Daughtry Sued by His Pre-‘American Idol’ Bandmates Over Royalties

Chris Daughtry made a sizable chunk of change after the wildly popular reality competition 'American Idol' launched his career in 2006. Now the members of his former band Absent Element are seeking royalties for music they claimed to have penned with Daughtry that he later released as a solo artist.

It has to be difficult when your frontman goes off to be a solo artist and releases a multiplatinum album without you, as Chris Daughtry did with his post-Idol debut 'Daughtry.' The split would be even harder to swallow if that very same frontman used songs that he wrote with you. That hypothetical nightmare is the exact situation that Daughtry's former bandmates from Absent Element find themselves in -- if it turns out that the real "Absent Element" is the royalties in this case.

The Charlotte Observer reports that three of Daughtry's former mates are looking to enjoy a substantial payday over four songs they claim to have written with Daughtry. Absent Element guitarist Mark Perry, bassist Ryan Andrews and drummer Scott Crawford filed a lawsuit with last week claiming that accuses Daughtry of "constructive fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, unfair trade practices, and other deceptive and wrongful conduct."

“I am very hurt by these false accusations," Daughtry said in an official statement on his website. "The songs listed in this lawsuit were written solely by me and no one else and at this time, I have no further comment.”

Chris Daughtry fronted Absent Element prior to his ascension to the 'American Idol' finals in 2006, where he placed fourth. The group released the album 'Uprooted' in 2005, which did contain the songs 'Conviction' and 'Breakdown' -- the tracks were combined and included on Daughtry's solo debout under the name of the latter.