He may sing “Waiting for Superman,” but this year it was Batman that made one of Chris Daughtry’s childhood dreams become a reality.
“I had my first published cover for DC Comics and my favorite character, Batman. As cliche as it sounds, it was absolutely a dream come true. Something I’ve wanted to do since I was a 5-year-old kid with crayons is draw comic books,” Daughtry said recently by phone. “And I got to collaborate with my hero Jim Lee. He was extremely helpful in getting the cover to look the way it did.”
This spring, Daughtry’s artwork appeared as a variant cover to “Batman #50.”
“It was a fun, stressful experience. I don’t draw every day like these cats out there that do it for a living. So what takes them a day to do takes me about a month. I was definitely not getting a lot of sleep the last week before the deadline,” he said. “I was also in the studio during the day, writing and recording. It was definitely me doing three jobs at once: Daddy, artist and recording artist.”
The Grammy-nominated rocker’s band is on the road in support of “It’s Not Over … The Hits So Far,” released in February. It features such megahits as “Home,” “What About Now” and “Feels Like Tonight.”
Daughtry will stop in Elgin, performing at 7 p.m. Saturday in Festival Park as part of Grand Victoria Casino’s Summer Concert Series. Also performing are Hinder and Dishwalla. Gates open at 5 p.m.
“We’re kind of in transition right now,” he said. “So we’re trying to play songs from all four albums, and of course the new songs from the greatest hits record. We haven’t started previewing any of the new stuff yet, but once it’s ready, we can’t wait to get it out there.
“It’s an energetic show. It’s fun. We have a good time on stage. We throw in some cover songs. You never know what you’re going to see on stage — we try to keep it pretty spontaneous,” Daughtry said.
The band, he said, has been working on a new record off and on for a while.
“I just moved from L.A. to Nashville, and that took a chunk of time away from my work schedule,” Daughtry said. “So we’re going to be getting back into the studio sometime in September and finish writing stuff and start tracking hopefully by the end of the year.”
While he couldn’t offer specifics, he said much like the last record — 2013’s “Baptized” — the new one is going to be “very different.” .
“I think in some ways we’re kind of back to our rock roots,” Daughtry said. “It’s definitely more of a rock record than our last record. That’s all I can really say right now.”
It’s been 10 years since the band Daughtry released its first album — the fastest selling debut rock album in Soundscan history. It was released just months after Daughtry was the fourth-place finalist on the fifth season of “American Idol.” The singing competition ended in April after 15 seasons on television..
“This particular last season I was fortunate enough to be home enough to, a) keep up with it, and b) I got to perform on it and be a mentor,” Daughtry said. “That was a cool way to close the book. That was kind of a nice moment of closure and was a lot of fun. And I’ve got nothing but great memories of being on the show. It’s always going to be a part of my history and coming-of-age story, if you will.”
Over the past decade, Daughtry has collaborated with numerous artists including Slash, Third Day, Timbaland, Vince Gill and Carlos Santana. Asked which artists he would like to work with in the future, he made a direct appeal.
“Pink needs to call me. Pink, Alecia, Pink, however you want to be referred to as, please give me a call. I’d like to do a song with you,” Daughtry said. “I think we both live in Nashville now, so that should be easy.”
Along with working on the new record, Daughtry has been “doing auditions, meetings and waiting for the right role to come along.” Earlier this year he played the role of Judas Iscariot in Fox’s “The Passion.” Soon his voice will be heard in an upcoming children’s movie.
“There is a Netflix animated film that is coming out sometime soon that I did one of the main character voices for,” Daughtry said. “I don’t know the final title or the release date.”
With so much going on, when he does have free time, it is spent with his family.
“My free time at home is spent with the kids. Right now we’re in the process of the move. It’s actually been way busier at home than it is on the road,” he said.
Currently the band is just performing weekend concerts, he said.
“Once we get the new record out, we’ll be hitting the road hard next year,” Daughtry said.
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When possible, he also spends some downtime drawing.
He’s hoping to get a website set up for just his artwork, he said. While having his art appear on an edition of “Batman” is “something I’ll never forget,” there are no immediate plans for more superhero covers.
“As far as comics are concerned, nothing right now. But there’s stuff coming up in the future. I just can’t really talk about it right now,” he said.
Daughtry said he feels lucky he is able to do so many of the things he dreamed of as a child.
“I’m kinda dabbling in all the things that I kinda wanted to do as a kid,” Daughtry said. “I am very fortunate. I have way more gifts than I deserve, for sure.”
Kathy Cichon is a freelance writer.
Daughtry with Hinder and Dishwalla
When: 7 p.m. Sept. 3
Where: Festival Park, 250 S. Grove Ave., Elgin
Tickets: $50-$85 reserved; $30 lawn
Information: 847-468-7000 or gvctickets.com