Chris Daughtry

Losing made Chris Daughtry a winner. The American Idol contestant’s surprising elimination from the show initially left fans—and Daughtry—stunned and bitterly disappointed. He had begun to believe the fan sites that were predicting he would win it all. Finally, it seemed, all those years singing with local bands back in North Carolina were paying off. Then it was all snatched away when he was voted off the show three weeks from the finale.

It wasn’t long before Chris realized being free from Idol was an opportunity to go back to his musical roots—performing with a rock band. He turned down an offer to join Fuel as their lead singer and chose to form his own group, which he called, of course, Daughtry. Chris had one chance and was determined to make it—or fail—on his own talent. By betting on himself and his band, Daughtry struck gold.