related items
When Chris Daughtry last performed in Des Moines, about 200 fans showed up at the House of Bricks. Two and a half years later, he's returning to central Iowa, this time at Hilton Coliseum, which holds about 15,000.
In early 2007, Daughtry, who finished fourth in the 2006 edition of "American Idol," was going the route of many other "Idol" non-winners: Hitting the road quickly to cash in on a popularity boost from the show. But while many other finalists, and even winners, have faded from view over the years (Ruben Studdard, anyone?), Daughtry and his band of the same name only rose in fame.
By the middle of the year, Daughtry's self-titled debut hit triple platinum and by the end of 2007, he was opening for Bon Jovi. Now the band is headlining arenas.
"It's been an amazing, steady climb," Daughtry said during a phone interview before his current tour began. "We've played the really small clubs, sometimes our gear wouldn't fit on stage and we'd have to play acoustic."
Soon they were performing with Nickelback, at state fairs, and at festivals in front of 70,000 fans. "It's been a crazy, crazy ride and we've loved every minute of it," he said.
Though Daughtry's fans were outraged when he was booted from "Idol" in 2006, Daughtry now sees his early exit as a plus. As a winner, he would have had to record a specific first single and would have been pushed as a solo artist. By not winning, he still earned the fame, while also staying in charge of his career path. He even spent his time on the "American Idol" tour working on the songs for his debut album.
For the band's sophomore album, "Leave This Town," Daughtry got more time to make the album, as well a bit of added star power. His songwriting partners included Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, Jason Wade of Lifehouse, and "Right Here Waiting" singer Richard Marx. Marx even brought a guest singer to the song "Tennessee Line."
"We always had a guest vocalist in mind when we recorded that song, and one day Richard Marx was hanging out and said 'Dude, Vince Gill would be perfect for this,'" Daughtry said. Marx called the country singer and pitched the idea. He agreed and Gill recorded his portion of the song.
Over the last three years Daughtry has become friends with some of his idols and found incredible success, all before the age of 30. He hits that milestone in December, and he has one more accomplishment to take care of before this birthday.
"I'm trying to get back in shape, I want to get back to my high school weight," Daughtry said. "That sounds like such a girl thing to say."
