3 Doors Down

Essential Albums

Artist Playlists

About 3 Doors Down

By the mid-’90s, the grunge revolution had reached every nook and cranny of the United States, including the tiny town of Escatawpa, Mississippi. It’s here, among a population barely cracking 3,500, that the members of 3 Doors Down came together and forged a sound inspired by their Seattle idols. The post-grunge band quickly grew into a regional sensation, packing rock clubs along the Gulf Coast. They broke nationally when their debut single, 2000’s “Kryptonite,” became one of the biggest rock hits of the decade, and the accompanying album, The Better Life, sold in excess of 7,000,000 copies. The band capitalized on the sudden rush of success with an impressive string of hits, including “Here Without You,” “Let Me Go,” and “When I’m Gone,” that feature what would become their stylistic trademarks: understated melodies and sturdily constructed grooves that serve to accentuate singer Brad Arnold’s thunderous baritone. Yet what’s missing is key to understanding their uniqueness. Unlike so many of their post-grunge peers, who fuel their music with rattling angst, 3 Doors Down exude an earnestness reflective of their small-town Southern roots. Arnold’s soul-searching lyrics play a big role in this regard; on the 2008 hit “It’s Not My Time,” for example, he openly grapples with questions of redemption, faith, and resiliency. Even when 3 Doors Down reimagined their style for 2016’s Us and the Night, an album pulsating with sleek dance-rock grooves that evoke images of big-city nights, they remained grounded in the heartland values with which they grew up.

ORIGIN
Escatawpa, MS, United States
FORMED
1996
GENRE
Rock

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada