David Archuleta is preparing to step away from the spotlight for two years.

During the Salt Lake City stop of his My Kind of Christmas Tour, the 20-year-old half-Spanish/half-Honduran American singer told the audience that he’ll be putting his music career on hold to serve a two-year Mormon mission.

“I would like to make a special announcement: that I’ve chosen to serve a full-time mission,” the American Idol Season 7 runner-up told the crowd while fighting back tears.

Archie, as he’s affectionately known, then opened up to his 2,000 fans in attendance about the decision to participate in a mission at this point in his life.

“It’s not because someone told me I was supposed to do it and not because I no longer want to do music anymore,” he said. “It’s because it’s what I feel I need to do next in my life. It’s the same feeling that I’ve always tried to follow in my life – the feeling that’s allowed me to have the opportunities I’ve had, the challenges and the blessings, too. And I’ve learned to trust that feeling and answer when it calls. That’s the reason why I know I have to do this in my life.”

No word on where Archuleta will serve, but like other Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints members, he will be expected to adhere to a strict set of rules, which includes a dress code (dark trousers, white dress shirts, and ties are usually required) and a daily schedule – typically up by 6:30 a.m. and proselytizing by 10:00 a.m. Young men and women on a mission are generally allowed only two phone calls in a year, both to their mother, on Christmas Day and Mother’s Day.

Meanwhile, only one concert date remains on Archuleta’s Christmas tour. Tonight, he’ll perform in Beaver Creek, Colorado.