Josh Gracin rose to the spotlight after placing fourth on Season 2 of American Idol. That year, Ruben Studdard won the reality television competition.

Gracin tells the Washington Post that while he was invited back to American Idol's season finale, airing Thursday (April 7), he politely declined. As he explains, they wanted him to sing country covers alongside former contestants, and this was not okay with him.

"If American Idol doesn’t want to acknowledge what I’ve been able to do without their help … if they can’t even acknowledge the success that I’ve had and what I’ve been able to do, how am I going to get Nashville to acknowledge that and get past that stigma?" Gracin asks.

In a lengthy interview, Gracin reveals that he's working hard at getting his music back on the radio. While he may have passed on the American Idol finale, that doesn't lessen the appreciation he has for the experience he's had on the show.

"Trying to get a single back on the radio and get things moving again, it definitely makes you appreciate how easy things were during that time of coming off a show," he remarks, "as opposed to fighting and scratching like every other artist in Nashville has to from the very beginning."

The singer, who seems to have recovered following a suicide attempt in 2014, adds that he's been working hard to make it in the Nashville community but it has been difficult.

“Nashville isn’t taking anybody anymore unless you’re a writer that has a catalog of music that you’ve written for other people or you have an investor behind you,” he says. “Because they’re not wanting to take the risk financially anymore like they used to.”

The American Idol finale — the last episode ever — airs Thursday night (April 7) Fox.

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