Posted on 05/30/2006 5:17:51 PM PDT by doug from upland
Former 'Idol' Hopeful Daughtry Returns to N.C.
(05/30/06 -- GREENSBORO) - "American Idol" finalist Chris Daughtry is set to return home to North Carolina this weekend.
Supporters calling themselves "The Friends of Chris Daughtry" say the McCleansville rocker will sign autographs Saturday morning at the McLeansville Shopping Center.
Daughtry is then scheduled to make an appearance at Macpherson Stadium in Greensboro from two to four in the afternoon.
Those who attend that appearance will be asked at the gate to make a five dollar donation for the Children's Home Society.
Daughtry worked at a Greensboro car dealership before rising to the finals of the widely popular T-V talent show. He was voted off this month.
Daughtry says he's now considering whether to pursue fronting an established rock band or launching a solo career.
I got floor seats for the Idol show in Anaheim. Daughter of DFU will be flying down from Washington to join Mrs. DFU for the concert. They will have a ball.
Post #18 was for you!!!
My 12 year old daughter went to the concert last year with a group of girls friends. It was her first "concert". She still talks about it. The new concert sold out in Atlanta the first day.
I know but I think R&B appeals to the more mainstream for obvious reasons. It's not a dig at Mr. Daughtery - he has his style but the type of people who watch and vote aren't looking for that style (I'm speaking in generalities here). Also, he was a little cocky in his demeanor and I think that turned off some people.
Kewl, he sang that on American Idol you can download that song and others he did from the show on the site Doug gave.
He's a talented guy for sure. Glad you had fun at the show you saw.
Thought so!
I just can't agree with ya - but that's ok. And I like Keane a lot. Wish they had more publicity.
Wow. I'm sure they'll love it!
IMO, for what it's worth since I didn't really watch most of seasons 1,3, and 4 straight through, this year's contestants overall are the best performance group they've had. Especially on the guys side. That Number the guys did in the Finale is evidence of the good show they've got before them. :-)
Whatever. Honestly, I wouldn't call it alternative. That term is overused and no longer even appropriate most of the time. Back when alternative music came on the scene, it really WAS alternative - it was totally different and played primarily on college stations - you would never hear it on the big radio stations. Today, the stuff is pretty common so, thus, the term, alternative, is no longer applicable.
My point is that his heavier rock emphasis probably didn't help him in the long run. I wish him the best though.
Perhaps he isn't like that in person, but he comes off that way in interviews. Just like Taylor comes off as a nut and Kat comes off as a ditz in interviews. They all need a little coaching in the interview department.
As for his talent, I am perfectly able to judge that one on my own. I appreciate a good voice which is why 90% of the male voices on Idol don't impress me at all. It seems the women, from Kelly to Carrie to Kat, have the men beat hands down when it comes to quality of voice. The men just sound like wanna-be rockers. The few that have at least a milligram of talent and lots of charisma, like Chris and Taylor, are worthy of some admiration, but I'm still not wowed by any of them.
I was a hero to Mrs. DFU by taking her to the Kodak when the tickets were offered to me.
For all the music parodies I post, can you tell that most of them are from the '60s? It's been a long time since I listened to current music. But I really enjoy Chris.
Not to argue with you, but on his band's website they list their music as alternative. I disagree with you about why he lost on American Idol he was the favorite through out the show. I think the fans got lazy and assumed he would win. I've watched Idol from the first time it was on and he was by far the most talented of all I've seen. Oh well he will get a recording contract for sure and I hope it will be soon!!!!
Here is the website of his band he sang with. You can also listen to some of the songs they have recorded and written with of course Chris as lead singer.
http://www.absentelement.com/
http://mrdaughtry.com/
Audios, videos, news items for the Daughtry fans.
That is probably his Dead of Alive performance from the show that is now being downloaded.
I can't argue your point about the fans because nobody will ever really know why he didn't get enough votes. It's always a bit frustrating to me when I see people like "turtle boy" get through week after week (they called him Chicken Little, I think).
As for Alternative, they can call it what they want but I've been listening to music from as far back as when there was an underground music station - totally non-commercial and I don't consider anything today really alternative - when grunge came on the scene, it was alternative but once it hits mainstream, the term no longer fits - just using the definition of the word. If you think about it, South African tribal music would be considered alternative.
haha on Chicken Little and yes I would have to agree and good point.
Video of Chris's father in law ---- http://us.video.aol.com/video.index.adp?mode=1&pmmsid=1478496
Chris Daughtry is McLeansville’s hometown hero
Allison Perkins, Staff Writer
(Tuesday, April 11, 2006 7:50 am)
McLeansville — On the quiet country road that cuts through downtown McLeansville, there are no stoplights, no glowing fast-food signs — certainly no evidence that Hollywood, with its blinding strobes, bubbling champagne and throbs of cheering fans, has ever come calling.
There is, however, a sign that this tiny town is on the verge of birthing the hottest hit in America.
"VOTE FOR CHRIS."
The Viewing Party
Every Tuesday, a crowd gathers at McLeansville Elementary School, 5315 Frieden Church Road, to watch Daughtry compete on a big-screen television. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
These signs are, in fact, everywhere: in front of McLeansville Elementary School, straddling the town line, decorating street corners, even in front of the local grocer, upstaging an ad for the upcoming annual fish fry. On one road, the signs outnumber the political banners posted for the sheriff's election.
It may be quiet. It may be country. But this is where rock lives, in the person of 26-year-old Chris Daughtry, one of the leading contestants on "American Idol."
Daughtry remains in the final eight slots of the hit show. Up for grabs is a $1 million recording contract, instant fame and a chance at becoming a superstar.
Daughtry grew up in Virginia but now lives in McLeansville. The folks in his adopted hometown couldn't be prouder.
"He's the talk of the town," says Tammy Wilmoth, who watches the show religiously each week with her son, Dakota, 10. "He's good, and he's from our hometown. We just like him."
The Wilmoths say they knew Daughtry was good before he made the show. The father of two performed at last year's fall festival for the local schools.
Generally, in this town of a little more than 1,000, folks tend to know each other. Some neighbors say they haven't met Daughtry, but that doesn't stop them from voting, whether they're age 7 or 71.
Behind the meat counter at McLeansville Country Market, the town's only grocery, 71-year-old butcher Harvey Biddy says he votes every week for the hard-core rocker.
"I got about half a dozen (votes) in last evening," Biddy says. "He's doing great. I think it'll wind up between him and Kellie."
Oh, and did we mention that just down the road a ways are the hometowns of not one, but two of his competitors? Bucky Covington of Rockingham and Kellie Pickler of Albemarle also are in the show's final eight.
The two country crooners have established their own fan base in the Triad. Shoppers at Target on Lawndale Avenue in Greensboro were seen sporting "Vote for Bucky" T-shirts. A minivan on Battleground Avenue bore a bumper sticker shaped like the blue "American Idol" logo with the words "Pick Pickler."
It's a dilemma. The home-state vote that in past seasons may have carried some contestants into the top spots is being split three ways.
But Daughtry's fans? Well, they aren't worried.
"Listen, he's going to win," says Lisa Clapp, vice president of the PTA at McLeansville Elementary School, which hosts a weekly "American Idol" viewing party.
"He's not from here originally, but we wanted him to know we support him," she says.
"We'll take him on as a local boy. He's definitely put us on the map.
"When people used to ask where I was from, they would say, 'Where?' Now, they say, 'Oh, that's where Chris Daughtry lives.' "
Friends of Daughtry and his wife, Deanna, say the good fortune couldn't have happened to a nicer couple.
"They're just special people. They're very giving, and I think it's their time," says Tracey Adams of Graham, who has known the couple since before their wedding. On that big day, Adams was Deanna's hairdresser.
She recalls how, during the wedding, Daughtry took time to tell Deanna's two children how much he loved them and how he was always going to be there for them.
"It was beautiful," Adams says.
Because Daughtry had to stop working to chase his Hollywood dream, his wife picked up a second job in addition to her full-time career as a massage therapist to make ends meet.
Friends such as Adams began selling "Vote for Chris" T-shirts to raise extra money to send Deanna and the kids to Hollywood to see him perform. Families of contestants must pay their own way to see the show.
The fund-raiser has been a hit. The group has already sold 1,000 shirts and is preparing to order more. And on Saturday, Daughtry's wife headed to Los Angeles to see her husband perform live on this week's show.
For those close to Daughtry, seeing him perform live onstage and for a television audience that usually numbers more than 30 million does not seem strange, Adams says.
"He's a natural at it," she says. "He's got such a strong voice, and he just loves it, and that comes across to everybody. It's just a given that that's where he should be."
Everyone who knows Daughtry, in fact, says the same thing.
"The boy has got talent," says Brad Anderson, service manager at Crown Honda in Greensboro, where Daughtry worked as a service adviser.
"We could never get him to sing here, though," he said. "We tried, but we could never get him."
And though they're all rooting for him, folks in this tiny town know that winning means losing.
With a recording contract in hand, they know Daughtry eventually will move away to the bright lights of fame and fortune. It's an ending that they are already, happily, coming to terms with.
"It's gonna be awesome, but if he wins, we'll probably lose him to Hollywood," Clapp says with a sigh. "We have fallen in love with their family."
Before Daughtry headed to California, Anderson says, they told him they would always have a job for him at Crown Honda.
"I don't think he's going to need it," Anderson says.
Contact Allison Perkins at 373-7157 or aperkins@news-record.com
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