Between Faith and Fame, David Archuleta Found Freedom

Media visibility, Mormon scrutiny, and an emerging queer identity created the perfect storm for American Idol runner-up David Archuleta.

In the next episode of Latino Alternative Storytellers, Archuela gives us an unprecedented look into his journey as a queer Latino man in music. Vulnerable, honest, and sweet, the episode showcases how taking risks and being true to yourself creates more fruitful life experiences.

Archuleta was born in Miami to an American father and a mother from Honduras. Raised in the Morman faith, his parents moved the family to Utah when he was a kid, where—very unlike Miami—they become one of the only Latino families surrounded by white people.

In Utah, his mom never apologized for standing out.

“[My mom would] bring a bit of that Latin flair to church talent shows and activities as well,” Archuleta says on the show, “Getting everybody up, singing Gloria Estefan, singing the conga.”

On the dance floor, his mom meant business. Obviously, Archuleta carries on that tradition today. Let’s just say: if he’s going out, there better be dancing!

Everything changed after he auditioned for American Idol. Almost overnight, he was thrust onto stages with 30 million people watching, featured on lineups with Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, and Chris Brown. He was still a junior in high school and suddenly needed bodyguards to walk through town.

David Archuleta on set for Storytellers with friends.

Coming-of-age in real time in the public eye, your self-image is reflected by billboards. This made it a challenge for Archuleta to explore his identity free from the paparazzi. On top of that, he faced pressures at home to lead an ideal Mormon life with a wife and children.

Balancing fame and faith, David Archuleta kept his queer identity secret.

“My Latin roots I knew of since I was born basically, from the womb,” Archuleta says, “whereas with my queer identity: it’s been a process to understand what that even meant for me.”

Finally, after a decade trying to appease heteronormative expectations, he decided to face the truth. Besides, if Archuleta was truly a man of God, and God was truth, then he had no choice but to be honest with himself, with his family, and with God.

So, he started dating men—and he told his mom first.

Her response didn’t quite encompass that dancefloor joy from Archuleta’s youth. “Honey, I love you,” he remembers her saying, “but I love God more and I can’t accept this about you. I testify to you that God’s plan for you is to marry a woman and to have a family. And that is his plan for happiness.”

Archuleta stood his ground.

“Mom, up until a week ago, I believed all of this,” he said, “but I got to a point where I almost took my life because I was believing that and didn’t think there was any other way of happiness for me. I prayed. This was the answer I got. I know that you don’t agree with that, and I don’t need you to accept my decision. I just need you to respect that I’m making the best decision for me right now.”

David Archuleta has entered a new era, and that era is quite queer. His life, his friends, his music: for the first time, he’s living his life the way that feels natural—and writing about it.

Knowing now that a piece of his younger self was queer, Archuleta encourages kids not to be afraid of the things that make you different. In time, it may become your strength. At least, for him, his queerness is becoming one of his strokes of originality.

Watch the full segment on Latino Alternative Storytellers.