Lady Antebellum Defend ‘American Idol’

Lady Antebellum -- the Grammy-award winning trio comprised of Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood -- are coming to the defense of the often-maligned hit TV show, 'American Idol.'

"Man, talent's talent's talent," Charles says in a YouTube video. "I mean, it's so hard to get a break. I think that show honestly is one of the greatest things. I truly do."

Charles insist that 'Idol,' which was recently disparaged by Scott Borchetta, the head of Taylor Swift's record label, Big Machine, is a viable launching pad for talent. "One thing we realize, too, is it's all being in the right place at the right time. We had a foot in the door. My brother's Josh Kelley. [Hillary's] mom is Linda Davis, who sang a duet with Reba McEntire. So we already had a foot in the door to say, 'Hey man, can somebody come check us out?' So we realize that it's so hard to get discovered and just be heard."

And it turns out the group, who enjoyed a recent stay at the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 album chart with 'Need You Now,' would never have happened if Hillary had her way with the 'Idol' judges. "I actually tried out for 'American Idol' twice, and didn't make it past the first round," she reveals.

Clearly doing fine without the approval of Randy Jackson, former judge Paula Abdul and the often contentious Simon Cowell, the group agrees the show will lack some appeal when Simon leaves after this season. "I love his honesty," Charles says.

"It's not gonna be the same without him," Dave adds.

Lady Antebellum, nominated for an astonishing seven ACM Awards, are on the road with Tim McGraw's Southern Voice tour.

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