Daughtry (pronounced /ˈdɔːtri/) is a rock band from North Carolina, formed and fronted by former American Idol finalist Chris Daughtry in 2006. Their self-titled debut album was released in 2006. The disc reached number one for two non-consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200, outsold Idol winner Taylor Hicks' debut album, sold more than four million copies and was named the number one selling album of 2007 by Billboard. Their album is also the fastest-selling debut rock album in Soundscan history.
The first single from the album, "It's Not Over", was the eighth most played song across all formats on U.S. radio in 2007, and their second single from the album, "Home", was the tenth most played song in the U.S. of 2007. The band's second album, Leave This Town, was released on July 14, 2009. The first single, "No Surprise," was released on May 5. With their debut album they have sold 5.9 million worldwide and sold over 7.52 million in singles.
ormer American Idol season 5 fourth-place finisher Chris Daughtry stated that he would form a new band after turning down Fuel's offer to make him their lead singer. On July 10, 2006 it was announced that Chris had signed with 19 Entertainment and RCA Records, which holds contracts with fellow American Idol finalists Kelly Clarkson and Kellie Pickler. Chris is a singer-songwriter himself and has collaborated with several other songwriters, such as Live's Ed Kowalczyk, Fuel's Carl Bell, 3 Doors Down's Brad Arnold, Matchbox Twenty's Rob Thomas, SR-71's Mitch Allan,[10] Shinedown's Brent Smith, and Nickelback's Chad Kroeger.
Chris himself didn't have much of a hand in picking who would be in his new band. Instead, his label held auditions for the band Daughtry (named after Chris) and chose 4 members for the band: Jeremy Brady, 21, a guitarist (no longer in the band); Josh Steely, 36, as lead guitarist; Josh Paul, 29, as bassist who also played for Suicidal Tendencies; Joey Barnes, 30, as drummer, who also sang for Suicide Darlings. Two of the band members hail from North Carolina — Joey, whom Chris had known for some time, and Jeremy, who was introduced to him a month before the audition. Steely and Paul are both from California.[11] The decision was made to name the band "Daughtry" in order to keep name recognition. In an interview, Chris said, "We could have came out with a really obscure name, but coming from a TV show and having name recognition, it was easier just to go with my last name."
The band's self-titled debut album was produced by Howard Benson and was released by 19 Entertainment and RCA Records on November 21, 2006. Chris himself played a part in the production of the album, particularly in songwriting where he wrote and co-wrote all but two songs on the album — "Feels Like Tonight" and "What About Now". Additionally, he solely wrote "Home," "Breakdown" and "Gone".[10] Other notable songwriters Dr. Luke and Max Martin also contribution to the album and session drummer Josh Freese also played drums on all the tracks for the album. The album charted for 81 weeks on the Billboard Chart before it dropped and returned later on the 95th week into the Top 40. In total, the album has officially stayed in the Billboard Top 200 for 2 Years (104 Weeks).
The album spawned several hits for the group, starting with its first single "It's Not Over", which debuted on the radio on December 6, 2006, after being delayed from a planned September release[10] and reaching #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hitting the top 3 in several other charts. Shortly thereafter, Jeremy Brady announced his departure from Daughtry and was replaced with Brian Craddock, 31, from Virginia. In interviews, Chris and Brian have discussed having known each other when Chris was still a member of Absent Element.[12]
After the success of "It's Not Over," the second single from the album, "Home" was released and peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, after debuting at #83, weeks ahead of its official release to radio. The song was also the official "kick off" song on sixth season of American Idol, played after a contestant was voted off the show, also the case during season 5 of Australian Idol. The Brazilian version of Idol, called Ídolos Brazil, used this song as well in its second season. The album's third single, "What I Want", was released to rock radio on April 23, 2007, featuring musician Slash on lead guitars. The single has peaked at number 6 on the rock charts and is featured as a playable song on Guitar Hero: On Tour for the Nintendo DS. The band's fourth single "Over You" was released July 24, 2007. The band performed this single live on Good Morning America on June 1, 2007.[13] "Crashed", the album's fifth single, was released to rock stations on September 10, 2007, where it was also used in a commercial for LEGO Bionicle. The song was also performed on the Pre-Race show on ABC for the NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Chevy Rock and Roll 400. The album's sixth single, "Feels Like Tonight", was released on January 8, 2008, nearly two years after the album's release. The video debuted in January and the song was used for the 2007 WWE Tribute to the Troops. Their song "There and Back Again" was also the official theme song for WWE Backlash in 2007.
Due to the success of the singles, Daughtry was certified 3x Platinum on June 21, 2007 and has since reached 4x Platinum, selling four million copies. On MySpace.com, a popular social network that introduces new artist, the group is on page 8 on the most played artists with over 29 Million plays. In addition, the group has appeared on the famous compilation album series Now That's What I Call Music! five times, with their songs "It's Not Over", "Home", "Over You", "Feels Like Tonight" and "What About Now". The band was also nominated for four Grammy Awards in 2008, for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. According to billboard.com, Daughtry has had twenty #1 hits around the world.
A Deluxe edition of Daughtry's self-titled album was released on September 9. Along with the original CD, this expanded CD/DVD package features four bonus tracks, including acoustic versions of "What About Now," "It's Not Over," and "Home," plus a cover of Foreigner's "Feels Like the First Time". The DVD contains all five of Daughtry's music videos, two rarely seen live clips, and exclusive on the road footage.
A shortened version of their massive hit single "Home" was used at the end of the English League Cup Final in February 2008 when the compilation of Tottenham Hotspur victory over Chelsea was shown at the end of the Sky coverage.
