Finishing fourth on ‘American Idol’ isn’t necessarily detrimental to a music career, especially for singers whose registers are best suited for rock.

Things have turned out just fine for Chris Daughtry, season five’s fourth-place finalist. And so far, the likelihood for sustained success is looking good for the season 10 equivalent, James Durbin, who recently signed a contract with Wind-up Records.

“James is a rock star,” says Wind-up’s Gregg Wattenberg, who coincidentally had a hand in writing the hit ‘It’s Not Over’ for Daughtry. “We’re all excited to have him as part of the family and can’t wait to let his fans hear his debut album.”

Durbin was the resident hard-rocker during the most recent season of ‘Idol,’ performing songs by Aerosmith and 30 Seconds to Mars and also jamming with Judas Priest during the finale.

He’s scheduled to record the vocals for his Wind-up debut next week with producer Howard Benson, whose studio credits include albums by My Chemical Romance and, yes, the aforementioned Daughtry.

“Wind-up Records isn’t a label — it’s a family, and I wanted to be part of that,” Durbin says on the Wind-up site. “They are true music fans [who] want to see me have a long career as an artist.”

Durbin’s Wind-up debut is scheduled for a November release.

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