TORONTO - There’s really only one reason to see Daughtry in concert.

And that’s the man himself, Chris Daughtry, whose big, booming rock voice - and some say cute, shiny bald head along with southern charm - propelled him to some of the greatest success an American Idol contestant has ever enjoyed.

And he didn’t even win the darn thing in 2006, getting knocked out when it got down to four semi-finalists.

Still, Daughtry’s 2007 self-titled album became the best-selling album of that year in the U.S., spawned six singles including It’s Not Over, Home, and What I Want (this one featuring Slash on lead guitar) and won countless awards.

Sadly, a band - in this case rounded out by lead guitarist Josh Steely, bassist Josh “JP” Paul, drummer Joey Barnes and rhythm guitarist Brian Craddock - needs to be more than just a great voice.

The group’s meat-and-potatoes rock sound, which has been compared to that of Canada’s Nickelback, whose frontman Chad Kroeger collaborated on Daughtry’s second album, 2009’s Leave This Town, is pretty much just that in a live setting: meat and potatoes rock ‘n’ roll.

They even took a page out of the Nickelback handbook and blew up stuff on stage, like right before What I Want, or the trailing fireworks that punctuated Home during the encore.

But effects can only go so far over the course of an hour-and-45 minute show if the material or showmanship isn’t there.

“Toronto are you going to sing?” said Daughtry, before launching into No Surprise from Leave This Town.

There was a handy catwalk at the front that Daughtry tentatively ventured out on a few times before finally setting up shop with his acoustic guitar for a standout three song set: the twangy Tennessee Line, followed by a decent cover of Phil Collins’ In The Air Tonight, bolstered by the drumming of Barnes at the appropriate time, and then the group’s own Call Your Name.

The 29-year-old North Carolina native definitely as a future as a singer and I’m not convinced he couldn’t one day move into southern rock or even country if he wanted.

I’m just not convinced Daughtry has that much future as a band if they don’t step up their game as songwriters and live performers.

Still, their record company proudly showed off their second platinum album award in Canada right before their encore, taking a picture with the plaque in front of the audience of about 6,000.

And their set closed with the exhuberant Feels Like Tonight and You Don’t Belong, which was followed by the muscular encore of Home and There And Back Again, but by then it almost felt like too little, too late.