A Miami born multi-talent who evolved from a young, closeted Mormon to a breakthrough popstar on one of the most popular TV shows of all time to an adult, out sexy and successful recording artist and author–David Archuleta is taking New Yorkers home for the holidays in December!
Thotyssey: David, hello! Thanks for finding time to chat with us today! Where are you right now, and what were you doing just before you started answering these questions?
David Archuleta: Of course, my pleasure! I’m actually on my way to Shanghai, China for my sister’s 30th birthday trip. I was with my mom, niece and nephews before heading to the airport. And before that, I was in the editing room for a new holiday music video I’m releasing for the holiday season!
I was wondering what your musical process is. Are you constantly thinking about, or getting inspiration for, lyrics and melodies? Or do you have to sit down and work on that in a very specific way?
Melodies tend to come to me first, and then I try to make sense of what it’s trying to say afterwards. So if I have a song with some emotions, I fill it in with the lyric or message after I take time processing the overarching sentiment of what the melody is saying. I feel like melodies and sound can have a language or feeling without even having words, you know?
Your music video for “Crème Brûlée” really showcased the adult version of you as a performer, and had some excellent choreography! Were you always a dancer, or is that a more recent development?
Thank you. I like to move and dance, but wouldn’t call myself a dancer. It has been fun incorporatiing choreography into my music videos and live shows. My upcoming holiday music video also has a lot of movement and choreography in it by my wonderful friend and dancer Olivia Cava.
When you look back at your 2008 American Idol performances and some of your first music videos, is it with joy or fond memories from that amazing time of getting known and sharing your talents with millions, or does it make you a little sad to remember being deep in the closet, dealing with those pressures of touring and recording as a young person, etc.?
I don’t really think about being deep in the closet when I look at my old music. I look at myself working hard and doing my best as a teenager in a new industry, in front of a whole lot of new people, and wanting to make people happy. I felt awkward, and I didn’t know myself well enough to feel like I could pull that off in the way I would’ve liked to. But all of that has helped me to be the person I am today, and learn who I was the older I got.
You haven’t lived as a gay man in 2026 if you haven’t watched videos of Shirtless David Archuleta performing on a Pride summer stage! Has it been very wonderful to embrace that flirty, more open side of you in recent years?
Lol! It feels good to be comfortable in my own skin. I’ve worked to stay consistent in the gym, with my eating habits, and just working through mental blocks to get there.
Most young’uns today could never comprehend the level of popularity those early seasons of American Idol had… nearly everyone in the country was watching! While I’m sure that was very intimidating on many levels and had its own burdens, it seems like all of today’s music and TV and entertainment in general just seems so fractured by algorithms. Now everyone is a niche artist! Is it better this way, or do you miss the days when everyone was on the same page?
I think it gives more people a chance to find their “tribe” thanks to technology. People can, like you said, find their own niche and connect to people–not just in their city, but in their country or throughout the world with similar interests or common life situations. And I think that’s amazing. While it’s harder to keep people’s attention these days, I think the positives outweigh the negatives as far as connection.
However, I think the rights and protections for an artist and their music / creations needs to catch up so that they can be paid and credited as they deserve. It has gotten a lot harder with how fast streaming and AI have advanced without legal protections being adjusted, and keeping up to look after the artist to make sure that they are credited for their work and paid fairly. What’s in place now worked for how things were a few decades ago… but big companies like Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, etc. make a lot more money than the creators do when it comes to music, especially for songwriters whose percentages made more sense with physical sales. But we all get the shorthand with streams, and something needs to be done about it.
Would you be interested in maybe returning to Idol, or a show like The Voice, as a resident or guest judge?
Yes, I think that would be really fun! I’d get worried that the advice I’d give isn’t as helpful because I don’t know if what worked for me will work for others. But having lived through a singing competition on TV, I feel like I know what people have gone through and can give some type of advice and recommendations that would be helpful.
You were also a finalist on The Masked Singer, as the Macaw! I can’t imagine how an experience like that could be described as anything other than “entirely unhinged and crazy,” right?
It was so fun. I think it is the best competition I’ve ever been a part of because it was all lighthearted, and focused on good energy rather than drama or tension. You didn’t feel as much pressure as in other competitions like American Idol. But maybe being in a competition before and having that experience helped and made it easier than my first time!
Are you a Broadway fan at all? If so, are there any dream shows you’d like to star in? The Book of Mormon maybe, lol?
I would love to be in Les Misérables; it is what got me into singing when I was just a kid, at just six or seven years old. The Book of Mormon is a hoot, and I really enjoyed watching it a couple of times now.
Congrats on the success of your autobiography, Devout! In it, you are very honest about your sexuality, your Mormon faith, your family, your music career and the challenges of balancing and reckoning with all that. What inspired you to realize it was time to write this book?
Thank you! After talking to friends and family about what I was going through and learning after coming out, I was urged by several of them to share my story and write a book. After so many people coming up to me and asking what my journey was like, I thought it would be the most efficient and in-depth route that I could take to really bring people along on my journey of how I’ve gotten to where I am. I know a lot of people had looked to me as an example (especially in Utah and in my church community with Latter-day Saint upbringing), and that many still do.
Do you consider yourself a person of high holiday spirits and happy Christmas memories? Also, are you good gift giver, or is it torment for you, lol?
I love the holidays, but I hate having to find gifts as I’m an indecisive person. I’m also not big on receiving gifts, which I’ve come to find that many in my family including my mom and some of my sisters are the same way. But I love the wholesome, magical spirit of the holidays. It’s always been one of my favorite times of the year. I’m learning to adapt my experience of the holidays to who I’ve become now though being older, and in a different place of life than when I was experiencing Christmas as a young religious Mormon and took the holidays with the much more serious and sacred approach.
As of October 30, your latest holiday album Warm Me Up is available for streams, downloads and purchase! It’s a mixture of originals and classics… I bet it was a real challenge to narrow down your favorite traditional songs and balance them with your originals.
There are so many good songs out there. It is hard to decide whether to keep recording and covering all the great ones out there, or experiment with creating my own! I chose a couple of my favorite classics that I hadn’t recorded yet, and then decided to write new originals for the rest of Warm Me Up.
I’m a sucker for a good Christmas album! What are some of your favorite tracks on this latest one, and is it weird to record Christmas music off-season?
I really love the songs “Warm Me Up” and “Nochebuena.” At this point I’ve gotten used to getting in to the holiday spirit all year round, since it’s my third Christmas album. One of my songs is called “Christmas Every Day” though, so it wasn’t too hard of a habit to get into!
The Warm Me Up tour comes to NYC’s Sony Hall on December 5th! What can we expect from this show… and do you have any favorite things to do in New York?
You can expect a fun fresh take on a David Archuleta Christmas show, with a lot of people’s favorite classics along with some really fun new songs I’ve written especially for this season. I like to get people up and moving, and I love to have moments where people can reflect–and a moment to hear their own feelings that only come when you’re a little more quiet, and a little more tuned in to the voice within. There should be a good mixture of the two.
Anything else that you want to plug or mention?
I just hope everyone enjoys the album and the tour… and I’ll have more music to come in 2027!
Finally: What would your drag name be?
Oh, my goodness… I am so bad with coming up with names. Everyone asks what my car’s name is that I’ve had for 18 years now, and I just have never named it. It probably would have something to do with “Archie,” though. Or maybe Dahveed. I don’t know. I’m not as clever and witty as drag queens tend to be.
Who needs drag wit when you’re serving Christmas spirit? Thanks, David!
Check Thotyssey’s calendar for David Archuleta’s upcoming area appearances, and follow him on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and his website. Download / stream / purchase his new holiday album “Warm Me Up” here.
