The quintessential pop-rockers who have sold millions of albums worldwide — 13 million to be exact — have earned that distinction by consistently producing music with a signature blend of catchy riffs, hard-edged soul and gripping lyrics.

It’s the same formula that resulted in their breakthrough hit "Kryptonite" and that has once again propelled 3DD into the No. 1 chart spot with their first self-titled major-label release, the group's fourth studio album and what some consider their "most definitive."

“What it took was for us to take some real time off, go home, and then gather again as the band we know how to be,” says lead singer/songwriter Brad Arnold. “It was so appropriate to self-title the album because, after taking what amounted to almost a year-long break, we were hungry for each other’s company."

So hungry, the band rented an old farmhouse south of Franklin, Tennessee, where they would not only write songs, but also live together for a while. “The farmhouse was great because it became a wholehearted experience where we just focused on the writing," adds Arnold. "It was such a close-knit atmosphere, reconnecting us after we had been doing our own thing for a while. It set a cool mood for the entire record, writing out in the country around this fireplace in the basement. Just locking ourselves away and doing it.”

But then it got too cold, so the fivesome headed to Orlando to finish recording 3 Doors Down. The result: radio gems like the CD's first single, "It's Not My Time," the contemplative “Pages" and "Citizen/Soldier,'' a tribute to the National Guard that's been used on recruitment ads.

Hailing from the small town of Escatawpa, Missisissippi, 3 Doors Down formed in 1995 as a trio consisting of vocalist and then-drummer Brad Arnold, guitarist Matt Roberts and bassist Todd Harrell. To beef up their sound, rhythm guitarist (and childhood friend) Chris Henderson came on board just before they landed a recording deal on Universal Republic. Ex-Puddle of Mudd drummer Greg Upchurch joined the lineup in 2005.

In 2000, they released their six-times platinum debut, The Better Life, which, in addition to "Kryptonite," included the mega-hits "Loser," "Duck and Run" and "Be Like That." All four songs dominated the Billboard charts for more than a year, earning Arnold the Pop Songwriter of the Year crown at the 50th Annual BMI Pop Awards ceremony.

Their 2002 follow-up, Away From The Sun, sold an impressive four million copies and produced such chart-toppers as "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You," BMI's 2004 Pop Song of the Year.

In between, they issued the live EP Another 700 Miles, returning to the studio with 2005's Seventeen Days, which, like 3 Doors Down, also debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Seventeen went platinum in its first week of release on the strength of radio smash "Let Me Go."

While demanding fans have kept these tireless road warriors on the stage playing more than 200 shows per year, the group's members still devote time to their homegrown organization, The Better Life Foundation, which has raised more than $2 million for local children’s charities since its inception in 2003, proof that these Mississippi boys have never lost their small-town identity.

With 3 Doors Down already destined to be the group’s masterwork, the quintet also offers proof that hard work and making plain ol’ good music really do pay off.

“This truly is our defining moment as musicians," drummer Greg Upchurch concludes. "The writing, the recording, the level of collaboration was truly an all-around band effort. This CD is living proof of how good this band can be.”

WE BELONG TOGETHER
Darnell Bristol
Mariah Carey
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds
Sid "Uncle Jamz" Johnson
Patrick L. Moten
Sandra Sully
Bobby Womack
ABKCO Music, Inc.
Ballads By Design Publishing
Hip Chic Music
Mister Johnson's Jams Music
Rye Songs
Songs of Universal, Inc.
Sony/ATV Songs LLC
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Mariah Carey
Island Records

YOU AND ME
Jude Cole
Jason Wade
Dimensional Songs of the Knoll
G-Chills Music
Jude Cole Music
Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Lifehouse
Geffen Records

Pop Awards Photo Slideshow

2005 BMI Pop Awards Song List

Paul Simon's BMI Awards List

2005 Lennon Scholarship Winners

Del Bryant, President & CEO, and Barbara Cane, Vice President & General Manager, Writer/Publisher Relations, Los Angeles, hosted the dinner event. The writers and publishers of the 50 most performed songs of the past year were recognized, plus the overall song, songwriter and publisher winners. A highlight of the gala, staged at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, was a tribute to songwriter/artist Paul Simon, who was named a BMI Icon.

3 Doors Down	Lil Jon

"Here Without You" won the title of BMI Pop Song of the Year, with songwriters Brad Arnold, Todd Harrell, Chris Henderson and Matt Roberts of the group 3 Doors Down accepting; this distinction is given to the song tallying the most feature broadcast performances during the eligibility period. Published by Escatawpa Songs and Songs of Universal, Inc. and included on 3 Doors Down's Republic/Universal CD Away From the Sun, "Here Without You" has already been certified as a BMI Million-Air (with two million broadcast performances) and was previously honored as BMI's 2004 Most Performed Song on College Radio. Lead singer Brad Arnold was also named Songwriter of the Year at the 2002 BMI Pop Awards.

Nickelback	Paul Simon

Lil Jon wrote four songs on the Most Performed List of 50 to collect the BMI Pop Songwriter of the Year crown. The songs earning him the title were "Damn!" (YoungBloodZ featuring Lil Jon), "Freek-A-Leek" (Petey Pablo), "Get Low" (Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz featuring the Ying Yang Twins) and "Yeah!" (Usher featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon).

Of the 88 songwriters who received 2005 BMI Pop Awards, two were triple winners: Chad Kroeger (SOCAN) of Nickelback and Sham. Other writer/artists earning awards included Michelle Branch, Five for Fighting, Linkin Park, Sarah McLachlan, Pete Townshend (PRS), Shania Twain, Maroon 5, Los Lonely Boys, R. Kelly, Seal (PRS), Lil' Kim, Evanescence, the White Stripes, Fountains of Wayne, Mario Winans and the Black Eyed Peas.

Paul Simon was saluted as a BMI Icon for his "unique and indelible influence on generations of music makers." In a career dating back to the 1950s, Paul Simon has established himself among the best and most popular songwriters of the rock era. His songs have bookmarked moments in the lives of millions, whether with words of love, longing, humor, politics or, above all, hope. He has incorporated the rhythms of his native New York with those from as far away as Brazil and South Africa.

For his efforts, he is a 12-time Grammy winner, a two-time Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee (as Simon & Garfunkel and as a solo artist), the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award, an Oscar nominee, an Emmy Award winner, and the much-honored co-founder of the Children's Health Fund. His songwriting catalog has earned 39 BMI Awards -- including multiple citations for "Bridge Over Troubled Water," "Mrs. Robinson," "Scarborough Fair" and "The Sound of Silence" -- and amassed nearly 75 million broadcast airplays, according to BMI surveys.

After a video tribute, the musical salute to Simon featured performances by 2004 Icon recipient Brian Wilson (who sang "The Sound of Silence"), British sensation Joss Stone ("Mother and Child Reunion"), Adam Levine and James Valentine of the Grammy-winning band Maroon 5 ("Homeward Bound") and soul gospel diva Yolanda Adams ("Bridge Over Troubled Water").

Simon enters the elite company of previously praised BMI Icons, including Bill Anderson, James Brown, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Loretta Lynn, Carlos Santana, Dolly Parton, Al Green, Van Morrison and Brian Wilson.

EMI Music Publishing (EMI-Blackwood Music, Inc./EMI-Stone Agate Music), with 11 award songs, claimed the BMI Pop Publisher of the Year prize, given to the publishing concern with the highest percentage of copyright ownership in award songs. EMI's winning songs were "100 Years," "Bright Lights," "Damn!," "Freek-A-Leek," "Get Low," "Heaven," "I Don't Wanna Know," "I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Into You," "Unwell" and "Where Is the Love." EMI Chairman & CEO Martin Bandier accepted the crystal trophy.

Other publishers garnering three or more awards were Universal Music Publishing (Irving Music/Songs of Universal, Inc./Universal-Songs of PolyGram International, Inc.); Warner/Chappell Music Group (Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. and Rick's Music, Inc.); Careers-BMG Music Publishing, Inc./Loco De Amor Music/Zomba Songs Inc.; and White Rhino Music.

In addition to Song of the Year "Here Without You," BMI recognized the performance achievements of two other songs. "Someday" by Nickelback earned Most Performed Song on College Radio kudos for songwriters Chad Kroeger, Mike Kroeger, Ryan Peake and Ryan Vikedal of the group and publisher Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'," the most performed composition in BMI's repertoire of 6.5 million musical works, was certified as a 10 Million-Air, meaning it has been broadcast 10 million times. "You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'" was written by Phil Spector, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, and published by ABKCO Music, Inc., Mother Bertha Music, Inc., and Screen Gems-EMI Music, Inc.

Phil Spector	Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil

Another special presentation was the announcement of the First Place winner of the 2005 John Lennon Scholarship Awards. Sydney Price, a 17-year-old junior at Booker T. Washington High School for the Visual and Performing Arts in

Pictured at Ocean Way Studios are BMI's Mark Mason, 3 Doors Down's Matt Roberts and Brad Arnold, BMI's David Preston, 3 Doors Down's Todd Harrell and Chris Henderson. photo: Brian Tipton

The band enjoyed Most Performed Song on College Radio kudos for "When I'm Gone" at BMI's Pop Awards in 2004. Brad Arnold, the group's primary songwriter, was also named Songwriter of the Year at the 2002 Pop Awards for the BMI Award-winners "Be Like That," "Duck and Run," "Kryptonite" and "Loser."]]> 2004-11-22T17:00:00+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/podcasts/container/133404 Brad Arnold discusses On making an album that millions will hear Arnold, Brad, Pop, In Their Own Words, Video, 2004, BMI Pop Awards 2004-05-11T18:00:00+00:00