David Archuleta is setting the record straight on his love for EDM festivals and raves.
“I think it’s interesting how wild people think it is because of maybe the hard techno and dubstep playing,” Archuleta, 33, wrote in a lengthy comment responding to backlash from him attending EDM events, which he shared a screenshot of via Instagram on Monday, May 20.
The singer noted that the events are “loud” with “a lot of stimulation,” adding, “It’s an expression of being free and going all out for a moment before going back to every day normal life. It’s a pretty special moment to take in and therapeutic because you let out what you normally don’t get to. How you would at a concert it’s just another way at a rave or edm festival.”
Archuleta explained, “If people don’t like it then cool. I’m sharing my journey and I’m loving it,” noting that the festivals he’s attended have taught him valuable lessons, including how “to be more confident and accepting of myself and others.” He added, “I’m here for it.”
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The sense of community has given him a new perspective. “I’ve been so used to judging others for not looking, acting and being a certain way,” he concluded. “I like how these edm fests have taught me to be less that way. You don’t have to go to a rave or edm fest to do that but it’s been my way.”
In a caption alongside the screenshotted comment, Archuleta wrote, “Yeah I guess it is wild. But I don’t think in the way people think necessarily either. Not everyone may understand what the reason for the heavy beat and the visuals and lights is for at edm fests or raves.”
He continued, reflecting on how he’s changed throughout his time in the spotlight. “I know most of my audience I’ve built over the years came from when I was very reserved and conservative myself. So that’s why I I like to explain what I do,” he added. “It’s not to apologize for who I am but sometimes it is a bit odd to post new experiences I’m having and where I’m at now when it’s very different from previous years and what people relate to me for before.”
Archuleta said he wanted to “show a bit of perspective” on why he enjoys EDM events, acknowledging they’re “not everyone’s cup of tea.”
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“You’re welcome to the journey to follow along but you’re also welcome to choose not to and that’s ok,” he concluded. “We like to surround ourselves with what we relate to and I know what I do isn’t as relatable to many of you as before vs more relatable for others of you now following me. Regardless I hope each and everyone of you can live your best life and find what makes you feel happy, understood, accepted and true to you. I’m enjoying my process and journey of that myself. 
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Archuleta captivated audiences when he appeared on season 7 of American Idol in 2008. At just 16 years old, he advanced far in the competition, ultimately securing second place behind David Cook.
Throughout his career, Archuleta spoke openly about his devout Mormon faith, and he publicly came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in a lengthy June 2021 statement.
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“I’ve been open to myself and my close family for some years now that I am not sure about my own sexuality,” he wrote via Instagram at the time. “I came out in 2014 as gay to my family. But then I had similar feelings for both genders so maybe a spectrum of bisexual. Then I also have learned I don’t have too much sexual desires and urges as most people which works, I guess, because I have a commitment to save myself until marriage. Which people call asexual when they don’t experience sexual urges.”
Archuleta encouraged his followers to “consider making room to be more understanding and compassionate” to those who might be exploring their identity. “I think we can do better as people of faith and Christians, including Latter-day Saints, to listen more to the wrestle between being LGBTQIA+ and a person of faith,” he noted.
