The Plain White T's are an American
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...
band from
Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by
high school
A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
friends Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher, and joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly
underground following in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
basements,
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Club (magazine), ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands a ...
, and
bars in its early years.
The band is best known for their
number-one hit song "
Hey There Delilah", which achieved
platinum status in 2007 and earned two
Grammy nominations. The songs "
1, 2, 3, 4" and "
Rhythm of Love" were also certified platinum in 2009 and 2011 respectively.
History
Formation (1997–1999)
The Plain White T's was formed in Lombard in early 1997. The group began as a trio, with Higgenson as singer and guitarist, Fletcher on bass guitar and Tirio on drums. The group played mostly local punk shows in Chicago's suburbs, eventually having gigs at the Metro in Chicago's
Wrigleyville neighborhood. As the band began to establish itself in the local scene, a fourth member, Steve Mast, was recruited. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals.
Higgenson broke several vertebrae in a car crash in 1999 while driving the band's van. He was in a back brace for three months and had to learn to walk again. Higgenson changed his songwriting process, choosing songs that were more meaningful to him, and the band began taking its music career more seriously.
''Come on Over'', ''Stop'' and lineup changes (1999–2003)
In 2000, the band recorded its first album, titled ''Come On Over''. In 2002, the band self-financed the recording of ''Stop'', a full-length album that attracted the attention of
Fearless Records. While the band toured in support for the album, both Fletcher and Mast left in 2003; they were replaced by Tim Lopez and Mike Retondo. Shortly after, Tirio decided to switch from drumming to rhythm guitar and new drummer De'Mar Hamilton was added to the line-up.
''All That We Needed'' (2004–2007)
The 2005 release, ''
All That We Needed'', was the first studio album from the reformed line-up, and featured the single "
Hey There Delilah". In 2006 the band signed to
Hollywood Records and recorded ''
Every Second Counts'', featuring a new version of "Hey There Delilah" with a string section. ''Every Second Counts'' was released in September 2006. That same year, "Hey There Delilah" reached #1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for two weeks. The song was written for the track star
Delilah DiCrescenzo, whom Higgenson had met in 2002. The song received two Grammy nominations, and ''Every Second Counts'' was certified gold. In early 2006, the band teamed up with
Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1997. The band's line-up consists of vocalist and guitarist Justin Pierre, lead guitarist Joshua Cain, keyboardist Jesse Johnson, bassist Matthew Ta ...
for a winter/spring tour.
''Big Bad World'' (2007–2009)
In 2008, the group released the album ''
Big Bad World''. The album had two hit singles: "
1, 2, 3, 4" and "
Natural Disaster
A natural disaster is the very harmful impact on a society or community brought by natural phenomenon or Hazard#Natural hazard, hazard. Some examples of natural hazards include avalanches, droughts, earthquakes, floods, heat waves, landslides ...
". Both were on the
American Top 40
''American Top 40'' (abbreviated to ''AT40'') is an internationally radio syndication, syndicated, independent song countdown radio programming, radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds, and Ron Jacobs (broadcaster), Ron Jaco ...
at numbers 1 and 2 for three consecutive weeks.
By late 2008, the band had joined the ''Rock Band Live'' tour with
Panic! at the Disco,
Dashboard Confessional and
The Cab. Later that year, the band played at the
Give It a Name festival in the UK. In 2007, the band performed the single "Our Time Now" on an episode of the Nickelodeon television series, ''
iCarly
''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...
''. "Our Time Now" was also played in commercials for the ABC Family dramedy series, ''
Greek''.
''The Wonders of the Younger'' and ''Should've Gone to Bed'' EP (2009–2013)
The band's "
Rhythm of Love" single was the first to be released from the group's 2010 album, ''
The Wonders of the Younger''. The song reached number five on the Hot AC chart, and was in the top ten in 2010 as well.
In 2012, the band also covered
the Ramones' "
Pet Sematary" for the
song soundtrack of the 2012 Disney film ''
Frankenweenie''.
''
Should've Gone to Bed'', a four-song EP, was released on April 9, 2013.
''American Nights'', ''Parallel Universe'', and ''Plain White T's'' (2013–present)
The band left
Hollywood Records after creative conflicts with the label during the production of the ''
American Nights'' album. ''American Nights'' was released by
Megaforce Records on March 31, 2015. The release date of ''
American Nights'' was pushed back several times by their former record label,
Hollywood Records. In 2015, they also appeared on
Blues Traveler's album ''
Blow Up the Moon'', co-writing the song "Nikkia's Prom." On November 22, 2015, the band released a music video for "American Nights" featuring Higgenson's son, Lennon.
In May 2017, Plain White T's released a music video for their song "Land of the Living". The band, which had left their label Fearless in 2005, returned to the label. As of April 2017, the band has said that they are currently writing new music. The band performed "
Hey There Delilah" at the 2017
Alternative Press Music Awards. In July 2017, the band closed the
2017 National Scout Jamboree, exactly 10 years after "
Hey There Delilah" was
number-one on the charts. In 2017, Plain White T's re-signed with Fearless Records. Their latest studio album, ''Parallel Universe'', was released on August 24, 2018.
Tirio quit the band in October 2020, leaving Higgenson as the only remaining founding member.
After releasing six singles through 2023, Plain White T's officially released their
self-titled studio album on November 17.
In September 2024, the band covered "
Surface Pressure" for ''
A Whole New Sound'', a compilation album featuring
pop-punk covers of songs from classic Disney films.
Band members
Current members
* Tom Higgenson – lead vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards , rhythm guitar , lead guitar
* Tim G. Lopez – lead guitar, backing and occasional lead vocals
* Mike Retondo – bass, backing vocals
* De'Mar Randell Hamilton – drums, percussion
Former members
* Ken Fletcher – bass
* Dave Tirio – drums, percussion , rhythm guitar
* Steve Mast – lead guitar, backing vocals
Timeline
Discography
* ''Come On Over'' (2000)
* ''Stop'' (2002)
* ''
All That We Needed'' (2005)
* ''
Every Second Counts'' (2006)
* ''
Big Bad World'' (2008)
* ''
Wonders of the Younger'' (2010)
* ''
American Nights'' (2015)
* ''Parallel Universe'' (2018)
* ''
Plain White T's'' (2023)
Television
The following list includes a selection of television appearances made by the band and performances used by those and other shows:
* ''
Greek'' – The band provides "
Our Time Now" written by Mia Koo, Tom Higgenson and Mike Daly, as the theme for commercials and trailers for the show. The group appears playing the song as well as "Hey There Delilah" in the episode "The Rusty Nail". The group plays the songs "Friends Don't Let Friends Dial Drunk" and "Making a Memory" in the episode "Friday Night Frights", and the band also plays the songs "Come Back to Me", "You and Me" and "Let Me Take You There" in the episode "A New Normal". Tom and Dave also appear in the episode "The Great Cappie" as members of the Kappa Tau fraternity.
* ''
iCarly
''iCarly'' is an American teen sitcom created by Dan Schneider, which originally aired on Nickelodeon from September 8, 2007, to November 23, 2012. The series tells the story of Carly Shay (Miranda Cosgrove), a teenager who creates and hosts ...
'' – The band appears as a special guest for the webshow in the episode "iRue the Day", performing "Our Time Now".
*
Hollyoaks
''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which originally began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside (TV series), Brookside''. From 2005 to 2023, episodes h ...
– "Making a Memory" was featured in the final episode to feature
Katy Fox (
Hannah Tointon) in the UK soap opera, symbolizing what should be happening rather than what was happening.
* "Revenge" is used as the theme song to the
NYC Media show ''
Secrets of New York''.
* "
1234" and "Gimme a Chance" were featured in the teen drama ''
90210''.
* "1234" was used in a
Hallmark Cards
Hallmark Cards, Inc. is a Privately held company, privately held, family-owned American company based in Kansas City, Missouri. Founded in 1910 by Joyce Hall, Hallmark is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of greeting cards in the United ...
commercial for
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...
2010 and the music video appeared in ''
Beavis and Butt-Head
''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, Stupi ...
''s 8th season.
* "
Rhythm of Love" was used in a fall 2010 promo for the season two premiere of
''Parenthood'' on NBC, in
''One Tree Hill'', in a fall 2010 promo for the season premiere of ''
Secret Life of the American Teenager'' on ABC Family, in a TV advertisement for a rental DVD company in the UK called
LoveFilm, in the closing credits of the 2011 film ''
No Strings Attached'' and in a TV advertisement for
Estée Lauder Pleasures Eau Fraîche in 2012.
* Lead guitarist Tim Lopez was a bachelor contestant on
NBC's reality show, ''
Ready For Love''.
* The song "Dance Off Time" was played in the season 3, episode 8 of ''
Switched at Birth''.
* The band performed in the 89th
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on November 26, 2015. They performed "
American Nights" which was broadcast on NBC.
Awards
;Grammy Award
, -
, rowspan="2",
2008
, rowspan="2", "
Hey There Delilah"
,
Song of the Year
,
, -
,
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals
,
;Tony Awards
;Teen Choice Awards
, -
,
2007
, "Hey There Delilah"
, Choice Summer Song
,
;American Music Award
, -
,
2007
, Plain White T's
,
New Artist of the Year
,
;MTV Video Music Award
, -
,
2007
, "Hey There Delilah"
,
Monster Single of the Year
,
;
MtvU Woodie Awards
, -
, 2006
, Best Emerging Artist
, The Breaking Woodie
,
References
External links
Official website*
Official French Blog
*
French blog with songs and lyrics
Plain White T's Interview – Dec 2010 – Hit The Floor MagazinePlain White T's photographyInterview with Plain White T'sInterview with Plain White T's by Jamie Pham on TheSoCalSceneTim Lopez's wedding featured in Inside Weddings Magazine
{{Authority control
American power pop groups
Fearless Records artists
Hollywood Records artists
Musical groups established in 1997
Musical groups from Chicago
Pop punk groups from Illinois
Villa Park, Illinois
Alternative rock groups from Illinois
1997 establishments in Illinois