Songoftheday 5/11/22 - Well I took a walk around the world to ease my troubled mind, I left my body lying somewhere in the sands of time...

 

 

"Kryptonite" - 3 Doors Down

from the album The Better Life (2000)

Billboard Hot 100 peak: #3 (three weeks)

Weeks in the Top-40: 36

 

Today's song comes from the rock group 3 Doors Down, who came together in southern Mississippi in the mid-1990s with lead singer and drummer Brad Arnold, guitarist Matt Roberts, and bass player Todd Harrell, taking their name for their original lineup. Adding rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson, they attracted local radio and club attention with their song "Kryptonite". Signed to the Republic label on Universal Records, the band released their debut album The Better Life at the start of 2000. The first single from the set was a re-done version of "Kryptonite", the song that brought them to that point. Written by Arnold and produced by Paul Ebersold, Brad is clearly addressing someone, it's unclear if a lover, a friend, or a family member, and asking them will they be there through thick and thin. It's a little unnervy as halfway through he proclaims "If not for me then you'd be dead, I picked you up and put you back on solid ground" as if asking for his own affirmation involves tearing someone else's down. Nevertheless, the brooding rocker struck the heart of the youth needing their post-grunge alternative fix with all the shiny pop nuggets going around, and in return "Kryptonite" proved to be their platinum moment. The music video is an incel's wet dream, it seems...

"Kryptonite" became 3 Doors Down's first hit, reaching the top ten on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 pop chart in November of 2000, staying on the list for over a year (53 weeks). The song was a massive hit at rock radio, topping Billboard's Alternative Rock chart for 11 weeks and Mainstream Rock chart for nine, while climbing to #4 on their older-skewing Adult Top-40 radio format list. Internationally, the single made the top ten in Canada (#6) and Australia (#8), and reached the top-40 in New Zealand (#13) and the Netherlands (#21). The Better Life album, released in February of 2000, peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200 sales tally, going on to sell over seven million copies. Both 3 Doors Down and the album will return to the series.

(6/10)

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Here's the band performing the song at the Billboard Music Awards...

 

 

Next up, in concert in Houston in 2005...

and lastly, for the AOL Sessions series in 2008...

Up tomorrow: Alternative soul "supergroup" wants to shimmy this evening.