Reigning American Idol champion Taylor Hicks says he wasn’t biting the hand that feeds him when he told Relix magazine that the "whole American Idol thing is fizzling out for me" and complained that the show pressured him to record the single "Do I Make You Proud." "Those words were taken completely out of context," he tells In Touch. "I'm very thankful to have the opportunity to be on American Idol. It’s a show that teaches a lot of young people about music and ties families together. I'm very grateful." Taylor’s self-titled debut album hit stores on December 12.