Daughtry "Leave This Town" Has Potential

Daughtry's new album, "Leave This Town," has finally dropped. Chris Daughtry and crew, collectively known as Daughtry, released their much anticipated sophomore effort July 14. If the American Idol alum's first album is an indicator, the album won't have any problem going multi-platinum. If Daughtry's first single, "No Surprise," is used as a portent, it is nearly set in stone.

Daughtry debuted "No Surprise," a song co-written by the band and Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, on American Idol back in May during, appropriately enough, "Rock Week." The song climbed to No. 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 before it began its descent.

Look for the new Daughtry album to either debut at No. 1 or No. 2 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The self-title "Daughtry" will no doubt jump back into the Top 100 again (currently at No. 105) and crack the 5 million U.S. sales mark. "Leave This Town" received mostly favorable reviews, with many critics giving it a mediocre thumbs up because of its "more of the same" style.

But can it top his debut album's success? Every artist wants to top their preceding work's sales. Every artist's promoters and producers want them to as well. "Leave This Town" has potential and it might achieve the success of its predecessor, but that is something that remains to be seen. Of course, if star power was a way to gauge an album's success, "Leave This Town" has already surpassed Daughtry's first effort. Along with the aforementioned Chad Kroeger, "Leave This Town" also enjoyed the songwriting efforts of Brian Howes (producer/songwriter known for his work with Hinder and Puddle Of Mudd), Mitch Allan (who co-wrote, with Kara DioGuardi, the American Idol Season 8 winner's song, "No Boundaries"), Chris Tompkins (co-wrote Carrie Underwood's Grammy winner "Before He Cheats" and American Idol alum Bucky Covington's "Hometown"), Ben Moody and David Hodges (Evanescence), and Brett James (another Carrie Underwood writer -- Grammy winning "Jesus Take The Wheel"). Chris Daughtry even sings a duet with country superstar Vince Gill on "Tennessee Line." (Of the 70 songs written and recorded for the new album, 12 made the cut. Other songwriters include Adam Grontier of Three Days Grace, Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic, and Jason Wade of Lifehouse.)

For Daughtry fans, that is just fine. "More of the same" Daughtry is a good sign. Bold, radical departures from the style of music that made one famous have been the ruin of many promising artists over the years. More of the same Daughtry means more hard rock with an alternative edge, more arena-style rock with catchy guitar riffs, and more Chris Daughtry power vocals. It is the formula that made them famous (besides that big ole American Idol promo that Chris Daughtry was lucky enough to land).

The first time ever I heard Chris Daughtry sing during the audition rounds on American Idol Season 5, I told my significant other that he was one of the best singers I'd ever heard on the show. A couple weeks later I was hoping he would go all the way and win. Being a more rock-oriented type of music listener, Chris Daughtry's powerful vocals and his choice of songs (and arrangements) appealed to my hard rock/heavy metal ear. I remember thinking that it was about time another rocker made the cut and made the Top 10. And when he did Live's arrangement for Johnny Cash's "Walk The Line," I was blown away.

I also remember how disappointed I was when Chris Daughtry was voted off the show (but I'm certain not nearly as disappointed as he). I haven't voted for a contestant on American Idol since then the way I did for him. Adam Lambert may have won this season's American Idol had I voted for him as enthusiastically as I did for Chris Daughtry.

But that disappointment was short-lived. Daughtry's first album hit the stores in late 2006 and climbed to No. 1. Soon his songs were everywhere. "Daughtry" became the best-selling album of 2007. Currently, he ranks fourth in overall sales for American Idol alumni (and that with just one album, while Carrie Underwood, who is ranked second behind Kelly Clarkson (4 studio albums), has two albums to her credit and has another scheduled for release in November). Less than a half million shy of No. 3 Clay Aiken, Daughtry should overtake that position in a few short weeks.

I know for a fact that he is already one album closer to overtaking the third spot...

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For more information on Chris Daughtry, Daughtry, and general news from and about the band, go to DaughtryOfficial.com.

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Sources:

Billboard.com
"American Idol," Fox Television
Wikipedia.org
DaughtryOfficial.com