American Idol David Hernandez’s New Single, “Sorry”

David Hernandez, best known for competing on the seventh season of American Idol, recently released his new single and music video, “Sorry.” Produced by Alex and DeShawn Teamer and written with American Idol mentor Michael Orland, “Sorry” is a metaphoric letter to those David has hurt in the past as well as those who have hurt him.

“I’m allowing myself to be vulnerable and I’m getting closer to speaking my truth,” he said. “It’s basically me admitting, hey I fucked up. I am not perfect, but I am trying to be better.”

The music video for “Sorry” was shot a couple of weeks prior to the release in West Hollywood in the middle of the current pandemic. David and his crew were careful to distance themselves from one another and only shot in areas where there were no other people. David explains that the empty streets help convey the loneliness of being left with your thoughts.

OUT FRONT had the pleasure of chatting more with David about the single, shooting a music video during a pandemic and what he has in store for us this Pride season.

Hi, David! Thank you so much for chatting with me about your new single “Sorry.” Can you begin by telling us more about concept?
Yeah, absolutely. I think a lot of us have regrets in life, and in any relationships, friendships or even family situations, often we regret not being able to say goodbye because of disagreements that we had. I think we can all identify with that in some way, shape or form. I know I personally have. So, that is kind of where the concept came from. I sat down with my American Idol mentor Michael Orland, and he started playing a piano lick, and I immediately started thinking of a melody. That is normally how I begin the writing process, then after the melody is ironed out, we start filling that in with lyrics. Literally, it took us probably 40 minutes to write. It was just kind of one of those no brainer kind of things. When we finished it, we were like, that was therapeutic.

And you shot the music video a couple weeks ago in the middle of the current COVID-19 pandemic. How difficult was that?
That was really interesting because I didn’t know what kind of concept I was going to do for the video. I knew I wanted it to be simple, which kind of worked out for the times we’re in because we couldn’t do anything extravagant. Like, we couldn’t do like crowd shots or incorporate anybody else in the video. We had to respect the social distancing, and the cool thing about the video is that Sunset Strip was completely empty. Obviously, everyone is quarantined which is a rarity. I mean, if you know West Hollywood, you know Sunset Boulevard is packed 24 hours a day. So, that was kind of cool to be able to shoot by that fountain on Sunset which would have never been allowed. You probably would have had to have a permit or ticket or something. Then we went off and we shot some things up on Mulholland, but those shots didn’t fit with the concept because at the end of the shoot, we were walking back to my house and we passed this parking garage that was completely empty, which is also a rarity.

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So, we saw this parking garage, and I forget whose idea it was, it may have been Derek Caldera’s, but it was suggested that I just stand there and just like emoted. Put my acting classes to use and just look straight in the camera and the camera will pan around me. I was like yeah, that sounds really cool. We did it and it’s my favorite shot of the entire music video. I love it all, but it’s my favorite because you just get this feeling that I’m talking to you face to face. Then we cut that with a projector screen in my house and we just literally threw the projector over my face, then layered it with some other time lapse videos of Los Angeles. That’s where you see the color start to come in and that symbolizes anxiety. Like fuck, you can’t get this person back anymore. You’re fucked and you’re alone and you feel nothing but despair. So, that’s how the video came into play. The quarantine thing sucks, but it has been cool in terms of creativity and being able to uses spaces that would normally be occupied.

How has “Sorry” been received by audiences?
Really well. I feel people can relate to me. I think we have all been in a position where we regretted something in life. You don’t just go through life as an angel, you mess up sometimes. The comments I have gotten have been amazing, and the views have been great. They’re just climbing and climbing. We are doing more and more press for this and a couple of covers, and obviously I am doing a story with you guys, so that just helps build momentum and get the message out there. That’s really all I want to do, like be able to touch people’s hearts. Whether it’s singing my old song “Beautiful” which is super happy and uplifting, or singing a song like “Sorry” which is kind of sad and dark. I think there are so many different sides, and we can relate to all of that.

What have you personally taken away from this experience?
I think I have realized that when I put my mind to something, I can accomplish it. Like, before this, shooting a music video was such a process, but in the digital age, you really only need a videographer, yourself and a creative partner. I mean, there’s literally just three of us that made this happen. This quarantine situation forces you to sort of utilize what you have and also get online and learn things you didn’t learn before, like video editing, color correction and stuff like that. All you have is time right now. I think that’s what the whole process has taught me, and it also taught me to stare at myself in a mirror and look at the imperfections and the flaw and appreciate them along with all the beautiful parts.

“Sorry” is metaphorically a heartfelt letter to those you have hurt as well as those who have hurt you. I want to ask, is it difficult for you to say sorry and admit when you are wrong?
Oh, that’s a really good question. You should ask me exes that [laughs]. I think yes. I think it is hard for me to admit that I am wrong, but I am learning. You know, I am learning to swallow my pride, and I am also learning that even if I wasn’t 100 percent wrong that it’s really not worth the fight. I someone feels hurt, accept those feelings and honor them and say, you know, I’m sorry that I hurt you. That was not my intention. Sometimes you hurt people unintentionally, and that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t say I’m sorry. That just means you fucked up, it was an oversight and you didn’t realize you were doing it. It’s better to just be like, you know what, I’m sorry about that. So, I would say, in the past I haven’t been the type of person that says sorry first, but moving into the future, I definitely let that go and started to apologize more. Even if it was for things that I didn’t necessarily think I was responsible for.

For those who hold onto many regrets and can’t move forward, what advice would you give?
Hmm, that’s a tough one. Well, therapy first and foremost. I think you really have to take a good look at yourself and just see that you have a lot of like to live and eventually those mistakes have shaped you into who you are now. Learn from them because you are human and you are flawed. You have to learn to forgive yourself just the same way you learned to forgive people that have hurt you. I have talked to a lot of people who are so quick to forgive their exes or a shady friend who was talking shit behind their back or whatever the case may be, but they are easier to forgive and forget those situations than they are to forgive and forget the things that they themselves have done. They beat themselves up over it. I know I am one of those people. I will forgive somebody who is saying I’m a shitty person before I forgive myself for, you know, cussing out an old lady. I’m just giving an example; I have never confronted an old lady [laughs].

Here’s a better example. I will forgive somebody who is talking shit behind my back before I forgive myself for getting wasted and being hung over for a couple of days and not accomplishing anything. I will beat myself up over that for like a week. Like, I lost Monday and Tuesday because I went on a drinking binge on Sunday. I wasn’t responsible. I’ll wake up on Wednesday and cry. The anxiety is real. Like wow, I could have done this and that. I just lost 48 hours of my life. So, I think I’m trying to learn to forgive myself and have grace with myself a bit more than I ever had before. It’s an everyday process though. Like, I just beat myself up, and being an independent artist and growing up in a certain way, there is a lot of pain and remorse. You know, being ashamed of who you are. That’s why I say therapy helps, and also just being really introspective and trying to dig into the whys. Why you feel the way you feel and why you tend to forgive the guy who’s talking shit about you behind your back more so than yourself.

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Has singing and music always been your passion?
Yes. My grandpa actually took me to an audition when I was about 6-7 years old for this show called The Canterville Ghost, and I sang “I Will Always Love You” by Whitney Houston, and I got the part. I didn’t even think I was a good singer at that point, but someone saw potential in me, and after that, music just sort of took off for me. I had a couple of gaps, but my heart was really into like writing and singing melodies. I have never been great at sticking to like a particular form of doing things. So, writing stuff was really cool for me because it was creative, it was out of the box. Then I got into the studio and heard myself back for the first time and it was crazy. I started taking voice lessons and I was signed to Universal Records when I was 22. Then I auditioned for American Idol and that’s when everything just like took off.

What are your thoughts on the new American Idol?
I love the fact that they are keeping American Idol alive. It’s such a great show that changes people’s live that probably would have never been able to make it in the record business and it gives them that opportunity. It was a major platform for me. I am always grateful; I always thank them for it. Even though I didn’t win, I have been able to sustain over the last like 13 years just making music only. So, that’s really cool, and I met my good collaborator friend Effie Passero. We have a single out called “What I See” and it’s beautiful. The music video is on YouTube. Then I also had a chance to virtually meet Just Sam who is the recent winner. She has been on my live streams a couple of times and she is just the humblest of souls. I think American Idol brings a lot of people from around the world together that normally would not have connected. I am really impressed how they did the video recordings for the contestants this year. I mean, it’s going to be depressing like not being able to have a graduation or not being able to celebrate those things that so landmarks in your life. Like, she’s the winner of American Idol, but when I was talking to her about it, she was like, I don’t even care about the live stuff or the streamers falling on my head. I’m just so grateful to be here. It’s a different time, but we adapt. And I thought like for her age, having such a great perspective and an optimistic one, that was really impressive because a lot of people could easily fall into like, oh my god, I’m so depressed, it’s not the way it should have been. It is the way it is and that’s evolution and that’s how we survive. She is clearly adapting to it. I think she did fantastic.

I heard you did a duet of “True Colors” with Jacqueline Lord and it will be released this month for Pride. Can you talk more about that?
Yes! First of all, we are both fans of Cyndi Lauper. Jacqueline is a friend of mine who I recently met and we had planned on collaborating in some way, shape or form. We just couldn’t find the right song, and with the quarantine and Pride coming up and people not being able to attend Pride because it’s all going to be virtual, we were like, why don’t we put out like a positive message. So, we listened to Cyndi Lauper’s version, then we heard Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick’s version which is very pretty and stripped down. So, Jacqueline plays piano, she is an incredible musician. She sat down, we raised the key a little bit to fit our voices, then she played piano and we went in the studio and laid our vocals separately. Then we shot the music video separately in her workspace.

It’s a great message of always staying true to yourself for Pride season. I think a lot of people, we have come a long way in the LGBTQ community, but I think a lot of people, especially young kids, still struggle with their identity, sexuality or coming out. It’s just a process that I think will probably go on forever, but it can get better and better. This is a message that basically said I see those sad eyes, but we can also see your true colors shining through.

And you are known to perform at Pride festivals throughout the country. Since many either canceled or going digitally, how are you celebrating Pride this year?
I am doing a lot of live streams. It’s kind of what we have been doing this entire time. Hopping on and lending your talents to organizations so they can provide to the communities. I did South Florida Pride, and I’m doing another one for a couple different Pride organizations. So, that’s my way of celebrating. Hopping on live streams being like, hey!

What’s next for you? Any other upcoming projects we should be on the lookout for?
I am recording another song that I am going to release very soon. Not exactly sure when, but it will probably happen sometime at the end of June. It’s an upbeat song, kind of like “Beautiful.” So, that’s the next project, and then really just putting out more and more content on my YouTube page and reaching out to people and being consistent with that sort of stuff.

To stay up to date with David follow him on social media or visit davidhernandezofficial.com. “Sorry” is now available on Apple Music, Spotify and all other major e-music retailers. The music video can be found on YouTube.