Enter Chris Daughtry. Seen by many as the heavy favorite to win Season 5 (With his closest competitor being Katherine McPhee), Daughtry was ousted two shows before the finale. The public outcry was insane. No way could he have possibly been outvoted and not even make it to the final show. But he did. However, it was arguably the best thing that could have happened for Chris. Not winning may have offered him more opportunities (Right after being ousted, he was offered the lead singer position in the band Fuel) and given him more freedom to do what he wanted to do with his music. And now, with the offering of Daughtry (The name of the disc and of the band), we get to see exactly what that is.
The opening track and lead single, It's Not Over, show off exactly why he was considered the heavy favorite in season 5. Chris is simply a rocker. He stayed true to that style throughout the competition and he stays true to it on this disc. Crashed and Home are two other tracks that definitely put forth a style that is very 3 Doors Down-esque; rock enough for rock radio, but a popular enough sound to hit most every radio station except for the Oldies.
What may be most impressive about this disc is the fact that Chris has in part or in full written all but two songs on this disc. The debut disc of an Idol generally has little to no writing of the competitor's. But Daughtry breaks that mold and writes the songs he sings. And tracks like Breakdown and There And Back Again, among many others, show that he definitely has an ability to write good music. Even the tracks he didn't write (Feels Like Tonight and the disc's closer, What About Now) show that he can definitely sing very well.
And sometimes the best thing to give a disc a little credibility is a big-name featured on a song. And, if anyone was not convinced of Chris' rock status, they need look no further that What I Want, which grabs hold of Slash to kick in some sweet guitar riffs...yes, that Slash. Daughtry has clearly defined himself as an artist who, like Clarkson and Underwood, will not need the American Idol name to push record sales in the years to come.
Overall, enough cannot be said about this debut from Daughtry. Daughtry shows off the fact that Daughtry is a band that will be here for many years to come. Based on the debut, when everything is said and done, Chris will definitely be one of the three biggest success stories to come out of American Idol. It is hard to see any future competitor bringing their game up to the level of Chris, Carrie and Kelly. Even the impressive vocals of Katherine McPhee will find it hard to outdo any of these three.