Daughtry: Town Where You Belong

Daughtry is active on Twitter—yes, it's actually him, he has an iPhone, and the background of his Twitter page is an old-school Bob Kane "Batman"—regaling his followers with everything from movie recommendations to details about the desolate photo of Fremont Street in downtown Las Vegas that's on the cover of "Leave This Town." Rather sweetly, he engages in a lot of public flirting on Twitter with his wife, Deanna, who has amassed almost 2,500 followers of her own under the name @Mrsdaughtry.

It all goes back to what people find most appealing about Daughtry: that he's a normal guy. That was the compelling back story that boosted him during "American Idol"—before auditioning for the show, he worked as a service adviser at a Honda dealership. Once he made it to the final rounds, it became clear he brought something new to the show, as his rock vocals veered away from the usual heavy pop-and-R&B bias. Without Daughtry, there wouldn't have been a David Cook—or, for that matter, a Lambert.

And, to his credit, his dude-next-door vibe doesn't ring hollow or seem to be part of a Machiavellian "he's so un-Hollywood that he's Hollywood" marketer's contrivance. Daughtry recalls pushing a cart through a Home Depot and hearing one of the band's songs playing over the in-store speakers. He flipped up his hoodie and tried to remain inconspicuous as he lurked in the aisles.

"You hid?" Barnes asks incredulously, and Daughtry nods, a bit sheepish. Barnes starts dancing in his chair and waving his arms frantically. "I'd be like, 'Hey! Hey! Turn it up! That's my jam!' "

Daughtry laughs at Barnes' lunatic enthusiasm. "Yeah, that's your jam," he says with a grin. And it is. Because they're a band.