Photo: Irvin Rivera
David Archuleta just dropped the music video for his latest single that was inspired by a powerful message from his mother, and it's a personal exploration of his identity, faith and the "scary" decision to leave religion.
The American Idol season seven runner-up on Friday (April 26) released the music video for his newest single "Hell Together," a reference to the sentiment his mother shared with him after Archuleta explained he was leaving the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also called the Mormon church. He left the church in 2022, a year after coming out as queer, per People.
"[The song] is inspired by what my mom said to me after I left my Mormon faith and religion altogether," he said in a press release. "It was a scary place to leave something that was all I knew and that gave me my purpose to live, but it was something I knew I needed to do as I felt a new sense and purpose for life."
Archuleta said his mom sent him a text days after he publicly announced he was leaving the Mormon church to tell him she was leaving too, a move that left hims "shocked" because she was "so devout."
"I asked what made her feel she needed to leave because she didn't need to follow my example," he said. "She said — 'If you go to Hell, we're all going to Hell with you. We're a family and we'll always be there for each other, in good or in bad!' I was really moved by that."
"Hell Together" is a reflection of how he feels since leaving the church, noting that while some may think he would "feel dark and lost," that's not the case for Archuleta.
"I felt like I found myself! It's meant to show the joy and how by leaving my religion is how I found a greater light," he said. "And, more importantly, how much it meant to still have a support system of family still there for me so I wasn't alone when at first I believed I was going to be alone."
Archuleta draws on his religious background throughout the song, with a gospel chorus and lyrics depicting his internal conflict: "Bow your head, don't be bold/ You'll survive by doin' what you're told/ Said love is earned and we can't choose/ But the more you grow, you know the truth."
The accompanying music video centers on how important family is, interspersing shots of Archuleta playing piano in a church as a woman dances along the aisle with home videos from his own childhood and with his mother.
"The video is a simple concept to portray the emotions of leaving a place you once felt as your purpose and identity but now no longer do," he said. "You know you're supposed to leave but also feel hesitant and scared to leave a place that was what you knew and was your world. The dancing represents the energy of love that propels you forward into the next chapter of your life. It also represents my mom's love and passion as she herself is a dancer."
Check out the music video below.