American Idol certainly boosted his career. Following his fourth-place finish, Chris Daughtry found himself in demand. In fact, he turned down an offer to be lead singer for the band Fuel, and later signed a record deal with music mogul Clive Davis in conjunction with 19 Recordings Unlimited, the label managed by Idol creator Simon Fuller. The deal allowed him to form his own band.

He hired four new bandmates, who did not record on the album. They will, however, perform songs on their 25-city tour, which will kick off in Los Angeles, and contribute to a follow-up disc. Drummer Joey Barnes, who has known Daughtry since their days "playing the same circuit," boasts that the band's next album will be "really, really good." But he's also crossing his fingers that they "don't go through the sophomore slump."

For all his talk about preferring to be among bandmates, Daughtry was out there all alone performing the national anthem at the recent National Football Conference championship game between the Chicago Bears and the New Orleans Saints. He shed a tear as he sang. "It's perfect timing," he says. "I mean, it comes out right at the right moment. … There's all kinds of emotions going on."

In the course of this interview, Daughtry, who appeared stoic at times on Idol, reveals himself to be an easygoing guy. He gets especially animated when discussing the first mini-scandal of his career.

Daughtry is not messing around now. He turns serious when discussing his goals, which include replicating the successes of arena-packing bands like U2 and Bon Jovi. "I wanna look back 20 years from now and still be in the game in a big way," he says. "I wanna be…a very important part of the music industry, whether it be playing or developing other bands. I would still honestly like to be performing every night and doing what I love to do."