Simple Plan is a Canadian rock band from Montréal, Québec, that formed in 1999 consisting of lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier, drummer Chuck Comeau, lead guitarist Jeff Stinco, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Sébastien Lefebvre, and bassist and backing vocalist David Desrosiers. They have released four studio albums: No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls (2002), Still Not Getting Any... (2004), Simple Plan (2008), Get Your Heart On! (2011), and a fifth album to be released in 2015; There is also a EP intitulated Get Your Heart On - The Second Coming! (2013), as well as two widely marketed live albums: Live in Japan 2002 (2003) and MTV Hard Rock Live (2005).
They performed at the Vans Warped Tour every year from 1999 to 2005, in 2011, and in 2013.[4][5] The band also performed at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony,[6] along with The X Factor Australia.[7] In December 2012, they performed at Mood Indigo, the college festival of IIT Bombay in Mumbai, India.[8][9] In 2004, the band participated in the movie New York Minute, starring the Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley.
Simple Plan is strongly connected to Scooby-Doo, having performed the theme song to What's New, Scooby-Doo?
(written by Rich Dickerson), and appeared as themselves in the episode
"Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman". Two of their songs appeared in
chase scenes: "I'd Do Anything" in the episode "It's Mean, It's Green, It's the Mystery Machine", and "You Don't Mean Anything" in "Simple Plan and the Invisible Madman". Also, they have contributed to the Raja Gosnell-directed theatrical films (including an original song, "Don't Wanna Think About You", for Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed).
1999–2001: Formation and early years
In 1993, Lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier and drummer Chuck Comeau were in a band named Reset. In 1998, Comeau left soon after to go to college.[10] In mid 1999, he met with high school friends guitarists Jeff Stinco and Sébastien Lefebvre who were in separate bands of their own, and combined to create Simple Plan.[10] In late 1999, Bouvier and Comeau reacquainted at a Sugar Ray concert[11] and Bouvier left Reset soon after to join Comeau. Bassist and backing vocalist David Desrosiers replaced Bouvier in Reset, but he too left the band six months later to join Simple Plan.[10][11]
This allowed Bouvier, who had doubled as the band's lead vocalist and
bassist, to concentrate on the singing and Stinco, who had doubled as
the band's lead guitarist and backing vocalist, to concentrate on the
guitar.
The origin of the band's name is obscure. Band members have given
various responses, including that the band was their "simple plan to
avoid working at McDonald's", or other fast food restaurant chains. However, the name may be derived from the 1998 film and novel of the same name.[12]
2002–03: No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls
In 2002, Simple Plan released their debut studio album, No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls which led to the subsequent singles: "I'm Just a Kid", "I'd Do Anything", "Addicted", and "Perfect". Simple Plan is noted as saying that they were aiming at a pure pop-punk record.[13] The name of the CD echoes the popular tag line for the sport of rugby, "No pads, no helmets, just balls."
The record was originally released in the United States with twelve
tracks, ending with "Perfect". Enhanced and foreign editions came in
several different versions with up to two additional tracks in addition
to the original twelve. For example, the U.S. release contained the
extra songs "Grow Up", and "My Christmas List", while the UK release
contained the extra songs "One By One" and "American Jesus" (a live
version of a cover of a Bad Religion
song), as well as the two music videos, "I'd Do Anything" that took
place at a concert scenario and "I'm Just a Kid" that took place in a
school setting. The record also contained vocals from singers from two
other pop-punk bands as "I'd Do Anything" included vocals by Mark Hoppus from Blink-182, and "You Don't Mean Anything" included vocals by Joel Madden from Good Charlotte.
In support of the album in 2002, the year it was released, Simple
Plan played more than 300 shows, topped the Alternative New Artist
Chart, and played a sold out tour in Japan.[14] In 2003, the band played as a headliner on the Vans Warped Tour — an appearance memorialized in the comedy slasher film, Punk Rock Holocaust,
in which four of the five band members are killed. They would also play
short stints on the Warped Tour in 2004 and 2005. That same year (2003)
they opened for Avril Lavigne on her "Try To Shut Me Up" Tour.[14] In addition to several headlining tours, they have also opened for Green Day and Good Charlotte.[14]
The album had sold one million copies in early 2003 then went on to
sell over four million copies worldwide, making it the band's best
selling album to date.
2004–05: Still Not Getting Any...
In 2004, Simple Plan released their second album, Still Not Getting Any... which was produced by Bob Rock and led to the subsequent singles, "Welcome to My Life", "Shut Up!", "Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)", "Crazy", and (in some markets) "Perfect World".
According to the bonus DVD of Still Not Getting Any..., while making the CD the members of Simple Plan thought of many names including Get Rich or Die Trying and In The Zone. They decided on the name Still Not Getting Any...
for a list of explained reasons. The most popular and most likely
reason is that the members of Simple Plan thought that they weren't
getting any good reviews, Bouvier once noting that they only had one
recent good review in Alternative Press. Still Not Getting Any...
was a musical departure from their previous album. They still kept
their style of downbeat lyrics matched to upbeat music, but managed to
transcend from the standard pop-punk genre. Although many of the tracks
on this CD still carry the feeling of teen angst that is probably most
noticeable in the song "I'm Just a Kid" from No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls,
the general slant of this album tends toward slightly deeper and more
mature lyrical themes, as well as a more mainstream sound that edges
away from the pure pop-punk style of their last album. Some critics have
pointed towards the inclusion of 'classic' or 'mainstream' rock
elements, claiming the album 'de-emphasizes punk-pop hyperactivity in
favor of straightforward, well-crafted modern rock'.[15]
2006–09: Simple Plan
After nearly a year and a half in support of Still Not Getting Any...,
the band ended most touring in February 2006, playing only a few shows,
taking some time off, and beginning work on their third studio album.
As announced in Bouvier's official MySpace blog, Bouvier headed to Miami
as on about 21 March 2007 to work with an unnamed producer, who later
proved to be Dave Fortman. The band entered the studio for pre-production in Los Angeles on 29 June. On 15 July they returned to Montréal, to record at Studio Piccolo, the same studio at which they had recorded Still Not Getting Any....
They finished recording and headed back to Miami and LA to mix the
album. The final part of making their record was done in New York and it
was officially completed on 21 October, though they later re-entered
the studio to re-record some of the lyrics to the song "Generation."
"When I'm Gone", the first single from Simple Plan was released on 29 October when the band held a fan webcast. Simple Plan was produced by Dave Fortman (Evanescence, Mudvayne), Danjahandz (Timbaland, Justin Timberlake) and Max Martin known for his work with Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson.
On 17 February 2008, Simple Plan achieved their highest charting single
in the UK. After the first two albums just missed the UK top 40, "When I'm Gone"
gave the band their best chart position in the UK, coming in at number
26. On 29 November 2007, the band announced that the CD release would be
postponed from the originally-scheduled 29 January 2008 date to what
proved to be the actual release date of 12 February 2008. The Japanese
version, with two bonus tracks, was released on 6 February 2008.
Simple Plan held an extensive tour schedule in support of their
album. After completing an around-the-world promotional tour, Simple
Plan played several December 2007 holiday shows. After continued
promotional tours in January, Simple Plan played a triple bill in Camden Town,
London on 27 January 2008, with the first show featuring songs from the
band's first CD, the second from the second, and the third from the new
release. The band played four U.S. shows in late February, and
completed a European tour running until late April. The band played four
Japan dates, followed by several European festivals and headlining
dates. On 1 July 2008, the band gave a free concert on Québec City's Plains of Abraham, attracting a crowd of 150,000 to the Canada Day show.[16] After a return to the Far East in late July and early August, the band played a Cross Canada Tour[17] with Faber Drive, Cute is What We Aim For[18] and Metro Station.
After dates in Germany, Mexico, and Australia, the band played its
second full European tour of the year from 28 October to 29 November,
playing Estonia and Poland for the first time. The band also played Tel Aviv and Dubai
in early December—shows at which the band played as a four-piece, with
Desrosiers absent due to a family emergency and Lefebvre on bass.
2010–12: Get Your Heart On!
The band's fourth album Get Your Heart On!
was released on 21 June 2011. Fans who pre-ordered the album were given
access to several other songs from the album prior to the actual
release date. Three tracks were released for those who pre-ordered,
including "You Suck at Love", "Loser of the Year" and "Freaking Me Out"
(feat. Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low). The album marks Simple Plan's
second time since their debut No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls—which featured Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 and Joel Madden of Good Charlotte—to feature collaborations with other artists, including Weezer's Rivers Cuomo, Marie-Mai, Natasha Bedingfield, K'naan and Alex Gaskarth of All Time Low.[19]
On 30 March, the band launched a new official website to hold over
until the "actual new website" was launched, with a new video talking
about the first listen of their new song "Can't Keep My Hands Off You"
(feat. Rivers Cuomo) which is available to stream on their website and
to purchase on iTunes. On 20 April the band announced that "Jet Lag"
would be the album's lead single. The song was released in English and
French versions featuring singers Natasha Bedingfield and Marie-Mai
respectively.[20]
To promote the song, a service called "JetLag Airlines" was set up on
the website, releasing news, lyrics, tracklists and videos regarding the
album. "Jet Lag" premiered on 25 April. On 6 May the band released the
song "You Suck at Love" for free download for those who pre-ordered the
album. The video for "Jet Lag", featuring Natasha Bedingfield, was
released on 4 May, and the video featuring Marie-Mai was released on 16
May on YouTube.
Prior to the release of the album, the band started playing the song "You Suck at Love" live during the Bamboozle Roadshow Tour
in June 2010, and on 11 February 2011 the band released a snippet
preview of the studio version of the song on their website and YouTube
channel. The song was speculated to be the first single of the album.
The band was on the roster of Warped Tour 2011 for selected dates in June and July 2011.[21]
In September and October 2011, Simple Plan performed four shows in
Australia, on their "Get Your Heart On" tour, with supporting bands Tonight Alive and New Empire. During the Australian tour, Jenna McDougall from Tonight Alive featured in Jet Lag. We The Kings supported Simple Plan in Europe on their tour in spring 2012.
2013–present: Fifth studio album
In a 2013 interview with Musichel,[22]
lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier announced that the band was writing their
next studio album and that they were working on a DVD. In November, the
band announced that their new EP is titled Get Your Heart On - The Second Coming! which was released on 3 December 2013.[23]
Consequently, Simple Plan uploaded their DVD to the official Simple
Plan YouTube channel, in high quality for free as a gift to the fans.
In March 2014, the band members started recording the first demos for the album, it was announced through 3OH!3 member Sean Foreman's
Instagram that 3OH!3 are working with Simple Plan on their next album.
This information was later confirmed by Comeau; they estimate to release
the album on the second half of 2015, plus they discussed the band’s
future projects. On 30 July 2014, the band formally stated that they
were writing music for their next album.[24]In December 2014, Simple Plan started to pick songs for their new album.[25]
Musical style
Simple Plan's style of music has been described as pop punk by the Calgary Herald,[26] The Torontoist,[27] Channel News Asia,[28] AllMusic,[29] NME,[30] MTV,[31] The Guardian,[32] the BBC,[33] Rocklouder[34] About.com,[35] Entertainment Weekly[36] and VH1;[37] punk rock revivalist by The New York Times,[38] "Dude Rock" by Digital Spy;[39] with Rolling Stone reviews describing No Helmets No Pads... Just Balls as "new-punk".[40][41] Atlantic Records marketing material has described the band's style as having "classic punk energy and modern pop sonics".[42]
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