Chris Daughtry is nursing a bruised chin.

The 26-year-old former American Idol frontrunner, whose jaw hit the floor when he was voted off the Fox singing contest Wednesday night, says he's still in pain.

"It was definitely a gut-wrenching moment and I wasn't expecting it -- not even a little bit. It was definitely a low blow for me," he told reporters yesterday morning.

"I'm bummed and I'm disappointed, but I'm trying to see the bigger picture."

The North Carolina rocker, who believed he would win Idol, thinks his fans assumed he was safe and, therefore, didn't vote.

"I think people thought I was just a shoo-in and they didn't have to vote as hard. I think that was the downfall," he says, adding the Idol judges, who constantly praise America for making the right decisions, were also blown away by the results.

"Everyone was pretty much speechless. Paula (Abdul) was crying too much to really say anything and Simon (Cowell) was pretty shocked."

While Daughtry's Idol dreams have been crushed, his music career is far from over.

Yesterday, while making an appearance on Extra, members of Fuel officially offered him a job as the group's lead singer.

The band, which began expressing an interest in Daughtry after he covered their song Hemorrhage (In My Hands) on Idol, says his performance resulted in a major increase in sales of the six-year-old single.

"Part of me is debating, 'Do I go and do my own thing ... or do I get in on someone else's success?'

"It's one of those things that I'm really unsure about right now," Daughtry says.

"I am a songwriter myself, so to be able to launch my own career would be my dream.

"I just have to take everything into consideration and be very careful about what I choose to do. I don't want to make a rash decision and regret it later."

The fact famous rock bands are now courting Daughtry is a bit ironic.

Last year he tried out for the CBS series Rock Star, which searched the globe for contestants to compete to be the new lead singer of INXS, and was turned away.

"It didn't go too well. I didn't make it on that show and I realize (now) that was because I was suppose to be on this show," he says. "This is a great opportunity to launch my career."

Daughtry's departure from Idol leaves Katharine McPhee, Elliott Yamin and Taylor Hicks in the running to become this season's Idol.

Although Daughtry says he can't believe he was sent packing, he refuses to discuss who he thought was going to be voted off.

"You know what? I won't say."

When asked to weigh in on the final three and their chances at winning, Daughtry also declines: "I really don't think that's relevant right now."

Next week the Idol wannabes will each sing three songs - one selected by famed producer Clive Davis, one by the judges and one of their own choosing.