Let’s set the scene: it’s summer 2025, queer joy is being blasted through Bluetooth speakers, and David Archuleta — yes, that David Archuleta, your soft-voiced “American Idol” crush from 2008 — is shimmying back into our playlists with an unapologetically queer, gloriously sultry EP titled Earthly Delights.
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After a five-year studio break, the 34-year-old pop singer is serving sex, soul, and Spanish lyrics in his latest work — and we are eating it up. Archuleta first teased the project in March with the release of its lead single, “Crème Brulée,” a flirtatious bilingual bop that comes complete with a thirst-trap of a music video. Featuring a newly sculpted Archuleta surrounded by a three-person dance crew, the visual was a not-so-subtle reminder that David’s glow-up wasn’t just physical — it’s spiritual, sexual, and musical, too.
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“I feel a little sexier when I’m singing in Spanish,” he quipped to HuffPost. And honestly? Same.
The EP, due out August 15, is more than just a return to form — it’s a reclamation. For Archuleta, who came out as queer in 2021 and was raised in the Mormon church, this project is less about reinvention and more about realignment: aligning with the version of himself he’s fought to love for decades.
Though he doesn’t use one specific label, Archuleta has publicly identified as queer and has spoken candidly about his attraction to men, once saying, “I’m going to kiss a boy. I’m going to be flirty.” He’s also shared that his understanding of his identity has evolved over time — a reflection of the complexity that many in the LGBTQ+ community can relate to.
“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,” he said. “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.”
His voice has always had a certain vulnerability — that ache just under the surface. Now, it hits different. Earthly Delights is the sound of a man who’s not just singing, but living. Out loud. In technicolor. Shirtless, occasionally.
“Finally in my 30s, I was like, ‘Wait, this isn’t something to fix.’ Humans are sexual beings,” he said. “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.”
Archuleta’s evolution doesn’t stop at music. This Pride Month, he’s teamed up with BetterHelp to promote therapy for LGBTQ+ youth — a deeply personal initiative for someone whose mental health journey has been as winding as his career.
“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,” he said. His 2020 album Therapy Sessions offered a glimpse into that journey, but it was working with a queer therapist that truly helped him unpack it all.
“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 explained. “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.”
After releasing eight studio albums and performing around the world, Archuleta recently had one of his most emotional shows yet — headlining Utah Pride. For the first time, he was publicly, joyfully queer onstage in his conservative home state.
“When I came out, I was so afraid of letting my Utah community down,” he said. “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.”
He didn’t shy away from the pain. “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.”
Now, with Earthly Delights on the horizon and a U.S. tour lined up (yes, he’s coming to New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco — don’t be late), Archuleta is writing a new chapter — one that’s filled with glitter, vulnerability, and a dash of reggaeton.
So what do we make of this new era? It’s David Archuleta, but not as you once knew him. It’s pop music, but queer. It’s therapy in a crop top. It’s… well, it’s delicious.
And just like Crème Brulée, you’re going to want a second helping.
Source: HuffPost