Chris Daughtry
Christopher Adam "Chris" Daughtry is an American rock singer-guitarist who is the lead vocalist of the band Daughtry. He was also the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of the reality TV show American Idol, eliminated from the competition on May 10th, 2006.
Before becoming an idol
Chris was born on December 26th, 1979 in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. He was raised in Charlottesville, Virginia before he relocated to McLeansville outside of Greensboro, North Carolina.
Growing up, he started listening to other rock artists such as Richard Marx and Rob Thomas. At the age of 16, Chris started taking singing seriously as a professional musician and became a popular performer with other rock bands during his time in high school. He graduated in 1998 at Fluvanna County High School in Palmyra, Virginia.
In 2005, Chris auditioned for the CBS singing contest, Rock Star: INXS, but did not make the cut for the actual filming of the show. In addition, Chris was the lead singer of the alternative rock band Absent Element who have released some self-produced material. Their sound has been compared to Shinedown, Chevelle, Sevendust and Live.
Chris has been married since November 2000 and has one step-daughter from his wife's previous marriage, and one adopted son. Chris used to work as a Honda service employee.
American Idol
Inspired by Bo Bice, Chris auditioned for American Idol (2006) in Denver, Colorado with "The Letter" by Joe Cocker. He was portrayed as a young rocker with Southern and hard rock influences. He passed the audition by a split decision: approved by Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, disapproved by Simon Cowell. Simon felt that Chris rushed the song and at that time wasn't charismatic enough.
On March 1st, 2006, Chris' "raw" performance of Fuel's "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" received critical acclaim by all three judges. Simon Cowell said his performance was the only one that could measure up to those in "the real world".
On American Idol, clips of every one of Chris' performances except for his a cappella performance during Hollywood Week were featured on the show.
Chris performed such songs as "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder, "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash as performed by Live, "Making Memories of Us" by Keith Urban, "Innuendo" by Queen, "Renegade" by Styx, "What a Wonderful World" by Louis Armstrong, "Suspicious Minds" and "A Little Less Conversation" by Elvis Presley (among others). He also played guitar on Idol in group performances.
One day after Chris performed "Hemorrhage (In My Hands)" on Idol, the single shot up to the Top 10 download list on iTunes and stayed there for several days. When Fuel heard Chris sing it, they offered him the role of lead singer of their group should he be eliminated from the competition.
The band re-issued the offer on Ryan Seacrest's radio show the day after Chris' elimination. At a welcome home party Chris said he had declined the offer.
Just Daughtry
Chris cinched his spot in the music industry with a summons from Clive Davis, the legendary record executive who signed Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel and others to Columbia Records, and who now heads BMG North America.
"The week I got voted off Clive wanted to have a meeting with me," Chris recalls in an interview with Yes! Weekly. "Whether I won or not, he wanted me. We had a meeting. He basically put the ball in my court."
The singer brought a guitar with him to the meeting. "When I told him I was a writer he was excited," Chris continues. "He wanted to hear it. Usually they bring in outside writers. I played him my songs and he loved it, so he gave me a lot of control over the album."
On July 10th, 2006 it was announced that Chris had signed with 19 Entertainment and RCA Records, and began working on an album that was to be released in November. It was also announced that he would be forming his own band.
Read more about the band Daughtry!