American Idol alum Chris Daughtry is getting ready to hit the road with his band, Daughtry, for a tour this fall in support of the group?s number 1 album ?Leave This Town?. The tour will kick off on October 19th in Topeka, Kansas and will wrap up in Evansville, Indiana on December 20th and the band plans to fill arenas all across the country. That sounds like a big risk to me. Although they have managed to get four number 1 singles with ?Leave This Town?, I?m not sure if they have the star power to fill such large venues.
Kris Allen was called the dark horse of the competition and was clearly the underdog, but in the greatest upset in American Idol history since Chris Daughtry was eliminated, Kris Allen was named as season 8?s winner. When everyone from the judges to the producers to even Kris Allen himself thought that Adam Lambert was going to win, being announced as the winner was a big shock.
I?m pretty sure that a lot of people vividly remember when Chris Daughtry was eliminated on American Idol season 5. I think that?s why it?s so great to see him and his band Daughtry back on the Idol stage. If their new single ?No Surprise? is any indication of what their new album ?Leave This Town? will be like, they?ve got another multi-platinum selling album on their hands again. Watching the band perform made it feel like I was watching a concert. They totally rocked it out. After the performance, Chris and the band were also handed a plaque
The creative force behind the rise of rock band Evanescence, with hits “Bring Me to Life” and “The Fallen”, songwriter Ben Moody has taken his love for the music in a new direction; as head of the new, artist-centered label, FNR Records.
Since his departure from Evanescence in 2003, Moody has collaborated with some of the hottest stars in the music business; the established and the up-and-comers. His song-writing and producing credits include working with Avril Lavigne on her second release Under My Skin, penning “Nobody’s Home”, “This Time” with Celine Dion, “What About Now” from Chris Daughtry, and Moody co-wrote and produced the smash hit, “Because of You” with David Hodges for Kelly Clarkson. The reason for Moody’s new direction, FNR Records, is simple, he states, “after going to such great lengths to protect the integrity of a project during the creative process, it seemed almost sinful to let the major label monster destroy it.”
In order to live up to its credo of protecting the creative artists, FNR Records first client is a young, Montana native, Hana Pestle; an alternative rock/acoustic solo artist. Pestle’s sound carries a unique blend of influences as diverse as Radiohead, Sarah Mclachlan, and the Cranberries. Hana Pestle is now touring the Midwest, performing her songs, “These Two Hands”, “Just a Phase” and her own haunting rendition of “Hallelujah”.
Moody was instantly taken in by Pestle’s voice, “It only took Hana singing one song and I was sold . . . I have never in my life been more in awe of such a breathtaking natural talent.”
It just goes to show that just because you won the title of American Idol, it doesn?t mean you will BE America?s Idol forever. In some indirect way, that?s already proven by the likes of Elliot Yamin and Chris Daughtry who ended up being bigger than their season?s winner and runner up, Taylor Hicks and Katharine McPhee.Anyway, Ruben Studdard won on the second season of American Idol but he?s failed at having any success with his recording career. As a result, Ruben has been dropped by his record label J. Records. What?s he going to do now that his vocal chords have been ripped out?
Idol fans, this is your time for sweet revenge. He may not have won the competition, but he won the hearts of album buyers this year. Billboard named Chris Daughtry the most popular album of 2007. They sold about 3.2 million copies.
Just half a million shy of that, in second place, is Akon’s album “Konvicted”, followed by the Hannah Montana soundtrack (2.5 million), Fergie’s “The Dutchess” (2.4 million), and Carrie Underwood’s “Some Hearts” (2.3 million).
Number one song of the year was “Irreplaceable” by Beyonce, with Rihanna coming in just behind with “Umbrella”. Top tour of the year was The Police’s reunion tour, bringing in $212 million at last estimate.
