Daughtry (2006)

Image credit: Chris Daughtry: Frank Ockenfels

GETTING CHRIS ACROSS Now known simply as Daughtry, maintains his musical identity on his debut CD

There's rich irony in the fact that the guy from American Idol who changed his moniker (Daughtry — no Chris) is the surest of his identity. As a contestant on Idol, he made few compromises, and now he's the only one of the four Idol-connected performers to release CDs recently (see Taylor Hicks, Fantasia, and Kellie Pickler's Small Town Girl) who's written most of his own material. Some of it is good: The single ''It's Not Over'' is ridiculously catchy and will probably be the most commercially successful song on any of these albums. (It's already been used in promos for the Fox drama Prison Break.) Track 2, ''Used To,'' is also a powerful showcase for Daughtry's voice — a confident, sultry growl that's not pitch-perfect, but pretty close. But it'd be great if something on the disc didn't sound so monotonous — or Nickelbackonous.