American Idol Contestant Fabricated Sob Story?

"A.I." sources told TMZ ... last week, after appearing on the show ... Jermaine came to them and said his dad called him from out of the blue, claiming pops abandoned him and his mom 10 years ago. Jermaine told producers he was extremely upset that his dad suddenly reappeared in his life now that he was famous and potentially rich. Jermaine said his dad was "a lousy father" and wanted nothing to do with him.

Well TMZ spoke with Jermaine's dad, Kevin Jones, who says the sob story is absurd -- that he has had an ongoing relationship with the young man through the years and even had dinner with him on both Wednesday and Thursday night of last week.

Kevin also says his son was not telling the truth about getting a phone call from out of the blue -- Kevin says he was actually in the audience last week supporting his child.