Daughtry

As the frontman for the band bearing his name, Daughtry has become one of the most visible and consistent rock & roll artists of the last 15 years. Since rising to prominence on the fifth season of "American Idol," he has released four albums, all of which reached the Billboard Top Ten and have combined sales over 8 million copies in the U.S. Daughtry’s self-titled debut was the best-selling album of 2007, which contained four Top 20 hit singles including the Grammy nominated smash “It’s Not Over.” The LP "Leave This Town" also reached #1 in 2009, while 2011’s "Break the Spell" was certified gold. His group’s most recent record, 2013’s "Baptized" featured the platinum-selling “Waiting for Superman” which Daughtry thinks is a turning point in his songwriting. “It was a nice hybrid of where we had been and where we’re going, and it opened my eyes a bit. Everything was so serious and doom and gloom, and ‘You broke my heart,’ but we never saw ourselves as those people outside the music—onstage we were always joking around. That helped me wrap my head around the fact that we can be light-hearted and still be us. And that really changed the way I approach the songs in general.” As the band continues work on its fifth album, they look to bands like Maroon 5 and Train as examples of acts able to maintain their relevance while rock & roll faces an uphill struggle in the mass media. Years after launching with a massive splash, Daughtry claims that he and the band have grown the most on stage, and that it’s altered his whole sense of his work. “When we first came out, I’d only known what I’d seen,” he says. “I didn’t know how to be vulnerable, with no pretense. Now it’s walk onstage and, especially in our acoustic shows, just be flat-out honest and open. It’s really helped me realize that’s actually what fans want—they want 100 percent honesty and feeling like they got to know you better.” The new single from Daughtry's upcoming new LP is "World on Fire" which he says "represents a hard look at what’s going on around us. The world is not at a lack of issues for us to deal with. I hope this song inspires people to be aware and treat each other better, eradicate division and hate by spreading kindness. I think that’s the most important thing we can do as a species.”

 

« back to Rock Artist Info