“Singer David Archuleta was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints until 2022, when he came out as queer. He openly dictates about his personal struggles in the book Devout: Losing My Faith to Find Myself, released on Feb. 17 and he will sign copies of the memoir in Chicago on Feb.19.
After placing second on season seven of American Idol, David rose to the top of the charts with cover songs and his single “Crush.” His career currently has him traveling around the world and, in 2025, David headlined the 42nd Annual Northalsted Market Days street festival.
Archuleta was born in Miami, but grew up in Sandy, Utah, where he lived under religious oppression. He delves into that subject in Devout and explores other themes, including family matters, coming out of the closet and the challenges of being a musician.
On a recent call to Windy City Times, David stated, “I am grateful that I have this chance to tell my story. This book is for anyone hoping to be seen and it’s also a message to stop people from ignoring our existence.”
Windy City Times: What helped you in writing the personal stories for Devout?
David Archuleta: Receiving feedback from my family and friends helped me when I was stuck. My collaborator on the book, Valerie Frankel, was so sweet to help me with any questions I had along the way. When I had trouble getting through a part, she would suggest I write about the details and settings to paint a picture for readers.
The experience helped me grow and I had not been an author like this before. It was so fun to tell my story in my own words and let people step into my life. I get to see people connect to it and hopefully they learn from it.
WCT: In Devout, Elder Ballard confesses to you that the church doesn’t know what do with the LGBTQ+ community. How did you feel about that in the moment?
DA: That’s when I realized that the blind are leading the blind. We have older men who don’t know about sexuality and they have no idea what they are talking about.
I decided not to let people who don’t understand me tell me about who I am. I was trying to listen to them because they were supposedly men of God and then I discovered that God was telling me to just be happy. God created gay people and there is beauty in that.
These men don’t get it and don’t want to because they are scared. When I asked these men directly what to do, they had no idea, so I had to listen to myself.
They were misleading people like me and I almost took my life in the process. Many people are being hurt because the church is leaving things the way they are instead of changing them.
I think they are keeping in line with other churches, including their prejudices against the gay community. They should be bold and stand up for what is right.
WCT: I was adopted as a baby and you address adoption in the book.
DA: It’s because the church is shaming the gay community about not being able to procreate. Many straight people can’t procreate either, for biological reasons and they adopt kids.
We see success stories about this on social media all the time. I am trying to make this fact more visible and the church leaders will barely listen to me.
WCT: What went into the decision to leave the church?
DA: I knew they didn’t want me there questioning them, so I left. I did everything I could to stay, but they pushed me out as a queer person.
I expressed my frustration in the book, but I hope the door is still open for more conversations. There are both closeted people and open members in the church that the leaders want to pretend are not there. Let’s all talk about it.
WCT: Has anyone in your family read the book yet?
DA: My sisters have read some of the earlier manuscript. They are very involved with the storyline of my dad. I didn’t know how they felt about it because I only knew my perspective, but they encouraged me to write more about it.
WCT: You write about musicals in the book. What musicals have you performed in after American Idol?
DA: I did Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Tuacahn Amphitheatre in Utah in 2022. It is a stunning venue and it was the first project I did after coming out.
WCT: You wrote about Into the Woods being a big influence on you and I interviewed the musical’s star Bernadette Peters in the past, where we talked about her playing the Witch.
DA: I would love to meet Bernadette. She was one of my first crushes and a gay icon when I was growing up.
WCT: What are your thoughts on The Book of Mormon?
DA: I didn’t see it until after I came out and I was very afraid to be seen at the show. The show was described by church members as a mockery, but a good way of spreading the word about the church. I was told it was good press and they even bought ads in the playbills where it said, “The book is always better.”
I went in with the mentality that I might be in trouble for attending the show. It turned out to be hilarious and the research they did about Mormons was accurate. The part with lead Elder McKinley singing “turn it off like a light switch” hit home to people struggling with their sexuality.
WCT: There are a few pictures of your pet snake, Udon, in your book. Is he still around?
DA: No. With all of the traveling, I am not in a place to keep pets.
One time, he escaped when I was cleaning his habitat. He slithered out of the top and went inside a vent. He was in there for about a month and when he came back, I realized I couldn’t take care of him when I am gone all the time.
WCT: You have mentioned identifying as queer but also demisexual. Does this mean you are focused on finding a connection with your partners?
DA: When I first came out, I described myself as somewhere along the lines of asexual because I didn’t want to use too many phrases, because people sometimes think it’s about who you are attracted to.
Demisexual means finding an emotional bond before feeling anything else with a person. Sometimes I feel an instant connection, but most of the time I don’t, so I like to meet with someone a few times to get to know them.
Even if I am physically attracted to somebody, I need to know what is behind their eyes. It’s really hot when someone makes me feel seen. Eyes are very attractive to me and other features are important as well. It’s a combination of things and not just the physical.
WCT: When I met you in person, your eyes stood out with a unique color, so I can understand you looking for that trait in someone else.
DA: Thank you.
WCT: What would you like readers to take away from Devout?
DA: I want people to know the journey can be challenging, but it’s worth it. It can be scary to start over with religion and lose everything I knew about myself. Leaving that was terrifying, but getting to know who I actually was made it worth every hardship. I learned how to love myself and feel like I deserve my life. If people don’t understand or agree with that, it doesn’t matter because I now accept myself.
I hope readers find that too and learn how to be devoted to whatever is inside them without needing validation or approval.
Devout is available here. Archuleta autographs his memoir at Barbara’s Bookstore inside Macy’s on State Street, 111 N. State St., starting at 6 p.m. on Feb. 19. Tickets, which are required, include a signed copy, and can be found at barbarasbookstore.com/event/david-archuleta.