David James Archuleta (born December 28, 1990) is an American singer and songwriter. At age ten, he won the children's division of the Utah Talent Competition, which led to additional television singing appearances. At age twelve, he became Junior Vocal Champion on the second season of “Star Search”. In 2008, he finished second on the seventh season of “American Idol”. In August 2008, Archuleta released his debut single “Crush”. His self-titled debut album, “David Archuleta”, was released three months later and debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. It sold over 750,000 copies in the United States and over 900,000 copies worldwide. In October 2010, he released his third studio album “The Other Side of Down”, which included the lead single “Something ’Bout Love”. In March 2012, he released “Forevermore”, an album issued exclusively in the Philippines consisting of covers of Filipino songs and marking his first Original Pilipino Music release. The album was certified gold in the Philippines. His fifth album, “Begin”, was released in August 2012. A compilation album, “No Matter How Far”, followed in March 2013. His sixth studio album, “Postcards in the Sky”, was released in October 2017. His second holiday album, “Winter in the Air”, was released in 2018. His eighth studio album, “Therapy Sessions”, was released in May 2020. Archuleta was born in Miami, Florida, 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. He has stated that his surname is of Basque origin. He speaks fluent Spanish and has four siblings. His family moved to Sandy, Utah, when he was six years old. He began singing at age six after being inspired by a “Les Misérables” video. He first performed publicly at age ten at the Utah Talent Competition, where he sang “I Will Always Love You” and won the child division. He attended Murray High School before participating in “American Idol”. Archuleta was a member of the Boy Scouts of America and completed requirements for the rank of Eagle Scout in 2008 shortly before his 18th birthday during his participation in “American Idol”, though the rank was formally awarded later. He also graduated from Barbizon Modeling and Acting School in Salt Lake City. Between 2003 and 2006, Archuleta appeared on the television program “Star Search”, where he became Junior Vocal Champion but did not win the overall junior title. He also appeared on “The Jenny Jones Show” and performed for contestants from the first season of “American Idol”. After his “Star Search” appearances, he was diagnosed with partial vocal paralysis but did not undergo surgery and later stated that he had largely recovered. He also made early attempts at songwriting, including songs such as “Dream Sky High” and “Don’t Tell Me”. In 2007, Archuleta auditioned for “American Idol” with “Waiting on the World to Change”. During the competition, he performed songs including “Crazy”, “Another Day in Paradise”, “Angels”, “Imagine”, “We Can Work It Out”, and “The Long and Winding Road”. He reached the finale, where he performed “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me”, “In This Moment”, and “Imagine”, finishing as runner-up with 44 percent of the vote. Following the show, his recordings of several performances entered the Billboard Hot 100 and Bubbling Under Hot 100 charts. His debut single “Crush” debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and became his most commercially successful single in the United States. After “American Idol”, Archuleta toured and released additional material including songs such as “Zero Gravity”, “Touch My Hand”, and collaborations connected to media projects. He also appeared on television programs including “iCarly” and “Hannah Montana”, performing himself and contributing to musical performances. In 2010, he published a memoir titled “Chords of Strength: A Memoir of Soul, Song, and the Power of Perseverance”. He also performed at various televised and live events, including holiday concerts and national celebrations. In 2011, Archuleta was released from his recording contract with Jive Records and left his management company. He subsequently worked on new material and toured internationally. Later in 2011, he announced plans to undertake a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2012, he filmed the Philippine television series “Nandito Ako” and released the album “Forevermore”, which consisted of covers of Filipino songs. He also released “Begin” and later the compilation “No Matter How Far”, which included previously released regional tracks and new material. He continued touring and performing during this period. From 2015 onward, Archuleta released additional singles and projects, including “Glorious”, which was used in the film “Meet the Mormons”, as well as “Numb”, “Up All Night”, “Invincible”, and “Paralyzed”. He released “Postcards in the Sky” in 2017 and continued touring in the United States and the Philippines. In 2018, he collaborated with Peter Hollens on a version of the folk song “Loch Lomond”. A deluxe edition of “Winter in the Air” was released in 2019 with additional tracks. In 2020, Archuleta released “Therapy Sessions” and a deluxe edition titled “Therapy Sessions - The Lost Sessions”. He also released the single “Just Breathe”, with proceeds supporting COVID-19 relief efforts. In 2021, he released additional singles including “I Know He Lives”, “Be That for You”, and “Losin’ Sleep”, and published a children’s book titled “My Little Prayer”. In 2023, Archuleta competed on the ninth season of “The Masked Singer” as “Macaw” and finished in second place. In 2024, he performed cover versions of songs including Sabrina Carpenter’s “Espresso” and “Please Please Please”, which gained attention on social media and streaming platforms. In 2025, he announced the EP “Earthly Delights” and a related tour, preceded by the singles “Crème Brulée” and “Can I Call You”. In 2026, he published the memoir “Devout”, which describes his experiences leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and coming out as queer. Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Archuleta Studio albums David Archuleta (2008) Christmas from the Heart (2009) The Other Side of Down (2010) Forevermore (2012) Begin (2012) Postcards in the Sky (2017) Winter in the Air (2018) Therapy Sessions (2020)