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The seventh season runner-up sang his new song about coming out and his mother's response. Published on April 23, 2024 03:00PM EDT David Archuleta is back on American Idol. However, this time, he's not competing.
The 33-year-old singer was a runner-up in the show's seventh season back in 2008. Fresh off an appearance as the Macaw on The Masked Singer last year, Archuleta resurfaced on Monday's Idol to sing his recently released single "Hell Together."
R Mickshaw/American Idol 2008/Getty After his performance, Archuleta explained the song's backstory to host Ryan Seacrest. "I grew up very much in my faith and religion, very devout, but I came out of the closet a couple years ago," he said. "It was very hard to balance faith and coming out. It was too much. So I stepped away."
With a big smile on his face, he continued, saying, "I didn't hear from my mom for a few days. So I was like, 'Oh no. I pissed my mom off. Oh no.' Because she was very devout, too. Then she texted me a few days later and she said, 'I stepped away from the church as well.' I was like, 'What? Oh my gosh.' She said, 'I don't want to be somewhere where my children don't feel loved and accepted and if you're going to hell, then we're all going to hell with you.'"
Archuleta, who grew up Mormon, elaborated in the description of the lyric video he posted to YouTube on March 27. "This song 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."
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