David Archuleta felt "very sheltered" during his early days of fame.
The 34-year-old singer rose to prominence in finished as runner-up on 'American Idol' in 2008 but admitted that he often felt like a child at the time because of his religious upbringing.
He told People: "I was such a young boy. I feel like sometimes I was like an 11-year-old in my mind because I was so sheltered. I grew up Mormon and didn’t really experience a lot of things. Everyone around me was like, 'Don't swear around David. He has innocent ears.'"
These days, the 'Crush' hitmaker has decided that he can be whoever he wants "tell [his] own story" in life.
He said: "I tried to be a good Mormon boy. Now I'm like, 'Oh, I can be whoever I want now.' I don't have to try and be like, 'Well, is that against the rules or is this going by the book?' I'm like, 'You know what, I get to write my own rules and paint my own story and tell my own story."
Meanwhile, David - who has released seven studio albums over the course of his career and also appeared on TV shows such as 'Hannah Montana' and 'The Masked Singer' - admitted that he would he happy to return to the franchise that made him famous in the first place as a guest, but couldn't commit to it as a full-time gig.
He said: "I wouldn't mind being a guest or anything. I don't think I could do it every week. I don’t like having to tell people, like, 'You need to be better this way.' I don't know. I like to see people for how they are. Maybe give some constructive criticism here and there."
