THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN FAITH, RELIGION, AND SEXUALITY BY ALEXANDER RODRIGUEZ DAVID ARCHULETA BECAME A HOUSEHOLD NAME WHEN HE WAS JUST 16 YEARS OLD. With more than 44 million votes,
he was declared runner-up and fan favorite for American Idol’s Season 7. After his appearance on the show, his career would launch into an immediate success with his debut single going double platinum and his debut album going gold. Album after album has reflected that success and, after more than a decade from his Idol debut, he is still a fan favorite garnering millions of music streams each month and selling out two national tours per year. In February, he will embark on his OK, All Right tour based on his latest album, Therapy Sessions. With his innocent looks and angelic voice, the speculation immediately started as he hit the screen – was he, or wasn’t he? This summer, David confirmed that he is part of the LGBTQIA+ community. In a complexity that matches his life beyond the public eye, he has yet to define himself within the parameters of those letters but is using his voice to promote acceptance of LGBTQIA+ as well the importance of faith in one’s life. He remains a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints but also talks candidly about the struggle that remains between faith, religion, and sexuality. Fans will experience a very different Archuleta this tour … he has grown up and he has a lot to say. His summer single,“Movin’,”shows us a very fluid David, exuding confidence and sexiness that presents a more mature Archuleta. Though not Latin music, it is Latin-inspired, an homage to the heritage and music that he grew up with. Music was always a part of his family. I feel like I learned rhythm and groove from my mom’s Latin influence, her being from Honduras. From the jazz influence from my dad, I learned improv and feeling the language and expression you can have within a melody. I learned stage presence from my mom who also holds a passion for singing. My passion for music in
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general, came from my dad, and as I mentioned before, just taking risks with songs with ad-libs. Both of my parents encouraged me to believe that I was capable of being a performer - I was very insecure about it for a long time. By the time he had hit American Idol at 16, he had already experienced years in the biz. He started singing at age six after inspiration from multiple views of the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary recording. By the age of 10, he was winning the children’s division of the Utah Talent Competition, which lead to television appearances as well as a stint on Star Search 2, winning that Junior Vocal Championship. His music experience in his youth was not just about the music, it was about the competition. If I’m going to be honest, competing takes away what I enjoy about singing. I hate the comparison and the pressure and the idea of rivalry behind it. So, to get through competitions, I had to remove myself from the mentality of competing with others to simply competing with myself. Otherwise, it was hard to enjoy for me. At the same time, after doing competitions and seeing that I did well, even with other people competing, gave me the confidence I needed once again to think I was good and capable of it all. So, it’s a double-edged sword to help me have a new perspective on what I’m capable of. The pros are the exposure and the learning experience of how to deal with a lot of pressure and attention. The cons are the pressure and attention and comparisons that come. You have to learn how to take the attention and opinions objectively and as an opportunity to gain your own perspective on who you’d like to become and how to improve, but also not let it define you and rely on what other people think of you to decide your every move. It will interfere with your freedom to express. But if you take it well, it can give you ideas on how to think outside of the box.
