This interview is too cute! I love how he gives the whole band their due...what a humble guy Chris is...gah, I just loooovvvvveeee him!
Chris is also on the cover of this month's Fly Magazine for the upcoming York Fair (PA) show!
America’s favorite comeback kid talks about the journey from “Idol†castaway to the year’s biggest rock star
by David Onda
When Chris Daughtry was voted off the fifth season of “American Idol†last year, it was shocking to everyone involved, from his millions of devotees to the judges to poor, little Katherine McPhee, who looked even more stunned than Daughtry himself.
From the very beginning of the season, it seemed as if Daughtry was being tailored to win the big prize. The show featured an endless stream of montages detailing the years of struggle he and his family had persevered through while he chased his rock and roll dreams. The judges slathered him in praise week after week, and Daughtry helped his own cause by tearing up the stage on a regular basis. In short, he was a shoe-in.
But then – poof. He was sent packing on a one-way trip to Bo Bice-land.
Needless to say, 2007 has been a much better year for Chris Daughtry. Not only has he managed to shake off the “Idol†loss, but, together with his brand-new band (sensibly named “Daughtryâ€), he’s become the indisputable rock and roll success story of the year. In addition to being the year’s biggest release, the band’s self-titled album has been certified as the fastest-selling rock debut in history.
When Daughtry sang, “It’s not over,†he wasn’t kidding.
Fly Magazine caught up with the self-proclaimed Live freak in anticipation of Daughtry’s September 14 performance at the York Fair.
Fly Magazine: The success of this album has blown up way beyond the built-in audience you had from “American Idol†…
Chris Daughtry: It definitely is more than we ever expected it to be. We’re definitely very grateful for all the support we’re getting. The music is just crossing over to so many different formats. It’s getting to so many different people. I even heard it was on country radio at one point, and Christian radio. We’re like, “Wow, all we gotta do is take over R&B and hip-hop and we’re good.†[laughs]
FM: That shouldn’t be too hard.
CD: No! We’ll just put a little backbeat to it.
FM: When I was researching for the article, I kept finding all of these fan sites for you, including one called Naughty Daughtry Girls. What’s it like for you, especially as a husband and father, to all the sudden be this big sex symbol.
CD: I never really looked at myself as that. If I did, that’d be a problem! It’s definitely a little weird. It’s even weirder when my daughter tells me her teachers are telling her that! But she laughs it off. She’s almost 11, and she understands it. And my son – during the whole [show] when everybody was voting, every Tuesday, everybody at the school wore a shirt with my face on it. He wouldn’t wear one, though. It’s gotta be weird, because I know for a fact that if I went to school one day and everybody was wearing a shirt with my dad’s face on it, I’d freak the hell out.
FM: I bet they’re pretty proud of papa.
CD: Of course they are. They see the benefits. They’ve always wanted to be home-schooled, and now we’re gonna be able to do it. There are so many good things that go along with it. But at the same time, they miss me. I miss them. Nothing can replace that.
FM: I think things have worked out probably even better than if you had won the show.
CD: You think? [laughs] I don’t think it could get any better, really.
FM: What was your mindset when you first got voted off the show? Were you freaking out?
CD: Well, I didn’t really have time to doubt anything, because instantly when I was voted off, Clive Davis wanted to have a meeting with me. So it was like, “OK, there’s some light at the end of the tunnel here.†That was before the show was even over. So I didn’t really have a lot of time to get bummed out. I guess I was bummed out that night, but then it was like, “OK, I see the big picture now.â€
FM: At that point, you had a couple of different options – to do the solo thing, and Fuel had offered you a job …
CD: I didn’t want to do a solo artist thing at all, because that kind of puts you in the pop category. I’ve been in bands ever since I was 16, so for me it just felt like the right thing. All of the people that I was influenced by growing up were in bands. So for me, it was like, I didn’t see any other option.
And I didn’t want to be in Fuel because I didn’t want to be the guy that replaced Brett [Scallions]. I didn’t want to be known as that for the rest of my career.
FM: Of all the options you had, you picked the one that resulted in the fastest-selling rock debut in history.
CD: That I definitely didn’t predict. And who could? There was no way of knowing that that was going to happen. It’s definitely very flattering. We’re honored. You don’t get that kind of success these days in a rock band.
FM: I’ve noticed that you make a big effort to involve your band in your interviews. You’re always saying “we.†Why is that important to you?
CD: Because it’s not a one-man show, and I don’t want people to think that. A band is a band. It’s not just the frontman. So when people just focus on me, Chris Daughtry from “American Idol,†it’s kind of like – not really a slap in the face – but it’s kind of like telling me that the other guys aren’t that important. And for me, they’re just as, if not more, important than I am.
FM: So, how did you come up with the name for the band?
CD: It came to me in a dream one night! I was like, “Damn! That’s, like, the same as my last name!â€
FM: I read that people have seriously asked you that question before!
CD: I think a lot of people are like, “Wow, he’s really high on himself right now.†But then again, I guess so was Bon Jovi, Kip Winger and Van Halen. The reason I did it – and I’m sure we could have come up with something clever – there’s name recognition coming off of the TV show. I was like, “Well, it kind of has a ring to it.†I never really looked at my last name that way, but I was like, “Well, people will recognize the last name. Let’s just go with that.†Clive was like, “That’s genius!â€
FM: For all of the millions of fans you have right now, you still have plenty of critics who are taking shots at you. Why do you think you’re such a target?
CD: I don’t know. Maybe because I’m successful. I mean, you don’t see many good write-ups on Nickelback either, but they’re obviously doing something right.
FM: So, you’re coming to Pennsylvania for the York Fair next month.
CD: York! That’s the hometown of my favorite band, Live, and not too far from Breaking Benjamin. I guess Pennsylvania breeds some good talent.
FM: I think it’s going to be a huge show, man. You guys are like the people’s champions right now.
CD: I don’t know what it is about us, butwe’re glad. Whatever it is, we’re just going to keep on doing what we’re doing and try to stay in this business for a long time.
http://www.flymagazine.net/york/york_featurestory.htm
