Chris Daughtry was apparently "just being honest" and feels fans didn't hear the whole story when he said American Idol is "definitely in decline."

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"It's so sad that when you're asked something and you answer honestly....you're made out to be the bad guy," Daughtry posted Monday evening on his official website blog.  "I was never trying to 'DISS' the show or 'BITE THE HAND THAT FED ME' so to speak. I was simply giving my input on what I think would spice the show up a bit.  Sorry for being honest."

During an interview with Rolling Stone that was published Monday morning, the former American Idol fifth-season finalist seemingly gave the show a thorough bashing, stating Idol is "definitely lacking some credibility at this point," is "in a state of decline," and that it should "find some people that you can really invest in," among other things.

American Idol apparently wasn't amused.

"I love Chris. I think he made an amazing record that he sold extremely well," Idol judge Randy Jackson told Rolling Stone in a subsequent Thursday report.  "He's a testament to the fact that no matter where you finish on Idol -- even if you finish twelfth -- if you make a great record and you got that kind of exposure, the public will resoundingly buy it. But the bottom line is there would be no Chris Daughtry if there wasn't American Idol."

Similar comments presumably made their way back to Daughtry, and an Idol producer reportedly subsequently phoned Rolling Stone and claimed Daughtry had allegedly called the show to apologize and said that he was "misquoted or taken out of context." 

In response, Rolling Stone attempted to defend itself by posting a print transcript and the audio file of the interview on its website -- however all they seem to do is somewhat lend some credence to Daughtry's claim.

"So you don't think it is in decline? You think they just need to like rethink it a bit?" the Rolling Stone reporter -- the first person in the conversation to use the word "decline" -- asked Daughtry.

"Oh, I think it's definitely in decline," replied Daughtry.

"Oh, okay, okay, gotcha," answered the reporter.

"If they don't do something about it, it's probably not gonna last too much longer," said Daughtry.  "And I'm sure that'll be used against me, but I'm just - that's the truth, you know? I feel like it's definitely lacking some credibility at this point."

"Yeah, I definitely agree with you," answers the reporter.  "I mean, I watched last season, and like they all sucked. [Laughs] It was boring, you know?

"Yeah." replied Daughtry, who defended both his comments and the reporter in his blog posting.

"It all started when the interviewer (who was great by the way) asked me where the 'Idol stigma everyone talks about' comes from," wrote Daughtry. 

"Ya know.... the reason people never take anyone from the show serious in the real world and why people say 'oh they came from AI, they're not real artists.' So, I answered that I don't feel that enough 'artists' try out for the show because of how many people they focus on that are obviously there for comedic and entertainment value. And when you focus enough on people that aren't serious about it then it's hard for the audience to take you as an artist serious. And it's also hard as a potential contestant to think it's a good way to get seen because you're afraid of being made a joke of."

Daughtry -- whose blog post is titled, "I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm..... Just Being and Honest!" and features a photo showing him shrugging -- also wrote that he also had some good things to say about Idol during the Rolling Stone interview.

"The funny thing is, if you heard the whole conversation you would've heard all the good things I said about the show as well," wrote Daughtry.  "Like for instance: How it's an amazing platform to launch a career..... 'If you take it seriously!!!!' Let's not forget I was a struggling artist for 11 years that never got any respect or notoriety so know that I'm eternally grateful for the opportunity that Idol gave me. And that's where my comments came from."

Daughtry will no doubt have the opportunity to give Idol it's due credit, as his band Daughtry received three Grammy Award nominations.
About The Author: Christopher Rocchio

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