Daughtry - "No Surprise"

Daughtry are planning to stick around awhile. "No Surprise," the first single from their upcoming second album, Leave This Town, makes that abundantly clear. Daughtry are the sound of mainstream rock today, and "No Surprise" is possibly stronger than any of the singles off their four million selling debut album. A wall of guitar is topped off by Chris Daughtry's gravelly but clear vocals and skillfully crafted lyrics. There's no mistaking this as a hit when you hear it.

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Songs written by committee often come out sounding just like that. They are not really anyone's song in particular and appeal to the lowest common denominator of all involved. However, in this case, "No Surprise" is a simple sounding, but brilliantly written rock song. Contributing here are Chris Daughtry himself, Chad Kroeger, the leader of Nickelback, the Click Five's former lead singer Eric Dill, and Danish songwriter/producer Rune Westberg. The song kicks off with Daughtry's wordless wail and then sounds like a standard issue Nickelback tune for a bit. However, there is a sense of romance among the pain of the lyrics that goes beyond the songs on Daughtry or on a typical Nickelback album. The subject matter is the time-worn end of a relationship, but the effort to end it with grace and respect gives the song a fresh appeal. A Grammy nomination next year would not be a surprise.

Chris Daughtry's gravelly growl driven by the clarion singing that served him well on American Idol is today's standard for mainstream rock radio. Unfortunately, the rock slot on top 40 radio has been very weak in recent months. The advantage for Daughtry is "No Surprise" will have an instant niche waiting in the pop music world.

If it can hold up to the quality of this lead single, the second album from Daughtry could outstrip its predecessor and be one of the biggest albums of 2009. Melodic rock remains one of the styles of popular music today with the broadest appeal. A plum performance spot on American Idol will kick "No Surprise" into high gear with radio station requests a guarantee. This is no let down from the band's first album. If anything, "No Surprise" is even better.