While thousands of Chris Daughtry fans were heartbroken when he reached the end of the "Idol" road, they have to be nothing but pleased with his post-Idol career thus far. He busted on to the AI scene as one of the first big rock stars the show has seen. While Simon might have been skeptical at first, calling him "robotic" at his initial audition, the judges gave him high praise for having the kind of voice and style that was sure to make him a huge hit on the rock scene. He was even getting some extremely substantial offers prior to leaving the show. As Randy Jackson initially reported in March of 2006, Chris had even been offered the chance to become Fuel's new lead singer, as the popular band was without one at the time. Chris ultimately declined the offer but didn't rule out the chance of working with them down the road.

His far-reaching effects were also felt just after the finale that year. During that show, he performed the song "Mystery" with one of his favorite bands, Live. After the show, that song suddenly shot as high as #80 on the iTunes top 100 songs. His version was even made available later on Live's MySpace profile page.

Chris became great friends with fellow Idol Ace Young while on the show, who actually helped him to write his hit song "It's Not Over." Ryan Seacrest jokingly dubbed them "the Ben Affleck and Matt Damon of the season." Chris's presence was felt during nearly ever show during season six as well, as the American Idol departure song ended up being the very popular Daughtry song "Home." Chris also sang this song live with his band at the May 22nd finale.

With the momentum of "Idol" and thousands of fans behind him, Chris hit the ground running after his time on the show. His debut album with his band Daughtry sold more than 1 million copies after just five weeks of release, making it the fastest selling debut rock album in Soundscan history. It reached number one on the Billboard charts after a mere nine weeks of release, even edging out the popular soundtrack for Dreamgirls. Chris is the fourth most successful "Idol" contestant in history, behind Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and Clay Aiken. He is the most successful Idol who was not in the finale. And his career is really just at the beginning! His cover of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive," which he also sang on the show, charted at #43 on the Billboard Hot 100. Billboard also just recently announced that Daughtry's debut CD was the top-selling album on the Billboard 200 during the chart year.

Much like his fellow Idol Carrie Underwood, Chris's band Daughtry has been racking up the awards these days. They won three honors at the 2007 American Music Awards (Favorite Album, Favorite Artist, Favorite Breakthrough Artist). They have been nominated for two People's Choice Awards (Favorite Group & Favorite Rock Song for "Home"), and the results will be announced in January. To boot, they have also received four Grammy nominations for this coming year's prestigious awards (Best Pop Peformance By A Duo or Group With Vocals: "Home," Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals: "It's Not Over," Best Rock Song: "It's Not Over," and Best Rock Album: DAUGHTRY).

Amidst all this craziness, Chris has managed to use his celebrity status for good, joining celebs like Ben Affleck, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Liv Tyler who stand together for the organization ONE. ONE is a campaign to end poverty worldwide.

2008 will surely bring many more blessings for Chris Daughtry, one of which is having his band open for Bon Jovi on the US leg of their tour!

Happy Birthday Chris! Chris was born on December 26, 1979!

While his hair might not have changed during season five, you can almost see his growing sense of confidence in each photo in his transformation gallery-check it out now!