Ex-X Factor Singer Says He Cut Deal For His Exit

First Published: November 2, 2011 11:41 AM EDT Credit: FOX Caption Dexter Haygood, 49, performs in front of the judges and thousands of audience members on The X Factor, which aired September 22, 2011LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Former The X Factor contestant Dexter Haygood said he wasnt pushed off Foxs new singing contest. He jumped. Haygood was among five contestants eliminated from the show last week. But the rock singer with the James Brown rasp said that what viewers saw didnt reflect the whole story, including a behind-the-scenes agreement to ensure the swift exit he wanted. According to Haygood, 49, who was part of mentor-judge Nicole Scherzingers group of age 30-plus contestants, he told Scherzinger two days before last Wednesdays live performance show that he was dissatisfied with X Factor. I wanted to leave the show because I was unhappythat I was unable to be a rock artist. I grew up on rock, said Haygood, of Memphis, Tenn., who enjoyed the spotlight in the 1980s as frontman for the rock group Xavion, which toured at one point with Hall&Oates. Being called on to do pop songs such as Beyonces Crazy in Love and Katy Perrys I Kissed a Girl was aggravating, Haygood said: Can you imagine Steven Tyler, Mick Jagger, James Brown, doing (the Crazy in Love chorus) uh oh uh oh uh? Producers seemed to have their way of doing things. Im not sure why they wouldnt let me be me, he said Tuesday. Scherzinger, former member of the Pussycat Dolls, took his complaint to the shows producers and came back the same day with an offer, according to Haygood: He would be bounced on Thursdays results show if he agreed to return for the season finale. Neither Scherzinger nor Fox immediately responded to requests for comment. Haygood said he was contractually bound to remain on the show and wouldnt have quit, but he appreciated the out he was given despite the $5 million record contract that goes to the winner. They (producers) took the opportunity to cut me, to let me just fly and do things the way I want to do them, said Haygood, who said he communicated only with Scherzinger and didnt talk directly to the producers, including series creator Simon Cowell. Cowell left Foxs American Idol so he could launch the U.S. version of The X Factor, his hit British singing contest. Fox gave X Factor a lavish promotional launch but the show hasnt lived up to the 20 million weekly viewers predicted by Cowell, with 12.1 million watching last Tuesdays show. Although Haygood said he was willing to play along before he was cut, he decided he owed it to himself and fans he made through X Factor to tell his side of events. He also expressed frustration with how much the show highlighted his difficult circumstances, including living couch to couch in Memphis since he lost his home to foreclosure in 2007. I was treated more like a character than an artist. This is TV, they want a good story, you know? But they took that and I didnt get a chance to be an artist. I was doing things I would never do, he said. For the approximately two weeks he was in Los Angeles, he was paid $250 for expenses, another $500 for the live show and cab fare for his ride to the airport after he was cut, Haygood said. He voiced appreciation for the exposure X Factor gave him, which put him back in touch with members of his old band. They are in talks for a comeback tour and may appear on the season-ender of X Factor, he said. The judges are great, he said, including Cowell, whom he called a very nice guy. They understood me even though they couldnt give me what I wanted, Haygood said. Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.