Daughtry - the album

I'm an American Idol junkie. I'm not afraid to admit it. If it's not the show I look forward to the most, it's right near the top. It's one of the few shows I always watch the same night, rather than let sit on the DVR for a few days before viewing. Last season, Chris Daughtry was my favorite performer on the show, and it wasn't even close.

He sings more my style of music than someone like Taylor Hicks or Elliot Yamin. He doesn't seem like the stuck-up type a la Katherine McPhee. He's just a normal guy who can sing pretty well. So I've been waiting since May for his CD to hit the shelves.

I finally got it for Christmas, and the only song I had heard prior to popping it into my CD player was the first track, It's Not Over. I'm still not overly impresssed with the song, but it's sort of catchy. Overall, I like the CD, but I was kind of expecting to like it more. It's almost as if they are trying too hard to make it catchy, that they overdid it to the point that it just sounds generic. It seems like they took Chris's voice and prettied it up too much in the studio, if that is even the correct term. I think I like his voice better without all the tweaking they do when producing an album.

Our good buddy 10-Key (RIP) said he thinks it sounds a lot like a Nickelback album. While I don't necessarily agree with that assessment, I can see how he came to that conclusion. It's a pretty good album, especially for someone so new on the scene, but without the backing of American Idol, I think it would just be a generic pop album. Maybe it will grow on me in time, but the jury is still out on this on.

Overall Rating: 7 out of 10.