"I needed a change," he said. "I started hearing these new sounds over my voice, and it was so inspiring. There wasn't just one style either. It was a completely different vibe all around. I really wanted to pursue that to the fullest. This is probably one of the most inspiring records I've ever done."

Daughtry had a hand in writing all 12 of the tracks on the album. In between touring, he'd fly to Los Angeles to meet Johnson, Hollander and Kelly in the studio, each writer would pushing him in a new direction.

"As fans of the band, they [the songwriters] would do things that I normally wouldn't do, and that's why it was so exciting," he said. "I was much more open to explore a new style of writing with this album. Whether it was on keyboard, piano, or even banjo in some cases, the soundscape really felt alive. We'd write a song together and cut the vocals right then and there to capture that energy. It happened so quickly. We didn't need to overthink anything. The magic was there."

Daughtry's current single "Long Live Rock & Roll," written with Johnson and Hollander, is an example of just this. The folk-tinged track includes hand-clapped rhythms, banjo and arena-ready anthems, bringing to mind acts like Mumford & Sons and the Lumineers.

"It was so far out of my normal comfort zone," he said. "Everything has always been so serious in the past, but rock 'n' roll is meant to be fun. I wanted to cut loose and have a good time. We went places I'd never been musically."