Brent Stephen Smith (born January 10, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the

lead vocalist The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

and one of the main songwriters of the rock band

Shinedown Shinedown is an American rock band from Jacksonville, Florida, formed by singer Brent Smith in 2001 after the dissolution of his previous band, Dreve. Smith, still under contract with record label Atlantic Records, recruited the band's original ...

Early life

Smith was born in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

and is an only child.

Career

Prior to fronting the rock band Shinedown, Smith had a high school band named Blind Thought and later was the lead singer in a band called Dreve, which Atlantic Records had signed. Atlantic Records forced Brent to either find another band or lose his record deal. He then went to Los Angeles, California to record with well-known producer Desmond Child. Shortly after returning home to Knoxville, Tennessee, Atlantic dropped the band but retained Smith. He put together Shinedown shortly after. He was soon given a developmental contract by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. Smith moved to

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, and began working on the project in 2001. Brent Smith 2012

The first member he recruited was bassist Brad Stewart through local Jacksonville music producer Pete Thornton. Smith and Stewart began recording demos together in a small local studio, whose owner recommended they meet with her fiancé, guitarist Jasin Todd, who Smith brought in as the third member. The original lineup was rounded out by drummer Barry Kerch, who was the seventh drummer the band had auditioned for the spot. The four worked together on creating demos, and submitted their work-in-progress material to Atlantic, who approved of the material and green-lighted a full-length album. The band's debut album, '' Leave a Whisper'' was released May 27, 2003. The album was eventually certified platinum by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in the United States, indicating sales of over one million. Shinedown has since released six more studio albums: '' Us and Them'' (2005), ''

The Sound of Madness ''The Sound of Madness'' is the third studio album by American rock band Shinedown, released June 24, 2008, via Atlantic Records. The album's lead single, " Devour", was released to radio on May 5, 2008. It is their first release to feature Er ...

'' (2008), ''

Amaryllis ''Amaryllis'' () is the only genus in the subtribe Amaryllidinae (tribe Amaryllideae). It is a small genus of flowering bulbs, with two species. The better known of the two, '' Amaryllis belladonna'', is a native of the Western Cape region of ...

'' (2012), '' Threat to Survival'' (2015), '' Attention Attention'' (2018), and '' Planet Zero'' (2022). In 2014, Smith and

Zach Myers Michael Zachary Myers (born November 7, 1983) is an American musician who is the guitarist (formerly bassist) for the hard rock band Shinedown. He is also the lead singer, guitarist and a founding member of the rock band The Fairwell, and a m ...

started an acoustic side project called Smith & Myers. 2016 RiP Shinedown - Brent Smith - by 2eight - DSC8730

In early 2016, the band started recording their sixth album, as they revealed in an interview with Wes Styles of the 97.7 WQLZ radio station. The album, '' Attention Attention'', was released on May 4, 2018. The first single off the album, titled "

Devil A devil is the mythical personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conce ...

", was released on March 7, 2018. On August 28, 2022, Brent was presented with a key to Knox County at a concert in his hometown Knoxville, Tennessee by former wrestler and current Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

Personal life

Smith has a son, Lyric Santana Smith, with his ex-fiancée, Ashley Smith Marshall. For years, Smith struggled with both drug and alcohol addiction and weight management. Following an intervention from his then-girlfriend, Smith eventually lost weight through exercise and a healthier diet, including quitting drinking. Smith says that his former girlfriend, Teresa, his son, and his fans inspired him to lose weight and become healthier.

Discography

Shinedown

* '' Leave a Whisper'' (2003) * '' Us and Them'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * ''

'' (2012) * '' Threat to Survival'' (2015) * '' Attention Attention'' (2018) * '' Planet Zero'' (2022)

Smith & Myers

* ''Volume I'' (2020) * ''Volume II'' (2020)

Other

Halestorm Halestorm is an American Rock music, rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, drummer Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. Siblings Lzzy and Arejay founded the band in ...

** "Here's to Us (Guest Version) (feat.

Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...

, Brent Smith,

Wolfgang Van Halen Wolfgang William Van Halen ( , , born March 16, 1991) is an American musician. The son of actress Valerie Bertinelli and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, he performed alongside his father and his uncle as the bassist for Van Halen from 2007 to 2020. ...

Myles Kennedy Myles Richard Bass (born November 27, 1969), known professionally as Myles Kennedy, is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Alter Bridge and of List of Slash band members, S ...

, James Michael, Tyler Connolly,

David Draiman David Michael Draiman (; born March 13, 1973) is an American heavy metal singer. Noted for his distorted baritone voice and percussive singing style, he has been the lead vocalist of Disturbed since 1996. He has written some of the band's most ...

Maria Brink Maria Brink (born December 18, 1977) is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the frontwoman of the metal band The band has gone on to release seven studio albums and receive four nominations, two from Alternative Press Music Awards, ...

)" ('' The Strange Case Of... (Reissue Version)'') *

In This Moment In This Moment is an American Rock music, rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed by singer Maria Brink and guitarist Chris Howorth in 2005. They found drummer Jeff Fabb and started the band as Dying Star. Unhappy with their musical direc ...

** "Sexual Hallucination (feat. Brent Smith)" ('' Black Widow'') *

Apocalyptica Apocalyptica is a Finnish symphonic metal band from Helsinki, formed in 1993. The band is currently composed of three classically trained cellists Eicca Toppinen, Paavo Lötjönen, and Perttu Kivilaakso. Originally a Classical music, classical- ...

** "Not Strong Enough (feat. Brent Smith)" ('' 7th Symphony'') * Dreve (Brent's previous band) *

Saliva Saliva (commonly referred as spit or drool) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which ...

** "Don't Question My Heart (feat. Brent Smith)" ('' WWE The Music, Vol. 8'') ** "My Own Worst Enemy (feat. Brent Smith)" ('' Cinco Diablo'') * Theory of a Deadman " So Happy" * Theory of a Deadman " By the way" * One Less Reason "Seasons (feat. Brent Smith)" (''Faces & Four Letter Words'') * Daughtry "There and Back Again"

References

External links

Official website

Interview @ smnews.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brent Living people Musicians from Knoxville, Tennessee 1978 births Singers from Tennessee American heavy metal singers Shinedown members 21st-century American singers