Daughtry: Daughtry : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

The debut from former American Idol semifinalist Chris Daughtry makes one thing clear: Homeboy loves to rock. Unfortunately, Daughtry shares a weakness for emotional overspill with his fellow Idol alums. He wields his gruff, hair-flailing voice like a spandex-clad star on mammoth arena fare like "There and Back Again" and sleazy near-metal songs such as "What I Want," a rave-up featuring Slash on guitar. But Daughtry gives in to bombast on a series of giant, aching near-ballads, including "Over You" and "Gone," a dark, Nickelback-worthy cut that includes lines like "The day you turned on me is the day I died." Daughtry gets points for not courting soccer moms, but just because he can howl like a motherfucker doesn't mean he's not a cheeseball.