By Victoria Barker

FOR American rock band Daughtry, clinching the coveted No. 1 spot on music charts has never been so bittersweet.

The quintet's latest album, Leave This Town, debuted at the top of the Billboard 200 charts in the United States last Wednesday, bumping Michael Jackson's album Number Ones - which had been at the top spot for three weeks since his death on June 25 - into second place.

On the line with my paper from Los Angeles, lead guitarist Josh Steely, 38, said: "It's unfortunate that it had to happen like that, because we're big fans of his music."

He paused before adding: "But it still feels good. We put so much work and energy into (the album)...so we're very happy and proud."

The band was formed in 2006 when frontman Chris Daughtry, 29, signed on to RCA Records after finishing fourth on the fifth season of American Idol. The label then held auditions and found the remaining members. Its current line-up includes guitarist Brian Craddock, 33; bassist Josh Paul, 31; and drummer Joey Barnes, 32. Leave This Town is the follow- up to Daughtry's 2006 award-winning self-titled debut, which spawned smash hits like It's Not Over and Home. That album has sold over five million copies worldwide.

But the band did not feel any pressure to recreate that success this time round.

"We weren't worried because we knew we could (come up with something great)," Steely said. "We've created a sort of 'Daughtry sound' that will be ours for years to come."

Trademark sound aside, the new release boasts collaborations with musicians from Richard Marx and Jason Wade (Lifehouse) to Ryan Tedder (OneRepublic). Those joint projects were the handiwork of Daughtry himself.

Steely, who is married with three sons, said: "A lot of the time, when Chris meets someone he is a fan of (like Marx), they're his fans too, because of his calibre as a singer. It's kind of like a club."

But that doesn't mean there is any kind of animosity or hierarchy within the group.

"We have to admit that Chris is the reason we can do what we're doing," said Steely.

In fact, the Daughtry boys are as thick as thieves, and have been so from the get-go.

He said: "At the auditions, we knew as each member was being picked whether that person could hang out with the group or not. (The chemistry) was pretty instantaneous."

vbarker@sph.com.sg

Leave This Town is in stores.

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