David Archuleta is an American singer- songwriter and an actor. He finished second on the seventh season of American Idol.
So let’s find out some trivia and facts about his life and career.
- His full name is David James Archuleta
- He was born on December 28, 1990
- He is an American singer-songwriter and actor
- At ten years old, he won the children’s division of the Utah Talent Competition leading to other television singing appearances
- When he was twelve years old, Archuleta became the Junior Vocal Champion on the second season of Star Search known as “Star Search 2”
- In 2008, he finished second on the seventh season of American Idol
- In August 2008, Archuleta released “Crush”, the first single from his self-titled debut album
- The album, released three months later
- It debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 chart
- It has sold over 750,000 copies in the United States
- And over 900,000 copies worldwide
- In October 2010, he released a third album, The Other Side of Down, featuring lead single “Something ‘Bout Love”
- On March 28, 2012, Archuleta left on a two-year hiatus to be a missionary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Chile
- But stated that he would continue his music career afterwards
- As of February 2012, Archuleta had sold 1,108,000 albums and 3,327,000 tracks in the United States
- In March 2012, Archuleta released his fourth album, “Forevermore”, exclusively in the Philippines
- This was his first Original Filipino Music (OPM) album
- The album was composed of several covers of Filipino songs
- The album was certified gold in the Philippines (10,000 units) as of June 2012
- Archuleta’s fifth album, Begin, was released on August 7, 2012, in the United States
- A compilation album, No Matter How Far, was released on March 26, 2013
- His sixth studio album, Postcards in the Sky, was released on October 20, 2017
- His second holiday album, Winter in the Air, was released in 2018
- His eighth studio album, Therapy Sessions, was released on May 20, 2020
- Archuleta was born on December 28, 1990, in Miami, to Guadalupe Mayorga, a salsa singer and dancer, and Jeff Archuleta, a jazz musician
- His mother is from Honduras and his father is of Spanish, Danish, Irish, and German descent
- Archuleta has stated that his surname is of Basque origin
- He speaks fluent Spanish.[20] Archuleta has four siblings
- Archuleta’s family moved to the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy, Utah, when he was six years old
- He attended Murray High School before appearing on American Idol
- Archuleta began singing at the age of six, inspired by a Les Misérables video
- He said that “That musical is what started all of this”
- He started performing publicly at the age of 10 when he participated in the Utah Talent Competition, singing “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton
- He won the Child Division
- When Archuleta, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, was 21, he volunteered for two years as a full-time missionary in Rancuagua, Chile
- Archuleta is a graduate of Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Salt Lake City
- Along with Do Something and the Dunkin’ Brands Community Foundation, Archuleta is involved with helping willing teenagers make a difference in others’ lives with disaster relief
- He was also one of several teen celebrities taking part in DoSomething.org’s Teens for Jeans charity initiative, which donates denim to homeless teenagers nationwide
- In January 2010, Haiti was hit with a major earthquake
- On January 22, 2010, Archuleta joined other celebrities for a two-hour fundraising telethon, where he answered phones and even stayed longer afterward to keep answering the phones
- Archuleta partnered with ChildFund International for his My Kind of Christmas Tour in an effort to increase awareness and recruit new sponsors for children in need worldwide
- Archuleta also surprised some of ChildFund’s children in their Philippines program, when he sang Bridge Over Troubled Water, and then met with the children in small groups
- He has also been one of the most consistent artist supporters of Invisible Children, rallying fans to donate to protection initiatives in Central Africa, and performing at events held by the organization
- In January 2011, Archuleta travelled to Chennai, India, with Rising Star Outreach, a non-profit charity giving children from leper colonies a first-class education and a chance at a future in India
- Archuleta was one of the many Latino singers who participated in Somos El Mundo, the Spanish version of “We Are the World 25 for Haiti”
- The song and video premiered on the Cristina Show in March 2010
- Funds raised benefited Haiti relief
- During the COVID-19 pandemic, Archuleta participated in Billboard’s Live At-Home sessions, where he performed piano versions of “OK, All Right”, “Crush”, and “What a Wonderful World”
- He released a music video for “Just Breathe” dedicated to the frontline workers
- Both were fundraisers for Direct Relief
- Archuleta’s mother is from Honduras, and much of the music he listened to as a child was Latin-influenced, including watching his mom sing at events with her sisters
- She also “was big on dancing” according to Archuleta, and would “make” him dance to traditional music with his older sister
- He also listened to jazz music, he said, from his father’s collection, as well as gospel, pop, rock and “soulful music”
- In a later interview, he revealed that his father was a jazz musician
- Archuleta also said he enjoys Broadway musicals
- On his American Idol “Fast Facts” page, Archuleta cited his musical influences as Natalie Cole, Stevie Wonder, Kirk Franklin and Bryan Adams
- Like Elliott Yamin and another singer he admires, John Mayer, Archuleta tries to infuse his pop selections with a soulful vibe
- In a Seventeen interview, he cited Sara Bareilles as a clever singer-songwriter whom he looks up to
- In 2018, Archuleta resided in Nashville, Tennessee
- He came out as gay to his family in 2014 but later experienced feelings for both genders putting him on the “spectrum of bisexual”
- Then in June 2021 he publicly announced that he is a member of the LGBT+ community
- Explaining his journey and uncertainty with labels, as well as balancing his faith with his identity
- He stated “I don’t feel comfortable sharing it, but felt I needed to to bring more awareness to people in my same situation and let you know you’re not alone. You can be part of the LGBTQIA+ community and still believe in God and His gospel plan”
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