American Idol contestant David Archuleta has not only attracted attention for his stunning vocals.He also has people talking because of his father, Jeff, who has been dubbed a demanding “stage dad” by some media outlets.

TMZ.com has reported that on Idol Jeff - a 47-year-old small business owner in Salt Lake City- has “screamed at his son and has even withheld water during rehearsals, even bringing his son to tears.”

When David, now 17, competed on Star Search as a boy, then-judge Naomi Judd told the Today show that Jeff was the “worst stage dad.”

For the first time ever, Jeff is speaking out about the allegations to Usmagazine.com, denying claims that he is controlling his son’s career.

He also said there is “absolutely no truth in any of the stories about me yelling at David, making him cry or withholding water from him.”

(To see kid photos of Archuleta and the other Idol contestants, click here.)

Read Jeff Archuleta’s complete interview below.

How would you counter reports that you’re a stage dad?
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 [compete] 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 [why I was targeted]. 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!

How would you characterize your involvement with David’s career?
Because I’m also a musician, I’m probably a little bit more involved. I kind of look at it like, ‘I’m David’s music consultant,’ someone he can bounce ideas off, who can help him because I do have a lot of experience.

How do you collaborate with David?
When we have a chance to sit down and talk - which is usually at night or in the morning - we’ll discuss the songs and the choices he has. He’ll ask me what I think, and I’ll ask him what he feels good about, and we’ll arrive at a consensus. Sometimes he’ll call his mom up and get her in-put. We have a family team that tries to help David feel good about his song choices.

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