. In fact, the season finale had over 97 million votes clocked -- including one by Bru himself way back when! As a competitor, Archuleta had an immeasurable amount of stress, which he has purposefully left behind him. “You just have to deprogram a little bit,” he told Bru. “Everything was so intense for those five months that it lingered, but now, you can be more chill. I can be friends with people.” And though he joked about driving the same car he was gifted from the show back in 2008, David Archuleta has, naturally, moved on from his singing competition days. The greatest development, however, is in his openness about his past and identity.
After decades of repressing his sexuality according to his past Mormon faith, Archuleta has come out as gay. He described how he attempted to live life religiously for decades, even becoming engaged three separate times. But each time, Archuleta said, he knew something was wrong, and it threw him into bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts.
“I've had a faith transition since, I'm not sure what to, but at the time I was still super faith-focused… what I realized, it was like, I felt like God said to me… ‘David, I made you, like, why are you considering whether you should be here or not? I want you to be here as you are.’” Thus, Archuleta made the difficult decision to come out to his family and state that he was leaving his church at the same time.
“When I first left the religion, I didn't hear from my mom for a couple of days,” the 33-year-old singer said, retelling the story to Bru. “And then she texted me and she's like, ‘Hey, I'm leaving the religion as well…' And she said, ‘I don't want to be somewhere where my kids don't feel loved and welcomed.’ And she said, ‘If you're going to hell, then we're all going to hell with you, we're a family no matter what through the good and the bad.’”
The experience was so powerful that he later wrote a song to thank his mother and sisters for their unconditional love for him. Single “Hell Together” is an emotional, tear-jerking ballad, and rightfully so! The lyricism and story is powerful in itself, but combined with Archuleta’s falsetto and a full choir of hesitant hallelujahs, the song is an entire movement compacted into three minutes, three seconds.
“I loved my religion, I loved my community, I still love my community even though I'm not in it anymore,” Archuleta said. “I think people need to realize I'm not Mormon anymore. And you guys have to accept that I live differently now. And this is my journey.”
Listen to Bru's full interview with David Archuleta above, and stay tuned for more conversations with your favorite artists right here on Audacy.