David Archuleta's Stage Dad Talks

David Archuleta has been a big hit on American Idol, earning odds to win in the Bodog Sportsbook. (Courtesy Fox)

The young and promising favorite to win American Idol contestant David Archuleta has a problem. Recently, David's dad has come under some scrutiny for being a "stage dad."

TMZ reported that David's dad Jeff has "screamed at his son and has even withheld water during rehearsals, even bringing his son to tears."

In an interview with Us magazine, David's father said, among other things, "First of all, I had to understand what the term meant. When I think of ”˜stage dad,’ I think of the overbearing parent who raises their kids to in every beauty pageant there is and puts them through a lot of dancing and singing and piano lessons. Once I understood what people thought of as a stage parent, I didn't understand . I'm definitely involved with my son, and I encourage him, but I think that's a lot different from forcing and threatening and all that stuff. There was absolutely no truth in any of the stories about me yelling at David, making him cry, or withholding water from him. That was crazy!"

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