Daughtry - 'Home'
It would seem that I'm ChartBlog's official TV talent contest correspondent these days, for better or for worse, which is fine by me because frankly I can't get enough of these shows, and this way it spares Fraser from ever having to watch them, which I'm sure he's grateful about too. So, keen viewer as I was of American Idol season five, I'm familiar with Chris Daughtry. And I was even more familiar with him during season six, since this track was played over the teary video exit montage every time someone got kicked off. You can't buy publicity like that, folks.
For those of you who didn't tune in and want a bit of background, Chris Daughtry was the obligatory rocker contestant in 2006, since it's in the rules somewhere that there has to be at least one person every year who is unconventional and, like, so above your stupid rules, dude, and generally too cool for school (although not sufficiently cool to not have to be on the show in the first place, one might add). He was noteworthy for completely ignoring the theme weeks and turning every week into rock week, which was entertaining at first but got a bit annoying after a while.
It's a bit like inviting a friend around for a game of poker, only to have them gleefully lay their cards down each turn and yell "snap!" The first time it's funny, the second time it's maybe a little subversive, by the fourth time you start to wonder if they just want attention, and after the fifth time you start to think this is perhaps an unsubtle attempt to cover the fact that they don't even know how to play poker in the first place.
Anyway, he finished in fourth place that season, and went on to rather impressively whup the asses of the top three, sales-wise, with his own band Daughtry (again, one could speculate that Chris has a Jon Bon Jovi complex, but that's for another time) and is currently the fourth highest-selling American Idol alumnus, behind Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood and Clay Aiken. We've often wondered why more American Idol contestants don't attempt to cross the pond, since we embraced Kelly Clarkson so wholeheartedly.
Admittedly someone like, say, Carrie Underwood might find the UK market tough to crack since we don't tend to buy an awful lot of country music, but I'm surprised that there haven't been many attempts to break the likes of Elliott Yamin, Jordin Sparks, Blake Lewis or Katharine McPhee over here.
Right, so having completed the Brief History of Idol, shall we actually get on with the song in question? It's not a massive surprise to find that it's '80s throwback softrock, focusing primarily on the power of the electric guitar in the chorus and Chris Daughtry's gravelly, if a little bleaty, voice. It's extremely radio-friendly, but if I were to pick holes (and that is pretty much what I'm here for), I'd be inclined to say there's something a little too old-fashioned about it - or if not old-fashioned, then perhaps unadventurous.
I can't help thinking that with the vibrance and the variation of the alternative rock scene in the UK, that anyone trying to break it over here needs to pick out a little square of individuality and shout as loud as they can. This sort of Nickleback-esque mellow stadium rock just might not be different or daring enough to get anyone excited.
That said, there's a lot to be said for catering to the MOR market who don't like their music to upset the natural order of things, because they tend to be very loyal customers. And there's certainly nothing wrong with the song itself - it's catchy, it's hummable and there's some nice emoting in the vocals. Really it comes down to whether there's enough room in an already crowded marketplace for more lite rock; chances are there probably is, but I'm not sure I see this one having crossover potential.
Download: Out now
CD Released: January 14th
(Steve Perkins)
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