Daughtry's high school band went by the name of Cadence. He sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar. They produced one album, a very rare piece that can sometimes be found on eBay.[citation needed]

Daughtry sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar for rock bands in Burlington.a[›] The band Absent Element consisted of Daughtry on lead vocals and guitar, Mark Perry on lead guitar, Scott Crawford on drums and Ryan Andrews on bass. Absent Element released Uprooted in 2005. This CD contains the songs "Conviction" and "Breakdown", which Daughtry combined and re-recorded as the song "Breakdown" Read more...

Daughtry auditioned for American Idol in Denver, Colorado with The Boxtops' "The Letter"; he was portrayed as a young rocker with Southern and hard rock influences. He passed the audition by a split decision: approved by Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, disapproved by Simon Cowell. Simon felt that Chris at that time was too robotic. After being given a Golden Ticket to Hollywood, he performed "The Read more...