Check out Private Sessions behinds the scenes and performance/ interview videos with Daughtry!
After playing to millions around the world, it's no surprise that Daughtry's new album picks up where the quintuple-platinum, Grammy-nominated debut leaves off. The twists and turns of the band's journey lie at the heart of Leave this Town. Burnished by countless miles on the road, the melodies shine like headlights in the night and are played with a restless energy that draws on all the challenges of life's experiences, exploring the different paths we take in our search for common understanding.
Like many American Idol finalists, Chris Daughtry had a long run as an amateur musician. The North Carolina native began singing in local rock bands when he was 16 years old. He continued to play local shows after his high-school graduation in 1998 and after getting married and having a family, continued to play guitar and sing in a band called Absent Element. He also auditioned for Rock Star: INXS in 2005 but was rejected - a rejection that turned out to be rather fortunate, as it freed him to audition for the far more popular televised singing competition American Idol.
Daughtry was featured heavily during the show's seemingly never-ending audition rounds for two reasons: he was telegenic, and he capitalized on the rocker promise of Bo Bice and Constantine Maroulis from the previous season. Daughtry sailed through to Hollywood and made it into the final 12, where he was hailed as a standout and soon seemed to be a favorite to win. Daughtry mania began to peak in March when his rendition of Fuel's "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" caused such a sensation that rumors began to fly that Fuel wanted to hire him as their lead singer - something that proved to be no rumor, as the modern rock group, asked for him to join after he was voted off the show. Daughtry was one of the final four and Katharine McPhee just narrowly beat him, a result that visibly shocked the rocker.
After he was kicked off of Idol, he turned down Fuel's standing offer of replacing their lead singer and set off on his own career, signing with Idol's 19 Entertainment group and RCA Records in July 2006. By the time his album materialized in November, it had turned into a project by a band called Daughtry, whose lineup featured guitarist Jeremy Brady, guitarist Josh Steely, bassist Josh Paul, and drummer Joey Barnes. They did not play as a band on the finished album, though, as Brady was replaced after the album's release by Brian Craddock. Like many hotly anticipated albums of the SoundScan era, it debuted high on the charts, but it surprisingly remaining in the Top Ten for months. Leadoff single "It's Not Over" proved to be equally popular. This meant that DAUGHTRY was not only a huge hit by Idol standards, it was one of the few hit rock albums - period - in 2006.
Leave this Town is the first album to feature Chris with bandmates Joey Barnes, Josh Paul, Josh Steely and Brian Craddock. Together, they deliver a dozen inspired performances held together by anthemic hooks, impassioned vocals, and lyrics laced with a wisdom found through searching horizons and rearviews. A work of remarkable creativity and range, the album smoothly shifts gears from powerful arena-rock to hushed ballads, and emotional mid-tempo rockers. The album also includes the country-influenced "Tennessee Line," a track Chris wrote with Craddock that features vocal harmonies by country-music superstar Vince Gill.
When the marathon tour ended in 2008, Daughtry had graduated from playing clubs to opening arenas and had charted three #1 singles, while the album became the biggest-selling rock release two years in a row and the fastest-selling rock debut in Soundscan history. Eager to keep the album's runaway success in perspective, and determined to surpass its high-water mark, Chris buried himself in work, spending months collaborating with rock's savviest songsmiths. Leave this Town also includes stellar contributions from Nickelback's Chad Kroeger. The two became fast friends and even toured together. Excited to collaborate, Chris traveled to Chad's Vancouver studio where they wrote "Life After You" and "No Surprise," the first single from Leave this Town.
Only on A&E's PRIVATE SESSIONS - The 5 band members of DAUGHTRY sit down with host Lynn Hoffman for their first in-depth interview about their highly anticipated new album. Plus, they perform their mega hits, "Home", "It's Not Over", "Over You", and new songs "No Surprise" and "Ghost of Me".
Currently on its first-ever arena tour Daughtry will be performing everywhere from North Carolina to Florida and Texas to Indiana. For more information about the band and tour, visit Daughtry's web site, www.daughtryofficial.com.
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