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Chris Daughtry: Revenge of the rocker
By Jon Bream
Star Tribune (Minneapolis)
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It was Vince Lombardi, or Paula Abdul, or someone on ESPN’s “Sportscenter” who once said, “Winning isn’t everything.” It is Chris Daughtry who says over and over again, “I’m glad I didn’t win.”

He finished fourth on “American Idol” in 2006. But America has cast another ballot, and he has the No. 1 album of 2007. “Daughtry,” a collection of original but not original-sounding rock tunes, has sold more than 3 million copies and counting.

Take that, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and Elliot Yamin. They may have finished ahead of Daughtry in the “Idol” voting. But add up the sales of their three post-”Idol” CDs and multiply by two — and the number still doesn’t measure up to Daughtry’s sales figures.

He’s even outdistanced such big names as Tim McGraw, Linkin Park and Fergie. Daughtry has had two tunes on the radio — the rocking “It’s Not Over” and “Home,” a ballad that has earned Top 40 airplay.

Since “Daughtry” was released in late November, he and his band — simply known as Daughtry — have hit the road aggressively, appearing everywhere from stadiums and arenas to fairs and clubs.

With the quintet touring as openers for Nickelback, Daughtry, 27, called from the road.

Q. How’s the Nickelback tour going so far?

A. I feel like we got our butts handed to us from those guys in rock ‘n’ roll school. They’re just phenomenal live. They’ve got all the rock ‘n’ roll gimmicks: throwing beer out into the crowd, shooting T-shirts out with cannons — I got to do that on their stage; it was fun. All the pyro. Other than that, they’re so tight and dead-on. The dude’s voice (Chad Kroeger) never fails. It kind of (ticks) me off. Chad’s a great dude and he’s been super-great to us. We’re honored to come on tour with him.

Q. They may have the pyro and the gimmicks, but you’ve got the bestselling album of the year.

A. I’ll take that. That doesn’t suck.

Q. Since you’re so hot right now, do you think you should be headlining, not Nickelback?

A. No. They’ve got a bigger album. They’ve sold 5 million records on this album and we’ve sold 3.

Q. How does it feel to have the biggest-selling album of the year, so far?

A. It’s definitely an accomplishment that we never felt would happen. We thought the album would do OK. We felt, if it would sell a million, we’ll be happy. It kind of just kept going.

Q. Why do you think the album is so big? Is it the crossover with the fan base from “American Idol” and the airplay from rock radio?

A. I think it’s a combination of everything. Rock radio took us seriously and embraced us. We obviously had the “Idol” fans and then the crossover to hot (adult contemporary) and Top 40 and mainstream. It was kind of reaching out to new ears.

People relate to it because it’s pretty simple, everyday life stuff. We all come from a blue-collar background and I think the majority of America connects with that. We’ve worked our butts off all our life to get where we are. And people see that. We’re not just some band that got lucky. We’ve definitely put in our time in the clubs, playing for the workers or maybe 15 people at the most. It’s all definitely paid off.

Q. I think the emotional way you deliver songs has a lot to do with your success.

A. I’m in a different place onstage. I turn into something else. It’s kind of like an actor: You get into your character. I get into the songs. I’m really trying to dig deep in my soul and put everything I have into it.

Q. “Home” is a song you wrote before any of us heard your name. What inspired you to write that song?

A. I was at home, actually, sitting on my couch. I knew I was going to go away to do the show (“Idol”) and I’d never been away from my family for that long. (He has a wife and two kids.) I got into the mind-set of what that was going to be like. I picked up the guitar and wasn’t planning on writing anything and started humming along and wrote the thing in, like, 10 minutes.

I never really thought it was going to be anything. And it ended up being one of Clive’s (Davis, the head of the record label) favorite songs when I played him some songs in his office. And the rest is history.

Q. In the tradition of Bon Jovi, Van Halen, Danzig and Winger, you’ve decided to go with Daughtry and not Chris Daughtry. Why?

A. I’ve never been a solo artist; I’ve always been in bands. I’ve never wanted to be a solo artist. I probably could have come up with a clever name for a band but I guess the fact is I had name recognition from the show, so (we) call the band my last name.

(c) 2007, Star Tribune (Minneapolis)

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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Daughtry will play the Illinois State Fair grandstand in Springfield Aug. 12.
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Reader comments on this story - 13 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

PR wrote on Aug 14, 2007 12:43 PM:

" I was so disappointed in the concert. I loved Nickelback but I felt like Chris just screams all the time. He has a lot to learn from the pros. maybe next time it will be better. we'll see what album#2 brings. "

Rock Fan wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:29 PM:

" I was there last night in Springfield. Daughtry had a hugely diverse audience and yes, 12,00 easy were there. The heat was a bummer, and even with 13th row tix we were too far back because of the general admission track. But if you braved that crowd in the heat, you deserved to be that close. I'd love to see him open for Nickelback from the first ten rows. They do need to tighen up the band and get a whole new sound crew. The video guy and soundboard people showed they are rookies. Overall, its Daughtry's songs that rock and they way he delivers the vocals. Top ten band in 2007 for me. "

Chris is absolutely AMAZING wrote on Aug 13, 2007 8:15 PM:

" Okay so I saw Chris at the Idols tour for Season 5...it was awesome! But he has yet to come to Chicago with Daughtry. And certain people should be happy he even got the chance to do an album. "

fan of music wrote on Aug 13, 2007 5:51 PM:

" At least he didn't drink while onstage this time! And it seems like he's laid off the screaming finally as well. I am glad noone was hurt from the full bottles of water he was throwing out into the crowd on the track. That could have been dangerous. Not my style of music and I'd much rather see any of the rest of the top 10 than him. May have higher album sales, but doesn't have the highest number in ticket sales of the class of season 5. He's actually doing rather poorly in the ticket sales category. "

Chris Rocks!! wrote on Aug 13, 2007 12:06 PM:

" I was at the state fair last night with my daughter and her friends last night. We waited in line for almost 5 hours in 100 degree weather and it was definitely worth the wait!! Thanks local radio station WBNQ for the tickets!!!! The fair def. needs more acts like this one!! "

Concert wrote on Aug 13, 2007 10:14 AM:

" His show last night at the State Fair was awesome. The place was packed, which is something the fair hasn't seen in many years. Plus it was hotter than h*ll out there! The Springfield paper said the attendance was 12,000 +. I would pay to see him again especially with Nickelback, they put on one h*ll of a show too! "

Hey "Chris is" wrote on Aug 13, 2007 1:42 AM:

" Damn- ain't he tho? "

Amen wrote on Aug 12, 2007 10:10 AM:

" Glad he isn't Ozzy, maybe he wont be toddling around mindlessly in his later years while his kids are in rehab with a house full of ill trained mutts, actually, Ozzy get's exactly what he deserves, but then again, I'm sure you'll justify it all somehow. Don't start hating, I really don't bash his music, just his actions. Everyone is entitled to thier tastes in music, he is just a moron otherwise, a sideshow at this point, something to poke fun at and giggle at his lot in life as he has made it. "

Bet he. . wrote on Aug 12, 2007 9:27 AM:

" would have a sold-out show at the Colliseum-hmm. If I were the marketer I think I'd be jumping on trying to get that gig to Bloomington! Strike while the iron is hot! "

no ozzy fan wrote on Aug 12, 2007 9:25 AM:

" He is definitely not ozzy, and thank goodness for that, Chris is a breath of fresh air that rock & roll needed to help out of its slump. Country is where the money is right now and he is helping kick start the rock market again. Good job to Chris and I hope he keeps it up. "

AJ wrote on Aug 12, 2007 8:45 AM:

" He ain't Ozzy...but I guess he ain't that bad. I've heard worse. Tune into B-104 for worse "

Chris is~ wrote on Aug 12, 2007 8:38 AM:

" YUMM-O!!! "

Well... wrote on Aug 12, 2007 8:20 AM:

" I wish he'd get off his laurels and do another album. "
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