A Conversation with David Archuleta - Lift+Love Podcast Episode 67
Content Note: This episode includes discussion of suicidal ideation and mental health struggles. If you or someone you love is in crisis, please don't wait - reach out to the 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling (or texting) 9-8-8
What does it cost to be the “good Mormon boy” when the Church’s vision of you doesn’t have room for who you actually are? In this episode, Lift+Love team members Allison Dayton (Founder) and Darice Auston sit down with recording artist and American Idol alumnus David Archuleta — whose journey from being a self-described “poster boy” for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to coming out as gay and eventually leaving his faith - has resonated deeply with LGBTQ Latter-day Saints and their families around the world.
David shares what it was like as a youth and young adult to lean on the Church’s teachings to minimize feelings he was consistently told were wrong — and what it finally took to stop. He speaks candidly about faith, identity, the cost of silence, and the unexpected freedom that came from telling the whole story — including in his recent memoir, Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself. This is a conversation about what it means to be loved fully, to grieve a community, and to find yourself on the other side.
In this episode:
• David’s experience navigating faith and sexuality as a public figure in the LDS community
• His belief that there is a way to be more inclusive of LGBTQ people while still honoring deeply held religious beliefs
• What he wants families, leaders, and allies to understand about the LGBTQ members still sitting in their pews
Find the video version of this episode on our Youtube channel here
Find resources, support meetings, events, and community for LGBTQ+ Latter-day Saints and their parents, relatives, friends, allies, and leaders on the Lift+Love website: www.liftandlove.org
More about David Archuleta:
EP Features Music Inspired by His New York Times Bestselling Memoir DEVOUT - Losing My Faith To Find Myself – here
Listen to Sample of “Old & Young” HERE
LOS ANGELES, CA – MARCH 18, 2026 - DEVOUT, is an instant New York Times Bestseller while also dominating the top spot on Amazon’s Pop Artist Biographies and Popular Music Books charts.
Good Morning America - Here
Entertainment Tonight - Here
Sherri Shepherd Show - Here
"At just seventeen, David Archuleta rose to national fame as the runner-up on American Idol season seven, captivating millions with his angelic voice. Behind the scenes, however, he was struggling with a truth he feared would destroy everything: he was attracted to men—and a devout member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
In DEVOUT, David takes you inside his deeply personal journey as a closeted Mormon teen turned international pop star, torn between faith, fame, and identity. From dealing with the pressures of being on a hit television show to a domineering father who controlled every aspect of his career—even being banned from the show’s set—David reveals the emotional abuse and inner turmoil that he says plagued his childhood.
This searing memoir reflects on David’s ventures with American Idol, a tour with Demi Lovato, and a two-year sabbatical as a missionary in South America, charting his path through heartbreak, estrangement, three engagements, thoughts of suicide, and finally, his courageous decision to leave the Mormon Church in order to live authentically as a queer man. Featuring never-before-seen photos, DEVOUT is a must-read for fans of pop culture, American Idol, and anyone deconstructing their religious upbringing, or who’s ever wrestled with who they are versus who they’re told to be."
“A lot of people who saw teenage David on TV thought they knew me. In DEVOUT, I share that there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than many realized—with me, with my family, and with the show. I had to recondition almost everything I learned or was taught to believe, and that process can be challenging. This is a story about finding courage within yourself during your absolute darkest moment to persevere and become who you truly are.”
In addition, David will also release a 3-song EP here of new music written specifically about themes in the book. With DEVOUT, David delivers one of his most intimate and vocally powerful projects to date. The DEVOUT EP serves as a musical companion to his memoir, capturing the emotional in-between of deconstruction, healing, and self-acceptance. Stripped back and raw, the songs place David’s voice front and center as he takes us on the journey of accepting “you don't have to be perfect and that you are human.”
The focus track, “Old and Young,” captures the “state of limbo you feel you're in after going through a big life change.” Through rich, dynamic vocals, David explores the challenge of starting over- feeling older yet newly inexperienced.
DEVOUT is a deeply personal chapter in David’s artistry, and ultimately showcases a voice that can bring both honesty and hope.
David shares more on the Devout EP - "Since this book is looking back at the prequel of my life as it is for me today, I wanted to go back to the feel of how I approached music as a young musician trying to figure out himself, and how younger David approached his life or felt like he had to approach his life with music. The songs are a bit more raw, more vocally focused, and really about telling the story to complement the story I tell in my memoir. The focus track from the EP is “Old and Young” HERE – “Old and Young” is a song about the state of limbo you feel you're in after going through a big life change. We don't see things the same way as we once did. You've gotten so much older but yet are starting a completely new chapter of life so you feel like a baby in terms of experience and knowing what to do. In the process you realize you don't have to be perfect and that you are human.”
On Season 7 of American Idol, David Archuleta made over 30 million television viewers swoon with his angelic voice, ultimately winning runner-up on the show at the age of seventeen. His journey has included turning out multiple platinum-selling hits, achieving global acclaim as a live performer, becoming a New York Times Bestselling author and emerging as an undeniable fixture on the pop-culture scene. Since his first single “Crush,” he has released eight studio albums, twenty-four singles, and twenty-one music videos. Hit singles “Crème Brulée” and “Hell Together” have marked a striking evolution and new chapter for David as an artist and creative entrepreneur while continuing to expand his audience globally. Having grown up as a poster child for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, David struggled to be his true self and didn’t come out as queer until 2021. He now advocates for members of the LGBTQ+ community. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
TikTok 1.3M Followers + 22M Likes
Spotify 2.7M monthly listeners
