'I Gave Myself Permission to Be Vulnerable' - Chris Daughtry Opens Up About Songs on Latest EPs

When Chris Daughtry set out to finish his latest EP, Shock to the System (Part Two), he admitted that it felt like a daunting task.

"How are we going to top the first half," Daughtry said on Loudwire Nights on Wednesday (Oct. 1) about following up Shock to the System (Part One). Listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

"But then I looked at it like, okay, if I look at this as a whole album, we've got the first half and that's great. We'll call that the singles and the rest can just be — we don't have to put the pressure on ourselves to be great."

Taking that pressure off of his back, Daughtry ended up finishing Part Two — and he couldn't be prouder of the result.

"The songs came out better than I could have ever imagined," he admitted to Loudwire Nights host Chuck Armstrong.

"In a lot of ways, I'm even more proud of the second half than I was the first half — and even more excited about it."

For Daughtry, pouring his personal life and experiences into his music isn't anything new, but with the songs on both Part One and Part Two, he seemed to take that connection to a much deeper level.

"It actually became easier once I gave myself permission to be that vulnerable and not be afraid to say the hard things," Daughtry shared.

"I think I went for years where I would kind of placate to a certain audience or feeling like I can't say that because that's going to be taken this way or whatever."

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Daughtry admitted when he stopped doing that, his songs took on a much more personal connection.

"I allowed myself to be more how I speak in real life, you know what I mean," he said.

"Whatever I was feeling, not be afraid to say it."

What Else Did Chris Daughtry Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• What it was like paying tribute to Ozzy Osbourne the night of his death when he dedicated "Home" to the legend: "I just remember getting ready to play the song and I couldn't help but thank it felt like I could honor him in that way, in that moment, and that was the best I could do."
• What runs through his head when he thinks about the lasting impact of "Home": "I was just trying to write a pop song. I remember it was my first time trying to write a song that sounded like it could be on the radio ... Everything I had written up to that point was on the heavier side and I was just like, I wasn't even trying to be serious. It just kind of came out. I just remember not really working very hard on writing it and it was one of those songs that kind of fell in my lap."
• Whether or not there will be a Part Three to the Shock to the System EPs: "We don't know yet. There is potential extra — we'll just leave it there. I don't have a definitive answer for that yet, but I can't definitively say 'no' either."

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Chris Daughtry joined Loudwire Nights on Wednesday, Oct. 1; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.