Chris Daughtry

Everybody saw Chris Daughtry being one of the three finalists in season five, so you can imagine the massive wave of shock sweeping the globe right now, as Chris Daughtry makes an impromptu exit from this years American Idol!

This comes as the latest in a string of surprising results on the show, having seen Underwood-esque Kelly Pickler bow out, not to mention the final curtain being drawn on the shows teenage soulstress Paris Bennett.

Indeed previous weeks have meant it was anyone’s guess as to who could have gone on Friday night. But it was to everyone’s great surprise to hear that Daughtry missed a place in the final three, losing out to Katherine McPhee.

Daughtry showed massive promise during his time on the show, and his dedication to the genre of rock has won him hordes of fans. He was celebrated for having a definite idea of who he was as a performer, and his apt ability to diversify different styles of music to suit his own rocky style.

You have to wonder though, whether Daughtry’s premature exit from the show is nothing more than a blessing in disguise. After all, could you see such an accomplished performer remaining locked into the boundaries set by American Idol?

I much more imagine the singer being made front man of someone like rock band Fuel, as was whisperingly suggested earlier in the show.

Yes, certainly, as one door closes, a hundred more open for Chris Daughtry, and though he wont be livening up our Friday evenings in for some time, I predict we’ll be seeing a lot more of him in the near future!

The audience gasped and shouted no, host Ryan Seacrest asked a shell-shocked-looking Daughtry, “Surprised?” “A little bit,” he answered.

Judge Paula Abdul grew tearful. The other contestants, Elliott Yamin, Katharine McPhee, and Taylor Hicks also looked stunned.

Tuesday night, Daughtry’s rendition of Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds” drew unanimous praise from the three judges, prompting Abdul to tell the 26-year-old from McLeansville, N.C.,: “See ya in the finals.”

Cowell was his usual self when it came to assessing Daughtry’s second song, “A Little Less Conversation,” however. Simon Cowell considered it “flat” and “not as good as the first.”

Still, before the booted contestant was revealed on Wednesday, Simon said McPhee should be the one to go.

On Tuesday, McPhee, 21, forgot the words to one of her Elvis songs prompting Simon to say: “It hasn’t been one of your best nights,” said Cowell.

The finalist will be named May 24.