Chris Daughtry
Speaking to Chris Daughtry before he hit the stage for the final time on this UK tour on March 31, the singer/songwriter seemed excited to play one final time to a British audience and full of anticipation about how it would all play out.
Fans of the band here in the UK had of course waited for eight years to see their heroes play live, and were getting more than they could ever have hoped for, and the positive reviews came pouring in following each show.
Find out what Chris had to say about the UK leg of his tour, the creative process and feelings before the release of 'Baptized' and what to expect from Daughtry going forward.
Your UK tour comes to a close tonight, how have you found the experience so far?
It's been the most fun we've had on tour outside the United States in as long as I can remember.
The tour has just been incredible. The fans have been probably the best that we could ask for. We weren't expecting - we didn't really know what to expect. Every show sold out.
It's the best experience we've had in the UK, for sure.
Well the tour is in support of your most recent album 'Baptized', what can you tell us about the creative process behind that record?
Well, I mean it was certainly a different process to previous albums.
I worked with different people, I didn't work with the same producer. I was writing basically while on tour, so we didn't going into the process - I didn't know exactly when the record was gonna come out. We were kind of just getting the foot work done so to speak as we decided what we were gonna do.
As I was turning in the 'demos', the label was head ove rheels about the material and they wanted to put the record out almost immediately.
So when you do put out new material, what sort of feelings do you go through?
Well, this one was certainly one of the, not scary but one of the ones where I was more conscious of what I was feeling, because it's a very different record, and there's that fear of the fans not liking it or what have you.
So, right when the first single was released, I remember reading all the comments on Twitter and Facebook and everything, and I was just blown away at how positive everybody was towards it. So, that kind of eased my fears a little bit.
You returned to American Idol in February as a mentor and I know you're performing on the show this Thursday (April 3), how do you find the experience of returning to the place where a lot of this started?
Well it seems like we do this every record, whether we perform or like, I went on and did the mentoring thing which was very different for me, I loved it.
It's one of those TV performances that always generates nerves, and I don't exactly know why. Maybe it's because I was so used to being nervous and wondering what the judges were gonna say, and if I was gonna make it to the next week! (laughs) There's a little bit of that going on I think.
You recently announced that you'll be touring with the Goo Goo Dolls, how did that all come about?
Well, we kind of talked about it for a few years now and we just haven't been able to make it happen.
Our schedules blockened up this time and we decided to go for it.
And what should fans coming to those shows expect?
Well, I can only speak for our show because I haven't seen what they've got in store for fans but I know what we've been delivering to Europe and the UK fans has been a pretty energetic show, and I don't think it's gonna be any different than that, for sure.
How do you find the challenge of balancing your personal life and your working life?
I'm still trying to figure that out! (laughs) That's a daily task man. Everybody, including our families have very different, crazy schedules respectively, and as hard as it is for us to get in touch with them because of our schedules, it's the same for our families because they're taking care of the kids, and the kids have things going on, and they're trying to juggle all of that, so a lot of times the last thing they wanna do is get on the phone for an hour and catch up.
So, we try to time it where it works out for both of us and do the FaceTime or you know, we're constantly texting back and forth so yeah - it's an effort on both parties for sure.
What else do you like to do on your down time?
Er, little to nothing! (laughs) I tend to catch up on my TV shows and hit the gym, and things like that.
Finally, what should we expect from you in the coming months?
Other than the tour in the US we don't have any immediate plans. We're hoping that we get to come back here (the UK) sooner rather than later.
Daughtry's album 'Baptized' is out now, and the group will be touring the US with Goo Goo Dolls this summer, beginning on June 12 and ending on August 23.
Check out our review of Daughtry's Manchester show: http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/reviews/daughtry-review-441731.html
Tagged in Daughtry