Wednesday 6 July 2022 05:30 AM American Idol Season 13 winner Caleb Johnson was 'really bummed' he won trends now
Eight years after winning Season 13 of American Idol, Caleb Johnson says he was 'really bummed' that he won.
The 31-year-old singer beat out Jena Irena and Alex Preston to take home the top prize in May 2014, though he revealed in an interview with Insider, because he 'hated' his winner's single, As Long As You Love Me, written by Justin Hawkins.
Johnson called the song a 'cheesy piece of crap,' and it was even pulled from his post-Idol winner's tour because it just 'wasn't working.'
Bummed: Eight years after winning Season 13 of American Idol, Caleb Johnson says he was 'really bummed' that he won
Caleb wins: The 31-year-old singer beat out Jena Irena and Alex Preston to take home the top prize in May 2014, though he revealed in an interview with Insider , because he 'hated' his winner's single, As Long As You Love Me, written by Justin Hawkins
'I knew that, by de facto, if you won you had to sing the song, and the song was just utter crap. Like it was just the worst song ever,' Johnson said.
He even tried to argue with the producers to try and sing something else, but it was to no avail.
'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 said.
Utter crap: 'I knew that, by de facto, if you won you had to sing the song, and the song was just utter crap. Like it was just the worst song ever,' Johnson said
Argue: He even tried to argue with the producers to try and sing something else, but it was to no avail
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Johnson's frustration over the song grew when he learned that Hawkins' song was given to Idols South Africa runner-up Mark Haze in 2012, which he released on his debut album.
'How is that even possible that somebody else releases the same song in another country?' Johnson asked of the song, which did have slightly different lyrics than Haze's version.
As part of another tradition, Johnson embarked on a summer tour with the other finalists, and As Long As You Love Me was originally part of the
