Doing what he loves! David Archuleta followed his dreams when he auditioned for American Idol, and he continues to pursue them more than a decade later.
The 30-year-old singer quickly won over fans when he appeared on season 7 of the reality show in 2008. Still a teenager at the time, he made it far in the competition, finishing in second place behind David Cook.
Despite not winning the season, Archuleta and his former costar remained close. In fact, the “Crush” crooner shared a TikTok video in July that showed him holding an American Idol card with Cook on it listed as the “Season 7 Winner.”
“Check out my new trading card,” Archuleta wrote at the time. The clip then panned to Cook walking toward him, wearing golf gear.
“I just bought this on eBay and look who I run into?” the Florida native captioned the video on Instagram. “What are the odds???”
Years after his American Idol experience, Archuleta is still putting out new music, including his new single, “Movin.” He also has pursued other ventures, with his debut children’s book set to be released in October.
Amid his busy professional life, the former reality star got personal in June, opening up about struggling with his sexuality as a Mormon.
“I’ve been open to myself and my close family for some years now that I am not sure about my own sexuality,” he revealed via Instagram at the time. “I came out in 2014 as gay to my family. But then I had similar feelings for both genders so maybe a spectrum of bisexual. Then I also have learned I don’t have too much sexual desires and urges as most people which works, I guess, because I have a commitment to save myself until marriage. Which people call asexual when they don’t experience sexual urges.”
Archuleta then encouraged fellow Christians to be more accepting. “Idk what to make of it and I don’t have all the answers. I just invite you to please consider making room to be more understanding and compassionate to those who are LGBTQIA+, and those who are a part of that community and trying to find that balance with their faith which also is a huge part of their identity like myself,” he noted. “I think we can do better as people of faith and Christians, including Latter-day Saints, to listen more to the wrestle between being LGBTQIA+ and a person of faith.”
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Cook supported his friend, commenting: “Love you man, and so proud of who you are.”
Want to see Archuleta’s day in action? Keep scrolling through the photos below to discover how he spends his time.
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