Daughtry released Baptized in the United States on November 19, 2013, through RCA Records. Their fourth studio album grew out of writing sessions whose recordings became the finished tracks. Synthesizers, programmed rhythms and acoustic guitars took a larger role, widening the band's approach while keeping Chris Daughtry's voice at the center.
The lead single, “Waiting for Superman,” made that change clear. Daughtry wrote it with Martin Johnson and Sam Hollander, with Johnson producing. Its electronic production placed the familiar vocal delivery in a different setting, giving listeners an early introduction to the album's pop direction.
The speed of the project surprised its singer. Daughtry told M Music & Musicians that he had begun writing in January 2013 with a possible release toward the end of 2014 in mind. The plan involved demos followed by recording, but the sessions kept producing performances he wanted to preserve. “Essentially, I would record as I went,” he explained. The label's enthusiasm helped accelerate the timetable, turning what might have been a longer development process into an album released that same year.
That decision also changed the band's involvement in recording. In his November 2013 interview with SongwriterUniverse, Daughtry said he had expected to take the new material back into the studio with his bandmates after label approval. RCA/19 wanted to retain the recordings it had already heard, and the planned band sessions didn't happen. He described feeling uneasy about that outcome and discussing it with the musicians, who supported the approach. Choosing different producers had been deliberate; leaving his bandmates out of those final recording sessions hadn't been the original plan.
The new writing partnerships gave the album its identity, too. Claude Kelly was among Daughtry's early collaborators, working with him on “Broken Arrows” and then the title track. Daughtry recalled in M Music & Musicians that both remained personal favorites after the rest of the material was finished. He had wanted “Baptized” to name the album as soon as he'd written it. He was also trying to make his lyrics more visual, telling stories through scenes and allowing more humor into songs that might previously have taken a more serious turn.
“Long Live Rock & Roll” gave that lighter approach a clear outlet. Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in 2013, Daughtry described the song as a humorous account of his own introduction to music, using references to rock history to tell a personal story. Fans who preordered the album on iTunes received the song ahead of release, giving them another side of the project before the full record arrived.
The live show still made room for the earlier records on their own terms. In an April 2014 interview with Myglobalmind, Daughtry said the band generally kept older songs close to their original arrangements because those were the versions audiences knew. An occasional acoustic treatment was an option, but they hadn't rebuilt the older material around the new album's production.
Two Baptized tracks later appeared on the band's 2016 compilation It's Not Over… The Hits So Far: “Waiting for Superman” and “Long Live Rock & Roll.”
