American Idol winner Caleb slams own debut song as cheesy piece of cr*p Wed 6 July 2022 1
American Idol is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, and season 13 champ Caleb Johnson has reflected on his win and dislike of his debut track.
If you’re feeling old, American Idol hitting its 20th birthday is a true indication.
The series premiered on Fox in June 2002, based on the British competition show Pop Idol, which produced the likes of Will Young and Gareth Gates – they were all over UK radio in the 2000s.
Two decades and 20 winners later, American Idol has become one of the most successful series in US TV history, despite dwindling views in recent years. At its peak in 2006 (season 5), over 31 million viewers tuned in for the final performances.
Although winning the contest is life-changing, season 13’s Caleb Johnson recounts his victory, proving that not every artist had a choice in their releases.
“It was just the worst song ever”
In an interview with Insider, Caleb criticised his debut single, calling it a “cheesy piece of cr*p.”
Believe it or not, he was “really bummed” because taking the crown meant having to release As Long As You Love Me, written by The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins as his first song.
“I knew that, by de facto, if you won you had to sing the song, and the song was just utter cr*p,” Johnson said. “Like it was just the worst song ever.” Guess his judgement was right since the single failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the first Idol winner’s single to do so.
“I pitched a fit about it to the management company and all this stuff. And they were like, ‘look at this as kind of a graduation present or something,'” he explained.
His dislike for the song is understandable since it was recorded by another Idol singer two years prior. Idol South Africa runner-up Mark Haze featured it on his debut album, Where Angels Fear to Fly, though it was never released in the US.
“How is that even possible that somebody else releases the same song in another country?” Caleb said.
To be fair, Kelly Clarkson’s Idol single – A Moment Like This – served as Leona Lewis’ victory song on X Factor UK in 2006.
As Long As You Love Me was dropped from the Idol tour
Luckily for Caleb, his winning song was taken off the set list as he and his fellow Idol contestants toured the country.
“We did at the beginning, but they switched it. They switched it about halfway because it just wasn’t working. It was not working, and it was a nightmare.”
His debut album titled Testify was recorded under 19 Recordings, Idol’s label, and reached number 24 on the Billboard charts. 11,000 copies were sold in the first week, marking it the lowest debut week sales of any winner.
The 31-year-old parted ways with the label over a year later in late 2015.
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