Some people wait a lifetime for a moment like this … but for one “American Idol” contestant, their big coronation song had them dreading a win.
Speaking with Insider ahead of the show’s 20th anniversary, Season 13 winner Caleb Johnson revealed he not only hated the original song he had to perform in the finale but was “really bummed” knowing the single “As Long as You Love Me” would be part of his journey even after victory.
“I knew that, by de facto, if you won you had to sing the song, and the song was just utter crap,” Johnson told the outlet. He went on to call the tune “the worst song ever” and “cheesy piece of crap.”
The single was written by The Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins.
“I pitched a fit about it to the management company and all this stuff,” he added “And they were like, look at this as kind of a graduation present or something.”
Johnson, of course, was right. After he won, the song was featured in his set list for the “American Idol” summer tour when the season wrapped. Thankfully, for him, it didn’t become a permanent fixture.
“We did at the beginning, but they switched it,” he added. “They switched it about halfway because it just wasn’t working. It was not working, and it was a nightmare.”
In the interview, Johnson goes on to call out 19 Recordings for putting “absolutely no support” behind his debut album, “Testify.” The record debuted on the Billboard 200 at 24, which, at the time, was the lowest debut of any “Idol” winner.
The fans seemed to agree with Johnson when it came to “As Long As You Love Me” — as it became the first coronation song that didn’t hit the Billboard Hot 100.
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