Chris Daughtry
Week Theme Song Artist Status
Audition Free Choice The Letter The Box Tops Advanced
Hollywood Group Performance Emotion with Ace Young and Bobby Bullard Samantha Sang Advanced
Semifinals Top 24 Free Choice Wanted Dead or Alive Bon Jovi Safe
Semifinals Top 20 Free Choice Hemorrhage ( In My Hands ) Fuel Safe
Semifinals Top 16 Free Choice Broken Seether feat . Amy Lee Safe
Top 12 Songs of Stevie Wonder Higher Ground Stevie Wonder Safe
Top 11 Hits of the 1950s I Walk the Line Johnny Cash Safe
Top 10 21st Century Hits What If Creed Safe
Top 9 Country Music Making Memories of Us Keith Urban Safe
Top 8 Music of Queen Innuendo Queen Safe
Top 7 The Great American Songbook What a Wonderful World Louis Armstrong Bottom 2
Top 6 Greatest Love Songs Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman ? Bryan Adams Safe
Top 5 Year They Were Born Billboard Top 10 Renegade I Dare You Styx Shinedown Safe
Top 4 Songs of Elvis Suspicious Minds A Little Less Conversation Elvis Presley Eliminated
Career -- American Idol
Daughtry auditioned for American Idol in Denver , Colorado , with The Box Tops ' `` The Letter '' ; he was portrayed as a young rocker with Southern and hard rock influences . He passed the audition by a split decision : approved by Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson , disapproved by Simon Cowell . Simon felt that Daughtry at that time was too robotic . After being given a Golden Ticket to Hollywood , he performed `` The First Cut Is the Deepest '' , and sang `` Emotion '' during his trio performance with Ace Young and Bobby Bullard . The song for Daughtry 's a cappella performance remained unknown until American Idol Rewind aired Season 5 Hollywood week , when it was shown that he sang Elton John 's 'Your Song ' . Daughtry eventually made it to the Top 24 . On March 1 , 2006 , Daughtry 's `` raw '' performance of Fuel 's `` Hemorrhage ( In My Hands ) '' received critical acclaim by all three judges . On March 3 , 2006 , Jackson stated in an interview that Daughtry had been offered the opportunity to become Fuel 's new lead singer , as the band was at the time without a lead singer . At a welcome home party , Daughtry said he had declined the offer , [ 7 ] but , he said , `` he 'd still like to work with them somewhere down the road . `` [ 8 ] Chris Daughtry was in the final four on May 10 , 2006 , and found himself in the bottom two with Katharine McPhee . When asked by Seacrest who should be leaving , Cowell expressed that he believed that McPhee should be eliminated . Ryan Seacrest then announced that Daughtry was eliminated . Seacrest asked him if he was surprised . An obviously stunned Daughtry could only utter , `` A little , yeah . '' The media grabbed hold of the surprise elimination and there was some controversy regarding the accuracy of the vote count on the night Daughtry was eliminated . The vote-tallying website DialIdol , however , predicted that Daughtry was the lowest vote-getter for the week . [ 11 ] In an interview after his elimination , Daughtry said that he thought he got voted off because his fans were `` overconfident '' that he would be safe , so they did not call and vote . Later , he stated the best piece of advice he ever received was , `` Do n't believe your own hype , '' a possible nod toward his surprise American Idol elimination . [ 12 ] During the Season Five finale on May 24 , 2006 , at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood , Daughtry performed the song `` Mystery '' with the band Live . Live 's version of the song was later available for download on the band 's MySpace.com profile with Chris Daughtry performing backup vocals . Performance review
Christopher Adam Daughtry (born December 26, 1979) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. He is known as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for the rock band Daughtry and as the fourth-place contestant on the fifth season of American Idol. After Idol, he was given a record deal by RCA Records and formed a band called Daughtry. Their self-titled debut album became the fastest selling debut rock album in Nielsen SoundScan history, selling more than one million copies after five weeks of release. The album was recorded before the band was officially formed, making him the only official member present on the album. In its ninth week of release, Daughtry reached number one on the Billboard chart. Chris Daughtry is now the third most successful American Idol contestant in terms of record sales, behind Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, who both won their respective seasons. At the 50th Grammy Awards, the band was nominated for Best Rock Song for the single It's Not Over. Since the band's first album, Chris Daughtry has collaborated with several artists, including Slash, Sevendust, Theory of a Deadman, Chad Kroeger, Brad Arnold, Vince Gill, and Carlos Santana. He is known for his powerful vocal belting technique and wide vocal range.