As you probably know, Chris Daughtry and Aerosmith singer Steven Tyler were both on American Idol as a contestant and a judge, respectively. It turns out, they almost had something else in common, as Chris could’ve had Tyler’s Aerosmith job.
Apparently, back in 2009, Aerosmith had a falling out with Tyler because he left to do American Idol and almost went on without him. Who would sing? That’s where Chris comes in.
“I get this random call from [Aerosmith guitarist] Joe Perry,” Chris revealed on The Dave Rickards Podcast. “I thought it was a joke at first, but he didn’t even take time to, like, [say] ‘How you doing?’ He just went into his reason for calling me.”
Perry told Chris the band “wanted to work” despite Tyler not being interested, and then he asked, “How would you feel about hitting the road with us?” Daughtry said the offer left him “speechless,” but he ultimately passed for many reasons.
“First of all, I don’t consider myself any caliber of singer that Steven Tyler …He is irreplaceable, in my mind,” he explained. “Furthermore, Steven Tyler’s alive. This whole fear of p****** off one of my heroes was just looming.”
Even though the idea of fronting Aerosmith was “a terrifying concept” to Chris, he’s still happy he was asked. “It is a story that I will hold near and dear for the rest of my life, for sure,” he shared.
Aerosmith eventually reunited with Tyler. The band’s farewell Peace Out tour kicks off September 2 in Philadelphia. As for Chris, he and his band Daughtry just signed a new record deal and dropped a new single, “Artificial.”
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