Music News	Music Venues	Search Events

E-mail story

comment

Printer-friendly version

Beloved Chris Daughtry a true idol to music fans

By Devin Grant

Fourth-place finisher makes stop in Lowcountry

To anyone who has ever placed fourth runner-up in a talent contest: Don't feel too bad about it.

Chris Daughtry was a fourth-place finisher on the fifth season of the popular television show "American Idol," and all he has to show for it now are millions of adoring fans, a MySpace page with almost 600,000 friends registered, and a successful music tour with a band that bears his name.

His band's CD, also bearing the North Carolina native's name and released just over a year ago, has so far sold nearly 4 million copies. So it's fairly safe to say that Daughtry is at peace with that fourth-place finish.

Daughtry's tour made a stop at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center on Friday night, playing to an audience that dared to be categorized. Kids rocked out next to their parents, including Jake Meyer of Daniel Island, who was attending his first concert. Jake's mother, Shana, sat one seat over, and admitted both she and son were Daughtry fans.

"I like his voice, his personality, just his whole kicked-back attitude," said Shana, who had managed to purchase tenth-row seats on the Internet just a few hours before the sold-out show. Shana revealed that she had seen Daughtry before in St. Louis as part of the American Idol Tour but said that Jake was the real fan. "I'm here to try to get to know more of his songs, and I'm just happy to spend some time with (Jake)," she said.

Flanked by guitarists Brian Craddock and Josh Steely, bassist Josh Paul, and drummer Joey Barnes, Daughtry demonstrated that his post-American Idol popularity was no fluke, performing a solid set of moody-yet-accessible rock. Some of the better songs in the set included "What I Want," "Breakdown" and "It's Not Over." Toward the middle of the performance, Daughtry sang a few songs while playing acoustic guitar and a transparent screen obscured the rest of the band. He also peppered his own songs with covers by artists that included Guns 'N' Roses and John Lennon.

Late in the set, Daughtry sang the first few bars of Motley Crue's "Home Sweet Home" before ripping into his own "Home." "American Idol" viewers in the crowd most likely recognized that tune as the one played on the show whenever a contestant was voted off last season. Friday night's crowd seemed satisfied as they filed out of the venue after the show, leaving little doubt as to whether Daughtry's popularity will continue.

Not bad for fourth place.

Reach Devin Grant at chucktowncritic@yahoo.com.