Chris Daughtry - An Authentic Idol

Chris Daughtry had one of those audition stories that just had us rooting for him. He told us he was inspired by Bo Bice singing rock the previous year on American Idol, and thought if he could do it, maybe he could to. He then explained he wanted this for his kids and his wife. His wife appeared in tears, telling us she wanted it so badly for him, saying he put his dreams on hold when he married her and took on her and her kids. She knew he could have done this and more if he had stayed single.

Singing Joe Cocker's The Letter, he impressed Randy and Paula, but Simon didn't think he had charisma, of all things. Paula fought back saying it was nerves, not a lack of charisma. While Simon refused to budge, and voted no, Paula and Randy gave him the chance he and his wife were looking for. She was in tears again when he came out with his golden ticket.

By the second week of semi-finals, Chris sang Fuel's Hemorrhage, and knocked it out of the park. When I reviewed the show that night, my comment was that the best I could say about him was that he was authentic. He was the real deal. http://www.realityshack.com/modules/articles/article.php?id=1544 Randy told him he could have a hit on the radio that song, and Paula told him he had just had a magical moment on the stage, and she felt there were many to come.

But the best comment of all came from Simon, as they all do. He's always good at eating crow. He can come out all tough, and some say rude things, but when the person proves him wrong later, he always owns up to it. He told Chris that this performance stood out above all the others that night, and that his performance was the only one that would stand out in the real world. Simon believed Chris set a standard that all others should be looking up to. That was high praise from Mr. Cowell. And it only got better from there.

Week after week, Chris continued to impress everyone, making many wonder why he was trying out for the show, and not out there recording somewhere. He was remarkable each and every week, and pretty soon he became one of the frontrunners. By the time we reached the finals, it was the overall consensus that it should be Taylor Hicks and Chris battling it out as final two. If for no other reason that they were both different than the Idols to come before them.

American Idol fans weren't the only ones noticing Chris. Fuel caught him singing their song and just happened to be looking for a new lead singer. The rumor got out that they were calling Chris and offering him a contract. Just a few months earlier he was dreaming of being a rock star and working in an auto parts store. Now he had an already successful rock band knocking on his door. We weren't sure if Chris knew about it, though, knowing how sheltered they keep the people on the show.

Final four week came around, and that general consensus still held. The question was who would be voted out that week, Elliott Yamin or Katharine McPhee. Katharine had had some disastrous weeks, and was practically facing a lynching. The lowest vote getters were surprisingly Chris and Katharine that week. As Ryan got ready to hand down the verdict, everyone expected him to say Katharine's name. When instead, he told Chris he was going home, jaws dropped everywhere, including Katharine's. Chris looked simply stunned.

Once off the show, the offer from Fuel again materialized and became public knowledge, not just a rumor. All Chris would say was that he was thinking about that and meeting with others about possible offers. Message boards and forums were alive talking about this issue, with everyone thinking they knew the right decision for Chris, including me.

My stance was it couldn't be all there was for Chris. I thought with as many people as he had impressed during his time on Idol, there was more there for him than the lead singer of an existing band. While a year earlier if that offer had been made to him, he would have been insane to refuse it, with all the buzz surrounding him now, he'd be pigeon-holed into someone else's song catalog. Wouldn't it be better to create something new for himself? He surely had the means.

Chris ended up turning Fuel down, and again, jaws were dropping. He wouldn't say why he was turning them down, just that after several meetings, he was sure he was making the right choice. A few months later we knew why. He was offered a record deal with RCA, signing with Clive Davis who seems to have a hand in all the ex-Idols' contracts one way or another. Chris wanted to form his own band with his own material. Who could blame him?

Normally, we see albums released by the crowned Idol and also the runner-up. Occasionally we'll see one or two others much later down the line. This has been a fantastic year for the Idols, though. The first to release an album was Kellie Pickler, who did quite well and is in talks for a sitcom deal. Taylor Hicks released a self-titled album that shot up to #2 on the Billboard charts in its first week, and runner-up Katharine Hicks recently released her album, although it seems to be struggling some, doing better than former runner-ups Justin Guarini and Diana DeGarmo, but worse that other former runner-ups Clay Aiken and Bo Bice. We're also expecting album releases soon from Elliott Yamin, Bucky Covington, and Mandisa.

Yet, it's the band Daughtry, fronted by Chris, that seems to own the charts. Their album reached #1 after nine weeks on the shelves. Truthfully, I don't turn on the radio and hear Taylor or Katharine. I hear Daughtry's single It's Not Over nearly every day. They seem to be the hottest thing right now. When I turned on the NFC Championship game to watch my Bears play, who was singing the National Anthem? Chris.

Recently Chris said it bothers him when people tell him he got screwed to be voted off when he was. He doesn't want people to be stuck back there in May when that happened. He's moved on, and would like everyone else to as well. He wants them to see that things are so great for him right now, that it no longer matters what happened then. He wouldn't want to trade places with Taylor, either, as he knows he wouldn't be doing the album he always wanted to right now.

This guy deserves the success, and I'm still rooting for him. He's authentic, and the real deal.