Idol Chatter & Voice Views

David Archuleta, the runner-up on American Idol Season 7, will perform on the show this evening.

David will be performing his latest single, “Hell Together,” a song that’s been streamed nearly 500,000 times on Spotify since his release late last month.

The song is a reflection of David’s struggles in reconciling his sexuality and his faith.

For most of his career, David was a celebrated member of the Church of the Latter Day Saints.

In fact, at age 21, he took a two-year hiatus from his music career to serve as a mission with the Mormon church in Chile.

But in 2022, David came out as queer and as a member of the LGTB community.

In a late 2022 interview with People, David said his attempts to talk to church leaders about the religion’s views on the LGBT community left his feeling frustrated and exhausted.

So he stepped away from the church.

In a TikTok post, David explains that his new song was inspired by his mom, Lupe.

In 2021, when he told her he was going to start dating guys, she initially responded by saying “she loved me, but she loved God more.”

After the interview with People came out, David didn’t talk to his mom for a few days and wondered if she’d speak to him again.

She wound up texting him, announcing that she was stepping away from the church as well.

“She said ‘I don’t want to be somewhere where my children don’t feel welcomed, loved and accepted … If you are going to Hell, we are all going to Hell with you,'” David recalls.

The song, David says, “is dedicated to those who show unconditional love in a world where it’s so easy to judge things we don’t fully understand, the way my mom showed that love to me.”