This US rock band was formed in 2006 by former American Idol contestant Chris Daughtry (b. Christopher Adam Daughtry, 26 December 1979, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, USA; vocals/guitar). Daughtry, who had been performing as a part-time musician in his native North Carolina since the late 90s, was eliminated in the final of the fifth season of American Idol. During his time on the show, the US post-grunge band Fuel invited Daughtry to join them as lead vocalist, no doubt inspired by his intense performance of their radio hit ‘Hemorrhage (In My Hands)’. Daughtry declined the Fuel offer and signed a solo recording contract with RCA Records. Written and recorded with a number of leading rock sessionmen, Daughtry’s solo debut was technically credited to a band called Daughtry, although the singer only assembled the other musicians after completing the recording of the album. He was joined by Jeremy Brady (guitar), Josh Steely (guitar), Josh Paul (bass), and Joey Barnes (drums). The album itself was a competent but utterly humourless slice of corporate post-grunge rock, which managed to attract enough media attention to complete the climb to the top of the US album charts in January 2007.
Brady was replaced by Brian Craddock shortly afterwards as the band took to the road in support of the album. Daughtry’s popularity continued to soar throughout the year, and remarkably the band’s album was confirmed as the bestselling US release of the year with sales of over 3 million.
