It wasn't only the audience that was stunned by rocker Chris Daughtry's exit from American Idol on Wednesday, Chris himself was shocked.


He said on Thursday:

"It was definitely a gut-wrenching moment. I wasn't expecting it, not even a little bit."

After receiving so much praise from the judges and fans during the competition, Daughtry said it's hard to imagine not being the next American Idol.

"It's weird because you have all these people telling you for weeks now, 'Oh man you're gonna win this thing. You're gonna win this thing. This is your thing to win.' And when you have so many people telling you that, you automatically assume this is what American wants."

He went on to say:

"Everyone was pretty much speechless. Randy was saying, 'Don't worry about it man you're gonna be fine.' Paula was crying too much to really say anything. And Simon was pretty shocked. He said he didn't see this coming and he just wished me the best of luck."

But has the luck already started. The band 'Fuel' has offered him a spot as their frontman. They first hinted that they were eyeing Daughtry in March when the group's Web site said they were looking for a singer and liked his performing style.


The band's manager, Paul Geary, told PEOPLE:

"He's perfect for Fuel. He has the right voice, the right look. It would be perfect."

So maybe things are going to work out well for him after all.