Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Digital Spy	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B [3]
IGN	[4]
JesusFreakHideout	[5]
Q
Rolling Stone	[6]

Daughtry is the debut album of the American rock band Daughtry, the band formed and fronted by American Idol Season 5 finalist Chris Daughtry.^a[›] The album is the fastest selling debut rock album in Soundscan history and the band's best-selling album.^[7]

Background and production[link]

"Breakdown", as it appears on Daughtry, is actually a rewrite and combination of two songs previously, "Conviction" and "Break Down", performed by Chris Daughtry's former hard rock/alternative metal band "Absent Element". These two songs appeared on the album Uprooted.

Promotion and release[link]

The first single released from the album is "It's Not Over", and fellow Idol contestant Ace Young, producer Gregg Wattenberg, and Course of Nature frontman Mark Wilkerson are credited as co-writers. On December 25, 2008, the song was nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards.

The album was released on November 21, 2006 by RCA Records and 19 Recordings Limited.

Three years after the album's release it continues to maintain a spot in the top 100 best selling albums. It is still being promoted, along with the band's second studio album Leave This Town. In 2009, ESPN's NASCAR telecasts used "Feels Like Tonight" and "Home" for promotions.

Reception[link]

Critical[link]

Critical response to Daughtry was mixed; while many critics felt that the album was generally pleasing and the first real "rock" album from American Idol alumni, others felt it was unoriginal and too commercial. While Ken Barnes of USA Today conceded that Chris Daughtry has "strong pipes and palpable angst", overall he found the band "generic", calling them "FuelNickelStaindback".^b[›][8] People magazine found the album "a solid if not spectacular effort that at the very least proves that Chris Daughtry is not just another Idol also-ran."^[9] Christian Hoard (with Rolling Stone) said that "[Chris] Daughtry gets points for not courting soccer moms, but just because he can howl like a mother fucker doesn't mean he's not a cheeseball."^[6][10] In a truly mixed review, Billboard said the album "is music tailor-made for ill-conceived radio formatting, music for consumers whose taste has already been well-established if not preprogrammed," then added, "But [Chris] Daughtry sure does sing his butt off."^[11] Allmusic broke from the pack, so to speak, with Stephen Thomas Erlewine calling the album a "a debut that's not only a lot more credible than any American Idol-affiliated rock album should be, but it's a lot easier to digest than most of its [post-grunge] ilk."^[12] In a humorous review, comedian Stephen Colbert found Chris Daughtry's success further proof of the impending "cultural Armageddon." He remarked, "It's bad enough this guy sounds like Creed...but Daughtry's success sets a dangerous precedent of rewarding losers...America elected Taylor Hicks as its Idol, and we owe him our loyalty."^[13]

The album won an American Music Awards in 2007 for Favorite Pop-Rock Album. The album was nominated for four 2008 Grammy Awards: Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song for "It's Not Over", Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "Home", and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "It's Not Over"; the album did not win any.

Commercial[link]

Competing with a flurry of releases during its opening week (Jay-Z, The Beatles, Johnny Cash and others), Daughtry proved to be commercially viable. The album debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200, behind Jay-Z's Kingdom Come. It sold approximately 304,000 copies in its first week,^[14]

The album reached number one on the Billboard 200, with 65,000 copies sold, in its ninth week on the chart,^[15] for the issue dated February 3, 2007, becoming the first album from an Idol alumnus to top the Billboard 200 since Ruben Studdard's Soulful album in December 2003. In the next week the album fell to number three on the chart, but its sales increased to 80,000.^[16] In the following two weeks, the album remained at number three and sold nearly 80,000 copies each week.^[17][18] After this, sales increased to 102,000 copies, but the album dropped to number 9 on the Billboard 200;^[19] in the following week, the album climbed to number 2 on the Billboard 200 and sold 84,000 copies.^[20] In the next week, its fifteenth on the chart, it climbed back to the number one spot. It was then certified Double Platinum on March 7, 2007.^[21] The album was released in the UK on August 20 and debuted at number thirteen.

For the chart week of June 30, 2007 the album was certified 3x Platinum.^[22] The album stayed in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart for 27 of the first 28 weeks of its release.

The album deluxe version was released on the chart week of September 9, 2008 and bring a 95% leap to the previous week.^[23] As of the album's 87th week on the chart, it has never fallen out of the top hundred. The album has sold 4,813,000^[24] in the US by June 2011 and has been certified 4 times platinum by RIAA.

Daughtry is the first American Idol artist to stay in the top 100 for 116 weeks (2.2 years), and was the only debut album in the history of Soundscan to have stayed in the top 200 for 136 weeks until Taylor Swift released her debut album Taylor Swift (album) which has charted for 169 weeks (all in the top 100) and is still on the charts.

On Daughtry's 130th week, Daughtry climbed from 174 to 69, making it the biggest jump of the year.^{[citation needed]}

Daughtry and Taylor Swift have been awarded the longest debut albums to stay on the top 100 after both albums have spent four years on the charts.

Singles[link]

"It's Not Over" led the album release, and proved to be a success, reaching the top five on multiple charts, including the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 where it peaked at number four.^[25]

The next single "Home" joined "It's Not Over" on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number five and making Daughtry the first debut album by an Idol contestant to contain two top five Hot 100 singles. Meanwhile, "What I Want" was released as the second single (the third overall) instead of "Home" to rock stations, and reached the top ten on Mainstream Rock, peaking at number six.

The band's fourth single, "Over You" was released to Top 40 and Hot AC radio on July 24, 2007, peaking in the top twenty of the Hot 100. "Crashed" (the fifth overall single), was released in place of "Over You" on rock stations on September 10, 2007.

The sixth single from the album, "Feels Like Tonight", was released on January 8, 2008. The song became a top forty Hot 100 hit for the band, peaking at number 24. The seventh and final single, "What About Now", was released on July 1, 2008. However, the song reached the top twenty of the Hot 100 over two months before its release, making it the band's fourth top twenty hit off the album on the chart.

Track listing[link]

• * Joshua Hartzler not credited in liner notes but is registered under BMI for co-writing "What About Now".^[26]

Album musicians[link]

• Chris Daughtry - lead vocals, rhythm & lead guitars
• Phil X - lead & rhythm guitars
• Howard Benson - keyboards
• Chris Chaney - bass
• Paul Bushnell - bass
• Josh Freese - drums
• Slash - lead & rhythm guitars on "What I Want"
• Brent Smith - rhythm guitars on "There and Back Again"

Release history[link]

Certifications, peaks & sales[link]

Singles[link]

• ¹ Was only released to rock radio formats, not as a physical or mainstream single.

Notes[link]

^ a: Due to the naming conflict, in this article, the band is Daughtry, the album is Daughtry (italicized) and the singer is referred to by his full name (Chris Daughtry).
^ b: This is a portmanteau that references the 1990s/2000s post-grunge bands Fuel, Staind and Nickelback.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Soundfires.com review of 'Home'

Daughtry may refer to:

• Daughtry (band), a rock band fronted by Chris Daughtry

• Daughtry (album), debut music album from Daughtry
• Chris Daughtry, American Idol finalist in 2006 and lead vocalist for Daughtry

• N. Leo Daughtry, American state senator from North Carolina (Republican)
• Dean Daughtry, American keyboardist with the Atlanta Rhythm Section

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Chris Daughtry
Chris Daughtry in Los Angeles on May 24, 2006.
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Adam Daughtry[1]
Born	(1979-12-26) December 26, 1979 (age 32) Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina
Origin	Lasker, North Carolina, U.S.
Genres	Alternative metal, alternative rock, hard rock, pop rock, post-grunge
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1999–present
Labels	RCA
Associated acts	Daughtry, Absent Element, Cadence
Notable instruments
Gibson ES-135, Gibson ES-325

Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry (born December 26, 1979) is an American musician best known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place contestant on the fifth season of American Idol, the competition that he was eliminated from on May 10, 2006. After his elimination from Idol, he was given a record deal by RCA Records and formed a band called Daughtry. Their self-titled debut album became the fastest selling debut rock album in history,^[2] selling more than one million copies after just five weeks of release. The album was recorded before the band was officially formed, making Chris Daughtry the only official member present on the album. This led some to believe mistakenly that the band Daughtry is Chris Daughtry's solo project.

In its ninth week of release, Daughtry reached number one on the Billboard charts. Chris Daughtry is now the third most successful American Idol contestant in terms of record sales, behind only Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, who both won their respective seasons. At the 50th Grammy Awards, the band was nominated for Best Rock Song for the single "It's Not Over".

Since the band's first album, Chris Daughtry has collaborated with several artists, including Slash, Sevendust, Theory of a Deadman, and Carlos Santana. He is known for his powerful vocal belting technique and wide vocal range.

Early life[link]

Chris Daughtry was born in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and raised in Lasker until he was 14. His parents, Pete and Sandra Daughtry, reside in Palmyra, Virginia, where Daughtry grew up before he relocated to McLeansville, North Carolina, outside of Greensboro. His brother, Kenneth, lives in North Wilkesboro, North Carolina.^[3]

At age 16, Daughtry started taking singing seriously as a musician. He took guitar lessons from blues rock guitarist Matt Jagger at Stacy's Music store in Charlottesville and sought advice from Andy Waldeck (frontman for Earth to Andy) who is credited first on his debut album. He performed with rock bands during his time in high school at local venues, opening for his future band mate Brian Craddock's band My Dog Lucy and Matt Jagger. During high school, he appeared in two stage productions: The Wiz and Peter Pan.

Career[link]

Cadence[link]

Daughtry's high school band went by the name of Cadence. He sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar. They produced one album, All Eyes on You (1999), a rare piece that can sometimes be found on eBay.^[4] Daughtry later sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar for rock bands in Burlington such as Absent Element.

Absent Element[link]

The band Absent Element consisted of Daughtry on lead vocals and guitar, Mark Perry on lead guitar, Scott Crawford on drums and Ryan Andrews on bass. Absent Element released Uprooted in 2005. This CD contains the songs "Conviction" and "Breakdown", which Daughtry would later combine and re-record as the song "Breakdown" for the Daughtry CD.

In 2005, Chris Daughtry auditioned for the CBS singing contest Rock Star: INXS. He did not make the cut for the actual filming of the show.^[5] Former Daughtry drummer Joey Barnes was at the same audition and made the cut only to drop out of the running due to disagreements regarding the contract.

[edit] American Idol

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2010)

Daughtry auditioned for American Idol in Denver, Colorado, with The Box Tops' "The Letter"; he was portrayed as a young rocker with Southern and hard rock influences. He passed the audition by a split decision: approved by Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, disapproved by Simon Cowell. Simon felt that Daughtry at that time was too robotic. After being given a Golden Ticket to Hollywood, he performed "The First Cut Is the Deepest", and sang "Emotion" during his trio performance with Ace Young and Bobby Bullard. The song for Daughtry's a cappella performance remained unknown until American Idol Rewind aired Season 5 Hollywood week, when it was shown that he sang Elton John's 'Your Song'.

Daughtry eventually made it to the Top 24. On March 1, 2006, Daughtry's "raw" performance of Fuel's "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" received critical acclaim by all three judges. On March 3, 2006, Jackson stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel's new lead singer, as the band was at the time without a lead singer. At a welcome home party, Daughtry said he had declined the offer,^[6] but, he said, "he'd still like to work with them somewhere down the road."^[7] Daughtry's March 21 performance caused controversy when the apparently original rendition of Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" garnered much praise from the judges. However, viewers noted that the rendition was very similar to a version by Live; however, there was no mention of that in Daughtry's pre-performance interview. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Daughtry defended himself, saying "It wasn't my doing. You say a lot of things in the [pretaped] interview, and when editing gets involved, things get cut out for time constraints. I did mention in my interview that I'm doing a different version from a band I totally respect. The lead singer of Live, Ed Kowalczyk, called me to say, 'Man, don't listen to that.'...It was really cool to get that kind of respect."^[8] On August 2, 2008 at the Tom's River Fest in Tom's River NJ, Daughtry, Kowalczyk, and Live performed Live's rendition of "I Walk the Line" together.^[9]

Chris Daughtry was in the final four on May 10, 2006, and found himself in the bottom two with Katharine McPhee. When asked by Seacrest who should be leaving, Cowell expressed that he believed that McPhee should be eliminated. Ryan Seacrest then announced that Daughtry was eliminated. Seacrest asked him if he was surprised. An obviously stunned Daughtry could only utter, "A little, yeah." The media grabbed hold of the surprise elimination and (practically an Idol tradition at this point) there was some controversy regarding the accuracy of the vote count on the night Daughtry was eliminated. The vote-tallying website DialIdol, however, predicted that Daughtry was the lowest vote-getter for the week.^[10] In an interview after his elimination, Daughtry said that he thought he got voted off because his fans were "overconfident" that he would be safe, so they did not call and vote. Later, he stated the best piece of advice he ever received was, "Don't believe your own hype," a possible nod toward his surprise American Idol elimination.^[11]

During the Season Five finale on May 24, 2006, at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, Daughtry performed the song "Mystery" with the band Live. Live's version of the song was later available for download on the band's MySpace.com profile with Chris Daughtry performing backup vocals.

Performance review

[edit] Post-Idol events

After leaving American Idol, Daughtry traveled the talk show circuit, which has become commonplace for non-winners as American Idol progressed through the years. He made appearances on The Tonight Show, Total Request Live, and The Today Show. He also appeared on Live with Regis and Kelly and The Ellen DeGeneres Show, in which he performed "Wanted Dead or Alive". In a later episode of the show in which Ellen interviewed former presidents Bill Clinton and George H. W. Bush, who were collaborating on the Bush-Clinton Katrina fund, she even jokingly asked if anything could be done about Chris Daughtry's elimination. Chris Daughtry was asked to audition as the lead vocalist for Fuel and, though incredibly flattered, he declined the offer in order to form his own band.

Daughtry[link]

For the week of June 10, 2006, Chris Daughtry's cover of "Wanted Dead or Alive" charted at number 43 on the Billboard Hot 100, being named the Hot Shot Debut of the week. On July 10, 2006, it was announced that Daughtry had signed with 19 Entertainment and RCA Records and began working on an album that was to be released in November. It was also announced that, like season 4 rocker Constantine Maroulis, he would be forming his own band. His band was formed under the name Daughtry, after the singer's last name.^[12] The band currently consists of Chris Daughtry, guitarists Josh Steely and Brian Craddock (the latter replaced former guitarist Jeremy Brady in 2007), bassist Josh Paul (formerly of Suicidal Tendencies), and drummer Robin Diaz (who replaced former drummer Joey Barnes in 2010). Daughtry's debut album was released on November 21, 2006. Chris Daughtry reportedly told US Weekly that the band's album "would not be... pop." The first single off Daughtry, "It's Not Over", was released November 21, 2006. The album reached number one in Billboard Charts with his debut album. He joins Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, and Ruben Studdard as the only contestants to reach number one in Billboard 200.^{[citation needed]} The album featured Velvet Revolver and former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, who performed the guitar solo on the eventual single "What I Want".

Beginning on March 14, 2007, on every episode of American Idol's sixth season's results show, Daughtry's song "Home" is played every time a participant is knocked out of the competition, as each of the losing contestants is asked to look at their own journeys. Additionally, on the final competition on May 22, 2007, Daughtry performed the song live at the end of the show. It also became the song for the eliminating home team for the 2007 NBA Playoffs. In March, Daughtry performed during the Final Four round of the 2007 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament.^[13] On May 27, Daughtry performed at the 2007 Indianapolis 500.^[14]

On September 19, 2007 on ABC, Viva Las Vegas premiered, which was a tribute to Elvis Presley's career in Las Vegas. Daughtry performed an acoustic version of "Suspicious Minds". On November 18, 2007, the band was the winner of multiple awards at the "2007 American Music Awards" (ABC Television). The winning categories were: 1) Pop or Rock: Favorite Album - Daughtry; 2) Adult Contemporary Music: Favorite Artist; 3) Favorite Breakthrough Artist. On December 6, 2007, the band was nominated for four 50th Annual Grammy Awards: Best Rock Album for Daughtry, Best Rock Song for "It's Not Over", Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocal for "Home", and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for "It's Not Over".

On May 6, 2009, Daughtry performed "No Surprise", the debut single for their forthcoming album, on American Idol.^[15] Chris Daughtry wrote the song with Nickelback vocalist Chad Kroeger.^[15] The album on which "No Surprise" appears, Daughtry's second album titled Leave This Town, was released on July 14, 2009. Chris Daughtry made history with its release by becoming the first American Idol alumnus to have two consecutive number one albums. Leave This Town was the first Daughtry album that they wrote and recorded as a band, as their self-titled album was recorded before the band was officially formed and featured only Chris Daughtry as an official member.

On July 2, 2009, Daughtry performed an acoustic cover of Lady Gaga's Poker Face and has received over 25 million views on YouTube.

Daughtry kicked off a tour with Lifehouse and Cavo on August 2, 2009 in Orlando, Florida. The final show of the tour was in Tempe, Arizona on October 13, 2009. The band played a show in Chris Daughtry's hometown of Greensboro, North Carolina on November 12, 2009.

On December 31, 2010, Daughtry tweeted that the band will be working on a new album soon.^[16] On March 7, 2011, he tweeted that the album sounds nothing like the previous two and will feature a song titled "Spaceship."^[17] There will be another song on the record called "Rescue Me", which the band has performed on stage in New Jersey. The album would be released on November 21, 2011, according to Daughtry's Twitter.

Daughtry has written and recorded a song for the soundtrack to the video game Batman: Arkham City. On September 5, 2011, Daughtry tweeted that the song "Drown In You" is exclusive to the soundtrack and will not be featured on his upcoming album.

On September 15, 2011, Daughtry posted a new song "Renegade" on his official website. His newest single "Crawling Back to You" was posted on the website and released on September 19, 2011.

On September 27, 2011, Daughtry announced that the new album will be titled Break the Spell.

Collaborations[link]

In 2008, Chris Daughtry provided vocals on a Sevendust track entitled "The Past" on their album Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow. He had previously stated he had become friends with the members of the band. Alter Bridge members Myles Kennedy and Mark Tremonti appear on the same album. In the same year, Chris Daughtry also provides vocals on the Theory of a Deadman song "By the Way", which is featured on their third album Scars and Souvenirs. Still in 2008, he appeared on the song "Slow Down" on the album Revelation by Christian rock band Third Day. In 2009, the band Daughtry collaborated with Timbaland collaborated on Timbaland's song "Long Way Down" from the album Shock Value II. During this time, Chris Daughtry has also co-written three songs with band Day of Fire for their 2010 album "Losing All", including the track "Hello Heartache".^[18]

In 2010, he and Jason Wade performed a duet on Lifehouse's fifth studio album Smoke & Mirrors on the song "Had Enough". Chris Daughtry also co-wrote the song "Send Me All Your Angels" for American Idol season 8 winner Kris Allen's debut album. He later performed lead vocals on the cover Def Leppard's song "Photograph" with Carlos Santana on Santana's album called Guitar Heaven: The Greatest Guitar Classics of All Time. It was released on September 21, 2010 with a performance on the Dancing with the Stars results show that day.

Personal life[link]

In a segment on the 2006 season of American Idol (before singing "Broken" by Seether), Chris Daughtry revealed that he is balding and made the decision to shave his head completely in order to retain an aesthetically pleasing appearance. He has been married to Deanna Daughtry since November 11, 2000. He has four children: a stepdaughter, Hannah, born September 7, 1996 from his wife's previous marriage, a son, Griffin, born June 30, 1998 and twins, Adalynn Rose and Noah James, born November 17, 2010.^[19][20] In a December 2007 interview with Gibson Lifestyle, Chris Daughtry said, "I used to call [my wife] and just quickly throw in the towel. But I’ve found that the less I say and the more I actually listen to her, and just be there without actually being there, is the best thing I can do. As a man, I always feel like I need to say something. Sometimes I have to stop myself because all I want to do is call and tell her about how much awesome stuff is going on in my life, and, you know, her day is sucking hard. I could write a book on it, I’m serious.”^[21]

Chris Daughtry and fellow Idol contestant Ace Young have been friends since they met at the show's Denver auditions, and even periodically shared an apartment as finalists. Young said they clicked because they shared similar upbringings and were both "big on family".^[22] Ryan Seacrest had also dubbed them "the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of the season" when the two were placed in the "bottom 2" together upon Young's elimination. In the final episode of the season, a clip of them in a "Best Male Bonding" segment was also shown.

Chris Daughtry lives in Oak Ridge, North Carolina.

Influences[link]

Chris Daughtry's musical influences include Creed, Bush, Live, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Journey, Bon Jovi, and Fuel.^[5][23][24] He states that he grew up on rock and hard rock music.

Discography[link]

Cadence[link]

• All Eyes on You (1999)

Absent Element[link]

• Uprooted (2005)

Daughtry[link]

• Daughtry (2006)
• Leave This Town (2009)
• Break the Spell (2011)

Other works[link]

Notes[link]

^ a: The CD of Daughtry's former band, Absent Element, began to float around the internet during the 2006 season of American Idol.

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Official website
• Daughtry live set at Spanking New Sessions
• Chris Daughtry at the Internet Movie Database
• Daughtry Interview with Gibson Guitar by Ellen Mallernee
• The Chris Daughtry Fanlisting