3 Doors Down is an American rock band from Escatawpa, Mississippi, that formed in 1996. The band originally consisted of Brad Arnold (lead vocals, drums), Matt Roberts (lead guitar, backing vocals), and Todd Harrell (bass guitar). The band rose to international fame with their first single, "Kryptonite", which placed in the top three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The band then signed with Republic Records and released their debut album, The Better Life, in 2000. The album was the 11th-best-selling album of the year and was certified 6x platinum in the United States. The group was later joined by drummer Richard Liles, who played during the tour for their first album.
The band's second album, Away from the Sun (2002), continued the band's success; it debuted at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 chart, went multi-platinum in the U.S. like its predecessor, and spawned the hits "When I'm Gone" and "Here Without You". The band toured extensively for two years. Daniel Adair played drums on tour from 2002 to 2006. This configuration played nearly 1,000 shows across the world following the release of Away from the Sun. In 2005, Greg Upchurch (Puddle of Mudd) joined to play drums to replace Adair. 3 Doors Down released their third album, Seventeen Days, in 2005. The album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified platinum within one month of release. The band continued their success with their next two albums, 3 Doors Down (2008) and Time of My Life (2011), debuting at No. 1 and No. 3 respectively on the Billboard 200 chart. Their most recent album, Us and the Night, was released in 2016, and they are currently working on new material for their seventh studio album.
The band has been primarily described as post-grunge and alternative rock, while oftentimes edging on soft rock, hard rock, and Southern rock. Their lyrical content contains overarching themes of angst, rebellion, revenge, yearning, and abandonment. To date, 3 Doors Down has sold 30 million copies worldwide.
Original guitarist Matt Roberts departed in 2012, owing to health issues. He was replaced by Chet Roberts, who was formerly Chris Henderson's guitar tech. Harrell was fired from the band in 2013 after being charged with vehicular homicide, and was replaced by bassist Justin Biltonen.