Former 'American Idol' Winner Caleb Johnson Reveals Why He Was 'Really Bummed' Over His Win

In a new interview, Caleb said he was “really bummed” when he won because he knew he’d have to sing “As Long as You Love Me” written by Justin Hawkins as his debut single.

“I knew that, by de facto, if you won you had to sing the song, and the song was just utter crap,” he told Insider. “Like, it was just the worst song ever.”

He called the song a “cheesy piece of crap…I pitched a fit about it to the management company and all this stuff,” he said. “And they were like, ‘Look at this as kind of a graduation present or something.’”

In addition, he recalled that two years prior, Idols South Africa runner-up, Mark Haze, included his version of “As Long as You Love Me” on his debut album.

“How is that even possible that somebody else releases the same song in another country?” he said. He also had to sing the song during his winners tour, saying it was a “nightmare.”

He also claimed the American Idol label, 19 Recordings, “put absolutely no support behind the record.”

“The label wouldn’t release the single, there was no single that came out after the record was done. There was no music video. There was nothing,” he said.

You can watch Caleb perform “As Long As You Love Me” on his Idol finale right here.