‘American Idol’ Vet David Archuleta On His ‘Flirty’ Music Era

After a five-year hiatus from the studio, David Archuleta is returning to the pop music scene this summer with a six-song EP, “Earthly Delights.”

The “American Idol” veteran, 34, shared a taste of his new music by unveiling the EP’s much-buzzed-about first single, “Crème Brulée,” in March. The accompanying music video finds the Utah-raised pop artist showing off a newly chiseled physique while strutting and striking poses beside a three-person dance troupe.

“Crème Brulée” gave Archuleta, who is of Spanish and Honduran heritage, a rare opportunity to incorporate Spanish lyrics into his music. “I feel a little sexier when I’m singing in Spanish,” he quipped to HuffPost.

The song also fits neatly into the inclusive, forward-thinking narrative of “Earthly Delights,” Archuleta’s first musical project since coming out as a member of the queer community in 2021.

“I wanted to just feel comfortable in my own body, and I feel like I had to go against what I was raised to believe to do that,” said Archuleta, who grew up in the Mormon church. “Being a queer person and knowing that since I was little, I was always fighting and wrestling with myself. And being a person of faith, you’re encouraged to be uncomfortable with yourself if you’re queer.”

“Finally in my 30s, I was like, ‘Wait, this isn’t something to fix.’ Humans are sexual beings,” he continued. “I’m going to kiss a boy. I’m going to be flirty. I’m going to dance. It’s fun to finally, for the first time in my life, feel comfortable in my own skin.”

“Earthly Delights” hits streaming platforms Aug. 15, after which Archuleta will embark on a U.S. tour, with performances in New York, Atlanta and San Francisco, among other cities. Ahead of the EP’s release, he’s acknowledging LGBTQ+ Pride Month by partnering with the online therapy and counseling site BetterHelp, in hopes of encouraging young queer people who may be struggling to come to terms with their sexuality or gender identity to seek professional help.

Archuleta’s passion for mental health advocacy has even impacted his music: His 2020 album was titled “Therapy Sessions” ― a nod to his behind-the-scenes journey with his mental health while residing in Tennessee, when he turned to BetterHelp for the first time.

“I’d already come out, but I still was afraid to talk about it, because of the mixed signals and the mixed emotions I got from my own friends and family,” Archuleta said, pointing to the many challenges LGBTQ+ people are currently facing across the U.S., particularly in Tennessee and other conservative states.

“Talking to my therapist ― it was a queer therapist ― meant they didn’t have to ask me questions to try and understand what it was like to be queer,” he added. “People in the LGBTQ+ community experience severe anxiety at a much higher rate than the rest of the population. It’s 1 in 4 people in the LGBTQ+ community who deal with severe anxiety. [My therapist] got it and was able to address it. So it’s helped me see the importance of therapy and finding the right therapist who can specifically talk to you about your specific needs.”

Since coming in as runner-up on the seventh season of “American Idol” in 2008, Archuleta has released eight studio albums, including 2012’s “Forevermore” and 2017’s “Postcards in the Sky,” and has proven himself to be a formidable presence on the concert stage.

Earlier this month he performed at his home state’s LGBTQ+ Pride festivities in Salt Lake City for the first time. The experience, he said, was “bittersweet.”

“When I came out, I was so afraid of letting my Utah community down,” he explained. “I’m in the process of writing a book, and a lot of what I talk about in my book is figuring out my queer identity, figuring out my religious journey and stepping away from religion ― all of that happened while I was in Utah.”

“It’s also where I learned a lot of the homophobia that I get,” he added. “It’s been deep, processing and unraveling all of that. So to go back and see how big Utah Pride is and how many people were there … was so special.”