David Archuleta on His Mom's Support After She Had 'a Hard Time Accepting' Him as LGBTQ (Exclusive)

The American Idol alum came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community in 2021

David Archuleta can count on his mom for support.

The singer-songwriter — who rose to fame as the runner-up of American Idol's season 7 in 2008 —chatted with PEOPLE while attending the 2023 Project Angel Food’s Lead with Love 4 fundraising event on Saturday, where he spoke about his mother, Lupe Marie Mayorga, and her support of him after he came out as part of the LGBTQ+ community in 2021.

Noting that she was at first resistant, Archuleta said his mom eventually stepped away from the Mormon Church to support his queer identity.

"My mom had a hard time accepting my journey. At first, she said, 'DA, I love you, but I love God more. And marriage is between a man and a woman.' And I'm like, 'Mom, I understand.' Because that's what I believed up until a month before coming out. And I said, 'Mom, I don't need you to accept everything about my journey immediately. I just want you to be willing to walk along with me in this journey to learn alongside me,' " he continued. "And she said, 'Okay, I can do that.' "

Added Archuleta: "So it was really sweet to see her now at the point where she said, 'I don't want to leave my family just to follow God.' She's like, 'I can follow God and accept my son.' "

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Continuing his candid conversation, Archuleta said being asked in a PEOPLE interview about how he balances his faith and queerness is what made him go public with his decision to leave the Mormon Church, and it later inspired his mother to do the same.

"My mom said, 'I'm going to step away from the church.' And I was like, 'What?' And she just said, 'If you're going to hell, we're all going to hell together,' " he said. "... She just kind of said it in a funny way."

"It was sweet that she said, 'I'm with you wherever you go,' " Archuleta added. "That was really sweet."

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The star performed at the Project Angel Food’s Lead with Love telethon in Hollywood, where he sang “The Prayer” with fellow Idol alum Grace Leer and reunited with Paula Abdul, one of his former judges.

“It's fun to sing with another former Idol contestant,” Archuleta told PEOPLE, describing the event as a “little Idol reunion.”

He also said that he hopes his new song “I’m Yours,” out Friday, “Makes people dance," adding, "It’s just about saying, ‘I’m happy where I am and this is going to feel good.' ... So that’ll be fun to just show a fun, happy, dancey side. I don’t think I’ve shown that in a long time, if ever."

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