In 2005, Chris Daughtry competed on American Idol, Season 5.  He came in fourth place.  Having seen him compete, hard rock band Fuel invited him to join the band to become their lead singer, but Daughtry had other plans.  He built his own band, and in 2006,

Daughtry

The cool thing is that, in the studio, we were all chipping in with different ideas, like "Let's try this guitar part, or this melody," and things like that, which we didn't get to do on the last record. This time, everybody's influences seemed to make their way into the songs.

The Beginning

In 2005, Chris Daughtry competed on American Idol, Season 5.  He came in fourth place.  Having seen him compete, hard rock band Fuel invited him to join the band to become their lead singer, but Daughtry had other plans.  He built his own band, and in 2006, Daughtry signed a contract with 19 Entertainment and RCA Records.

Chris recruited through open auditions, and took on guitarist Jeremy Brady, guitarist Josh Steely, bassists Josh Paul (formerly of the Suicidal Tendencies), and drummer Joey Barnes.  They chose to keep the name “Daughtry” to benefit from name recognition.  Their debut album, Daughtry, was released in 2006.  It stayed on the Billboard Top 200 for 104 weeks.

Staying the Course

The album, Daughtry, offered the single, It's Not Over, which reached #4 on the Billboard Top 100.  The second single, Home, debuted at #83 on the chart, weeks ahead of being officially released.  It peaked at #4.  Their third single to be released, What I Want featured Slash on the guitar.  The song peaked at #6 and became a featured hit on Guitar Hero: On Tour for Nintendo DS.  The album released seven singles in all, the success of which helped sell over four million albums, and certifying it multi-platinum.  

The success and fame resulting from their debut album procured multiple opportunities for the band.  They are page 8 on MySpace for the most played artists, with over 29 million plays.  They have appeared on That's What I Call Music! Compilation cd's five times.  They have been nominated for two Grammy awards, and they have had twenty #1 hits worldwide.  

What's Next

In 2009, Daughtry released their second album, Leave This Town, which is available on cd and for mp3 download.  The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 100 and on the Digital Albums chart.  It was preceded by the single, No Surprise, which Daughtry performed live on American Idol.  The release and success of this second album makes Daughtry the first American Idol contestant to have two consecutive #1 albums.

Since 2007, Daughtry has been touring almost non-stop.  They have performed in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Singapore.  They have opened for Nickelback, Puddle of Mudd, and Finger Eleven.  They performed at the 2007 Indianapolis 500 Pre-Show and headlined at the 2007 Annual Summerfest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Did you know . . .

1. Daughtry performed during halftime for the Thanksgiving, 2009 football game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Oakland Raiders, kicking off the Salvation Army Red Kettle Campaign.

2. Daughtry's song, Home, was featured in a commercial for The Cleveland Show, a spin-off of The Family Guy.  In the commercial, the character Cleveland is singing the song.

3. The single, Home, was the tenth most played single in 2007.

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