Entertainment

He's Back From His Mormon Mission!

by Mallory Schlossberg

Let's take a flashback to 2007. An adorable teen won the hearts of American preteens with his presence on American Idol. You voted for him, didn't you? Maybe you forgot about him, since he fell from the face of pop culture relevance, but he's baaack! David Archuleta has returned from his Mormon mission! Did you miss him? How many doorbells did he ring?

While the thought of a former Idol cutie running around South America to convert folks to Mormonism may seem a bit....uncommon, to say the least (most former Idol stars go the route of Broadway star, pop star, or Hollywood star — or candidate for local office, if you're Clay Aiken), it's true. Archuleta took a two year hiatus from music back in 2012 to leave his home in Utah. Back when he first left, he knew that fans might have a few questions as he prepared to enter training with the Church of Latter Day Saints to become Elder Archuleta, so he addressed in the single most appropriate way — the Internet!

In a Youtube video he released prior to his departure, he said, "It's a decision everyone knows about, but it's a very personal thing. I wanted to keep it that way, so I hope you guys respect that [...] I've been able to bring you guys on this journey so far, but I hope that you guys will respect that this will be more of a personal thing; that I'm trying to focus on something else now, not my career, not trying to do music."

So, in other words, no fan girls were allowed while Elder Archuleta did his Mormon thing.

But, the former Idol star is now back, and apparently, his trip was just swell. We can infer this from the dandy purple tie in his homecoming video, entitled "Words We Have Been Waiting For...", in which he simply says "Hola, everyone! It's Elder Archuleta here. And I'm home. I'm home." (I'm inferring "I'm home" is what the collective "we" has been waiting for.")

Next big question: will he release his next album as Elder Archuleta?

Welcome back, Elder.