Since emerging from the costume of The Macaw on The Masked Singer, David Archuleta has been going through his own metamorphosis.
After recently releasing the single Up, Archuleta dropped the single I’m Yours a summer bop that, as Archuleta puts it, is him “letting go & letting loose”.
Michael Cook sat down for a chat with Archuleta about diving into LGBTQ culture, how his music is reflecting the change in his life, and his surprising connection to a famed Drag Race alumni.
Michael Cook: So much has changed for you since last summer, but appearing as The Macaw on The Masked Singer was not on anyone’s 2023 bingo card! What was it like to appear on that show & have it pack such an emotional punch?
David Archuleta: It was more inspiring and healing for me than I thought it would be. I went in thinking that I would have fun, be silly and dress up like a big bird. I guess everyone has wanted to know about my journey, so it turned into a lot more of a serious take on the story. Still, I was able to have a lot of fun.
MC: So many celebrities have come out in support of you; was that surprising?
DA: I guess it is surprising. For me, if people understand or closely know LGBTQ+ folks or are part of the community, i figured that they would feel a connection. I was more surprised that there was a fair amount of people who don’t really know what it felt like. That meant a lot to me because I think you’re always scared when you come out that people are not going to understand you, be afraid of you & judge you. That was a big relief for me.
MC: Being very open and yourself and being comfortable in your own skin definitely can translate into art being more honest than ever. With your single “Up” that seems to be the case. Tell me about the single…
DA: It was funny, I was hanging out with one of the writers that I wrote the song with for his birthday. We had tried writing five different songs that day and kept changing things, “this doesn’t work”…The writer told the producers to just start playing the guitar and I just sang this melody. He said “You just sang that in one swoop”! We refined it a little bit, but the melody for “Up” came out practically in one minute.
We had the whole structure of the song’s melody and we added some words to it. It’s a liberating song and the way that it came out so quickly, freely and smoothly. I feel it’s symbolic, It’s about rising above, letting go and not resisting and not pushing anymore. Allowing things to be naturally how they are and flow and move up; rise above in this freeing and calming way.
MC: When anyone of any faith ends up coming out, people in their lives can be left behind. Have you had to leave people behind that you had deep relationships with?
DA: Yeah. What was hard for me is that you want people to understand where you’re coming from, but they think that if they listen to you, they are going to become contaminated.
That their ideology is going to become toxic for them. It’s like, I’m not trying to make you become anything else, I’m just trying to help you understand why this has been such a hard journey and why it was been so painful to try to keep the ideology that I had before. Thinking that could change my sexuality, that I could resist and deny what I am. In the religion they say deny yourself and that is the holy way of doing things. In the process, you become so numb so empty and you start to hate yourself so much, because you are in such denial. You are in denial of what is the truth.
They also teach that God is truth and God is light, yet with this subject they want yo to lie to yourself because it makes them uncomfortable. There is a conflict in your mind that you are supposed to be honest.
My relationship with God, what I understand of God, is now is way different than what I was told God was. I am connecting to God, this higher power, overlooking everything, it’s revealing to me that I am loved just as I am and I was created as I am meant to be. I am meant to experience love, even though it’s different, it’s not that different. It’s the same feeling, relationship, companionship, and building each other up, it just happens to be feeling it for the same sex. I can have a relationship with an adult who feels the same way; I may not be able to create children with that person, but can make them breakfast, watch a movie with them, have conversations, give them a hug, have that companionship and visit family and friends.
MC: Tel me about the new single “I’m Yours”…
DA: The new single is more upbeat and more fun. “Up” was my transition song showing where I came from, the dark place. The music that follows is to show where I am at now, I am just gonna have fun. I think the religious aspect is “you’re having fun” which is some kind of perversion, but it’s honestly just the sensation of letting go and letting loose.
MC: Are you enjoying diving into all things LGBTQ culture and learning about our rich history?
DA: I’m still learning the culture. When I was very religious, I did what they told me, avoiding at all costs anything that is gay, because if you hang around them too much..they looked at it like it was contagious. One time a friend of mine said “Okay we’ll have a kiki” and I said “What’s a kiki”? Things like that, I am learning.
I appreciate things about the culture, but when people ask what my favorite drag move is, I don’t have any favorite drag moves, that’s foreign to me. I have friends that do drag, I didn’t even know they do drag. I stated talking to them now that I am out and I appreciate what they do.
I am still a nerd though, I love my video games and watching my anime. As far as going out, I am not as much about putting myself out there yet, but I still want to love who I love and connect with who I connect with. I identify as queer so I still identity somewhere on the biseuxal spectrum, but I don’t know if that changes anything.
MC: Did someone finally explain what “a kiki” truly is? Scissor Sisters and Jake Shears truly had a summer anthem several years ago with “Let’s Have A Kiki”.
DA: Really?! Wow, I remember they were very big in the UK and they had a song called “Take Your Mama Out” and their #1 song in the UK was “I Don’t Feel Like Dancing”. I looked it up and wondered where their name came from, and then I saw that it was a lesbian reference.
It was like should I be listening to this (laughs)? It still seemed wholesome, so even was I was a Mormon boy, I loved listening to their music.
MC: When you did the interview with Jennifer Hudson on her talk show, it seemed like the floodgates opened and you truly started to get mainstream support. Since that tipping point, have you started hearing from other people in the community?
DA: Yes I have and it has been really wonderful to have their support. I didn’t realize how tight knit of a group the gay community was. Every single gay person that I had known of, except maybe Elton John (laughs) reached out and congratulated me. I just put it on Instagram and suddenly people reached out. I saw that every time someone comes up, everyone else who is queer welcomes them; I was not expecting that at all.
MC: What is next for you? Big summer plans for pride festivals?
DA: I am performing at my first pride , San Diego Pride. I have to be honest, I am nervous, but excited. It seems like every time a Presidential election comes up, people get really heated. So I am thinking that of all times to do my first Pride, this is scary, and I guess protesters at Pride is a normal thing. I am excited, I know that there are people coming out always, every year.
They are scared to do it and wonder if they will be okay. I’m happy to be able to provide them that space, and to reach out and say “Welcome”, like everyone welcomed me. I am sure there are people like me who are wondering if they are queer because they don’t see people like them.
I hope I can show that I came from a super conservative background, but I am still trying to figure it out, but I am still part of the community. I think sometimes people feel that if they don’t fit the mold they shouldn’t come out. I want to help create that safe space like the people before me created for me.
MC: Have you gotten into RuPaul’s Drag Race yet?
DA: I watched a couple episodes of Secret Celebrity Drag Race because I had two friends on it. Kevin McHale was on and he was one of the only people, one of my only friends that I knew in the LGBTQ community.
He was one of the first people that I spoke to and asked what it was like. It was like stepping onto Mars, onto another planet. I didn’t understand any references, I wasn’t closeted and looking things up secretly either, I was so devout in my beliefs and religion. I asked what it was like dating a guy and what the community was like. He helped talk to me and humanize it; the way had grown up, it had always been dehumanized.
It was really helpful, he was someone I could trust, we had worked together; he had directed some of the videos I had done.
AJ McLean also, he is an ally, and it was so much fun to watch him on the show. I know Adore Delano , because I knew them as Danny Noriega, who was on American Idol the same season as I was. I didn’t know he did drag and I was like “Oh My God that’s amazing”! I’ve seen some of the music videos and talking on Drag Race and I have seen some drag shows at the clubs, it’s fun to watch a performance. I’ll still go and support, especially now that I know people who perform.
MC: It’s essential to take a deep dive onto Adore Delano’s lip sync for original American Idol judge Paula Abdul on Drag Race Season 6.
DA: Oh My God! That’s so much fun!
MC: Right now, what is making you the most proud?
DA: What is giving me the most pride right now is simply accepting myself. Even though I didn’t admit it, deep down, I knew that I liked men and that was queer. I was taught to believe the right thing to do is to be ashamed of it, push it down, not acknowledge it and I would be saved.
As I did that, I felt the self hatred build up and it was just unbearable, to the point that I felt it was better if I didn’t even exist. At that point, I realized I had to do something about it and I need to come out. If I didnt come out I wouldn’t give myself a chance to love myself.
Now that I have done that, I look at all of me without judging what that is. The best way to have pride is to love yourself as you are; and that has been an amazing experience. There is nothing wrong with being a part of the queer community.
