'American Idol' Chris Daughtry Signs Record Deal

Chris Daughtry, the fan favorite that was shockingly voted off the fifth installment of American Idol in fourth place, has found a silver lining to his Idol experience. After turning down an offer to be the frontman of the band Fuel, the 26-year-old North Carolina native has landed a record deal of his own.

USA Today has reported that "Chris Daughtry, who was voted off the Fox talent contest's fifth edition in an elimination round, has signed with music mogul Clive Davis in conjunction with 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by 'Idol' creator Simon Fuller, RCA Records announced Monday." The announcement also stated that Daughtry will form a band "and has already begun to work with A-list collaborators."

As Yahoo News reports, success and fame are nothing new to Daughtry. "Daughtry has already scored a hit single on Billboard's Hot 100. His version of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" was the highest-charting song from a season five contestant when it debuted at No. 43. Daughtry also was the highest-charting season finalist on the Hot Digital Tracks chart when the song debuted at No. 16. The song is still the most downloaded by a finalist from this season's show, with more than 69,000 downloads sold to date."

At present, Chris Daughtry is touring with the other American Idol finalists on the Idols Live tour, which kicked off in Manchester, New Hampshire (without Katharine McPhee). E Online reports that most of the reviews of the show have been ver positive. "Daughtry's performances on the American Idols Live! tour have also earned him unanimous praise from critics since the sold-out tour kicked off last week. The Boston Globe called him 'genuinely talented,' while the Worcester Telegram & Gazette praised his 'signature combination of fire and feeling'."

Since its U.S. inception in 2001 on Fox, American Idol has turned a variety of everyday "average Joe" types into household names, including such singers as Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, Clay Aiken, Ruben Studdard, Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson, Constantine Maroulis, Bo Bice, Nikko Smith, and Carrie Underwood, even UC Berkeley student, William Hung for his awful yet lovable rendition of Ricky Martin's "She Bangs." To date, American Idol has only produced two bonafide pop superstars in Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, with Clay Aiken following close behind with his own loyal fan base.

[Additional Sources: The Associated Press, USA Today, Yahoo News, E Online]