More Hard Rock in Store for Daughtry?

On August 13, American Idol and The Masked Singer finalist Chris Daughtry and his band released their heavy new single, “World On Fire,” that seemed to embody many of the issues that have occurred thus far in 2020. Today marks the release of the “World On Fire” music video.

“World On Fire” captures several of the main focuses of 2020. With lyrics like “the sickness is rising” covering the global pandemic brought by COVID-19, “twenty dead without a fight, without a reason, twenty more in a cop car bleeding” addressing police brutality and racial injustices, and of course the song as a whole talking about the enormous wildfire consuming Australia, the song hits close to home with many people. In an interview with Atwood Magazine, Daughtry says, “For me, ‘World On Fire’ represents a hard look at what’s going on around us. The world is not at a lack of issues for us to deal with. I hope this song inspires people to be aware and treat each other better, eradicate division and hate by spreading kindness.”

Though Daughtry usually produces songs with more of a pop rock feeling, it’s clear with the heavy guitars and intense and passionate lyrics of “World On Fire” that hard rock is not out of reach for the band. Since their departure from RCA Records in 2018, Daughtry has expressed that he and the rest of the band have been more able to pursue the music they really want to make. At the end of the music video, we’re left with the chilling words, “to be continued…” Does this mean that Daughtry has more hard rock in store for us? We’ll have to wait and see.

Citations:

https://www.facebook.com/daughtry/photos/a.161458815457/10157130569380458

Mosk, Mitch, et al. “Interview: Daughtry Capture 2020’s Intensity in Apocalyptic Song, ‘World on Fire.’” Atwood Magazine, 5 Sept. 2020, atwoodmagazine.com/daughtry-interview-2020-world-on-fire-music/.