This Is the Most Forgotten ‘American Idol’ Winner in the Show’s History
Despite winning American Idol Season 13 in 2014, Caleb Johnson continues to be one of the most overlooked champions in the show’s history. Initially, it seemed like Johnson’s powerful voice and hard-rock style would make him an instant star in the music industry following his victory, but he never reached the same level of mainstream recognition as some of his predecessors, like Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood. In addition, Johnson didn’t exactly align with the typical pop-oriented American Idol winner, resulting in him falling out of the mainstream spotlight shortly after his national success. Over 10 years later, Johnson’s lack of radio play, poor album sales, and parting ways with his record label would lead him to be forgotten as one of the most unique American Idol champions of all time.
Poor Sales Impacted Johnson’s Career
Directly after winning American Idol, Johnson released his first album titled “Testify” in 2014, which already began the downward spiral of the rock star’s career. The record only sold 11,000 copies in its seven days on the market, giving Johnson the unfortunate honor of having the lowest first-week sales of any American Idol winner at the time. Four years later, the album had barely sold 30,000 copies, making it one of the most failed projects from an Idol contestant. Sadly, Johnson’s misfortune didn’t end there. The 2014 champion also became the first ever American Idol winner to have their coronation song, “As Long As You Love Me,” fail to make the Billboard Hot 100 chart. In 2019, the singer would release his second record, “Born From Southern Ground,” which he created with his band The Ramblin’ Saints. It was an attempt to burst back onto the scene following the failure of his debut album, but unfortunately the record didn’t perform well in sales or on streaming.
Unlike pop idols who were more likely to be embraced by mainstream radio and find commercial success, Johnson has struggled to find a broad audience since winning Idol. Ahead of forming The Ramblin’ Saints, Johnson unsurprisingly parted ways with his record label, Interscope Records, years after his Idol victory, and chose to release music independently moving forward. It was also revealed earlier this year that Interscope had removed Johnson’s first album from all streaming platforms, which led the 33-year-old to be “baffled” by the decision, especially after paying $30,000 to create the record.
Related
We All Forgot About One of ‘American Idol’s Best Finalists — but Shouldn’t Have
The music industry would look different if one Season 1 winner took the crown.
Where Is Johnson Today?
Johnson’s most recent solo project was in 2021 when he released a seven-song album called “Mountain Mojo, Vol. 1,” but has done some of the most remarkable work of his career throughout the last two years. He had the privilege of touring the United Kingdom with Neverland Express in 2023, which was the backing band for Meat Loaf, and has also toured with bands such as KISS, Black Stone Cherry, and the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Most notably, Johnson has now become the lead vocalist for Celebrating Meat Loaf, after Michael Lee Aday [Meat Loaf] passed away in 2022. This has allowed Johnson to carry on Meat Loaf’s legacy and perform many songs from the late artist’s theatrical catalog. Last month, Johnson shared in an interview with “CT Buzz” that the reason he became aligned with Meat Loaf was due to his initial love for his music when he was an aspiring singer himself. Despite fading into the dark after being crowned champion, Johnson has continued to persevere through his career struggles after American Idol, leading him to eventually find success a decade later.
It’s rare for every winner of American Idol to achieve the same musical accomplishments as artists such as Underwood or Clarkson, but unfortunately, Johnson was given the reputation of being the most forgotten victor from the show. Johnson’s insufficient promotion by his record label and inability to crack the mainstream radio market contributed to his low visibility following his win, leaving him with no real chance to succeed on a global scale. Although the 33-year-old has largely remained a niche artist, he continues to be loved by specific groups of rock fans, and has finally landed himself a stable role in the industry, being the passionate lead singer that we all heard for the first time in 2014.
- Release Date
-
June 11, 2002
- Network
-
ABC
- Showrunner
-
Nigel Lythgoe
- Directors
-
Ken Warwick
- Franchise(s)
-
American Idol
