Chris Daughtry Sued by Ex-Bandmates Over Unpaid Royalties

American Idol alum comes under fire for allegedly defrauding ex-collaborators out of proceeds from songs they wrote before the singer hit it big

By Alexis L. Loinaz Apr 09, 2012 12:36 PMTags
Chris DaughtryChelsea Lauren/WireImage

Chris Daughtry seems to have struck a bad chord with his former bandmates.

According to reports, the singer has been sued by three of his ex-collaborators, who claim that Daughtry stiffed them out of proceeds from four songs that they wrote together as a band before he hit it big on American Idol.

Bassist Ryan Andrews, drummer Scott Crawford and guitarist Mark Perry filed the suit on Thursday in Guilford County, in the singer's home state of North Carolina.

The trio, who with Daughtry were part of the band Absent Element, accuse the singer of "constructive fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, unfair trade practices, and other deceptive and wrongful conduct."

The singer has addressed the allegations with a statement on his website, saying: "I am very hurt by these false accusations. The songs listed in this lawsuit were written solely by me and no one else and at this time, I have no further comment."

Daughtry recently kicked off his spring tour and is coming off of the release of his third album, Break the Spell, which was certified gold within a month.

Let's hope Simon Cowell's merciless slams on Idol have taught Daughtry how to toughen up!

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