WWE star Jericho’s latest smash in music headlining Fozzy
LANCASTER, PA. >> Chris Jericho stood with his back to the hyperactive crowd, his arms outstretched and lights flashing on his jacket. The classic Jericho pose had been an anticipated staple at WWE arenas for years.
Posturing in a blinged-out $15,000 jacket (so he bragged each week on “Raw”) earned him “Jericho” chants from wrestling fans, but the twosyllable shout from about 400 hundred sweat-soaked faithful recently stuffed inside a sweaty club were for “Fozzy! Fozzy!”
“I could just stand here and listen you to say ‘Fozzy’ all night long, man!” he told the crowd.
Jericho’s been billed as Y2J and The Man of 1,004 Holds. But these days, the entertainer who just last month went hold-for-hold at WrestleMania has traded wrestling for rock and is on tour with his long-time metal band, Fozzy.
“Ithinkalotoftimes,when people hear Fozzy, they think I’m going to be on stage in spandex, doing body slams, and singing about jumping off the top rope,” Jericho said.
Mainstream music has started to pick up on what true metal aficionados have known for years; Fozzy can rock, and the band’s latest single “Judas” just may be Jericho’s biggest smash hit outside the ring.
“We’ve had some success with some of our songs, but this one has gone through the roof,” Jericho said inside his tour bus. “It’s really taken us to a whole different level.”
The music video for “Judas” has hit 3.5 million views on YouTube in just two weeks and was the theme song for the WWE Network show NXT TakeOver: Chicago. Fozzy had a spot this month on the Carolina Rebellion festival headlined by Soundgarden, Def Leppard and Avenged Sevenfold. There are other festival dates sprinkled on the tour that included stops in Pittsburgh, Des Moines, Iowa; and Asbury Park, New Jersey.