Chris Daughtry Turned Down Request to Replace Steven Tyler in Aerosmith

Heavy/Getty Steven Tyler and Chris Daughtry

Since placing fourth on “American Idol” in 2006, Chris Daughtry has enjoyed a long career of sold-out venues and chart-topping rock albums as the leader of his band, Daughtry. But that could have all gone differently had he said yes in 2009 to an offer to take over for fellow rocker and former “Idol” judge Steven Tyler in Aerosmith.

On an episode of The Dave Rickards Podcast released on August 11, 2023, Daughtry spilled the beans on an offer he received from longtime Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, who called to ask him about replacing Steven Tyler. But Daughtry said there was no way he could take the job.

Chris Daughtry Says He Was Floored Joe Perry Even Had His Phone Number

GettyChris Daughtry at the GRAMMY Museum on September 14, 2021

After releasing his second album, 2009’s “Leave This Town,” Daughtry was enjoying tons of success, but getting a call from Perry was very unexpected. Just as lead singer Tyler was about to become a judge on “American Idol,” the band said they thought Daughtry could parlay his “Idol” success into heading up Aerosmith.

“I get this random call from Joe Perry,” Daughtry revealed on the podcast. “Joe Perry and Steven were apparently at odds with each other. It was all in the news; this isn’t private information. I think this was right when Steven Tyler was going on ‘American Idol’ and they weren’t touring together. I think it was like a public breakup sort of thing.”

Daughtry then continued, “Joe Perry calls me. I’m, like, ‘First of all, I didn’t know Joe Perry had my number. This is incredible.’ I thought it was a joke at first, but he didn’t even take time to, like, ‘How’re you doing?’ He just went into his reason for calling me. ‘And I don’t know what Steven’s doing, but we wanna work. How would you feel about hitting the road with us? You’ve got some cool songs we could play too.'”

Immediately, Daughtry felt anxiety rising, sure he couldn’t hit some of the notes Tyler does.

“First of all, I don’t consider myself any caliber of singer that Steven Tyler is as far as I would not be able to tackle those songs the way Steven Tyler tackles them,” he told Rickards. “He is irreplaceable, in my mind. Furthermore, Steven Tyler’s alive. This whole fear of pissing off one of my heroes was just looming, and I was, like, ‘There’s no way I can do this, Joe.'”

But to even be considered, Daughtry said, is something he “will hold near and dear for the rest of my life.”

Steven Tyler Quit ‘American Idol’ to Return to Aerosmith in 2012

GettyFormer “American Idol” judges Randy Jackson, Steven Tyler, Jennifer Lopez and host Ryan Seacrest in 2012

Tyler joined “American Idol” as a judge in 2010, alongside Jennifer Lopez and original judge Randy Jackson. In 2012, he left the show to rejoin his iconic rock band, according to Billboard. 

He said at the time, “I strayed from my first love, Aerosmith, and I’m back. The next few years are going to be dedicated to kicking some serious ass.”

Before Tyler left “Idol,” Daughtry actually interacted with him when he appeared on the show in 2012, an invitation he told the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette he never turns down. He performed his single “Outta My Head” on the show and told Tyler, one of his own music idols, that the song had “a ‘Rag Doll’ feel to it, like old-school Aerosmith.”

The offer to join Aerosmith wasn’t the first time Daughtry had been invited to join a major rock band. Hours after he was voted off “American Idol,” the multi-platinum rock band Fuel invited him to replace Brett Scallions, who quit the multi-platinum rock band in February, according to CBS News.

But Daughtry turned down that offer too, saying, “”I’m going to be doing my own thing.”

The decision worked out for him, as his band has sold millions of records and will begin recording a new one once their current tour wraps up in late September, according to American Songwriter. 

Meanwhile, after 50 years together, Aerosmith will kicked off a farewell “Peace Out” tour on September 2, performing in in 40 cities across the U.S. and Canada, according to USA Today.