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David Archuleta, the boy who once serenaded a nation on American Idol, is back, and he’s serving up a delectable slice of pop with his new single, “Crème Brulée.”

This isn’t the balladry of his teenage years; this is a mature, self-assured version of the singer, who is in his “Flirty Era.” Newsweek caught up with Archuleta who filled us in on some of the inspiration behind the track.

“So, now that I was finally getting comfortable with myself, I just left the Mormon Church, it was like, oh, I can feel a little free. I can feel like a little baddie now,” he revealed. He talked about outside influences that make him feel that “freeness,” giving a shout out to Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Charlie XCX, and Billie Eilish along the way.

“[Eilish has] that chill vibe that I love and I was like, I would love to have a moment like that. I would love to have a song just like that, but I’m like, I want a little bit of a Latin flair to it. So I was like, can we bring a little bit of Kali Uchis into this vibe here? I need to feel – I want to feel empowered right now. So I just channeled all those pop girlies and I was like, well, how do I make this, you know, fit my voice and show a little bit of my personality as well?” Archuletta explained.

“Crème Brulée” is synth-laden track that radiates a warm, summer vibe. It trades in the traditional soaring power of ballads for a smooth, R&B-infused pop sensibility. The lyrics, coated in a playful metaphor of dessert, delve into the intoxicating rush of new romance.

This single arrives at a pivotal moment in Archuleta’s career. After his meteoric rise to fame as a fresh-faced teenager, he embarked on a journey of self-discovery, stepping away from the spotlight to confront his faith, sexuality, and place in the world. His growing audience includes many die hard fans who have been supporting him since his days as a competitor on the famed singing competition.

“I’m so grateful to my fans.
It makes me emotional thinking about it because, it’s like, oh my gosh, I almost didn’t come out and I almost didn’t go forward because I thought I was going to be rejected,” he said of his fans.

For those wondering, Archuleta is focused on music now more than ever. “I’m working mainly on an EP, eventually on an album. I’m writing songs, I would say a lot of it’s definitely more of this like flirty vibe and exploring my queer identity, and just feeling like I’m more settled into myself rather because I feel like a lot of my releases before were in my head overthinking,” he stated on his upcoming works.

Fans of Archuleta can stream his new hit “Crème Brulée” on streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music.