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 Lombard is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States, and a suburb of Chicago. The population was 44,476 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Lombard was originally named "Babcock's Grove", after the Babcock brothers ...

, 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 "Hey There Delilah" is a song by American pop rock band Plain White T's, for whom it remains their signature song. It was released on May 9, 2006, as an EP from their third studio album, '' All That We Needed'' (2005). The song was later release ...

", which achieved platinum status in 2007 and earned two

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

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 Lakeview (also Lake View) is one of the 77 community areas of Chicago, Illinois. Lakeview is located on the city's North Side and is bordered by West Diversey Parkway on the south, West Irving Park Road and West Montrose Ave on the north, N ...

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 Fearless Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1994. Fearless is based in Culver City, California, and is best known for its early pop punk moments captured in the ''Fearless Flush Sampler'' and ''Punk Bites'' releas ...

. 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 ''All That We Needed'' is the third studio album by American rock band Plain White T's, released on January 25, 2005. This is Plain White T's second album with Fearless Records. In July 2007, after the release of '' Every Second Counts'' (2006) ...

'', was the first studio album from the reformed line-up, and featured the single "

". In 2006 the band signed to

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

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 Delilah DiCrescenzo (; born February 9, 1983) is an American distance runner. She competes in the women's 3000 metres steeplechase. She is a 2001 graduate of Queen of Peace High School in Burbank, Illinois and a 2005 graduate of Columbia Univer ...

, 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 Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (musician), Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and ...

Dashboard Confessional Dashboard Confessional is an American rock band from Boca Raton, Florida, formed in 1999 and led by singer Chris Carrabba. The name of the band is derived from the song "The Sharp Hint of New Tears" off their debut album, '' The Swiss Army Roma ...

and

The Cab The Cab is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band consists of lead vocalist Alexander DeLeon, keyboardist Alex T. Marshall and bassist Joey Thunder. Their debut studio album, '' Whisper War'', was released on April 29, 2008. T ...

. Later that year, the band played at the

Give It a Name Give it a Name, also known as GIAN (and Give It a Name Incoming in 2009), named after an At the Drive-In song, was an annual British rock music festival, normally held on the weekend nearest to the end of April. The first festival took place o ...

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 Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''.

''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 The Ramones were an American punk rock band formed in the New York City neighborhood Forest Hills, Queens in 1974. Known for helping establish the punk movement in the United States and elsewhere, the Ramones are often recognized as one of t ...

' "

Pet Sematary ''Pet Sematary'' is a 1983 horror novel by American writer Stephen King. The novel was nominated for a World Fantasy Award for Best Novel in 1984, and adapted into two films: one in 1989 and another in 2019. Background In 1979, King was wr ...

" 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

after creative conflicts with the label during the production of the '' American Nights'' album. ''American Nights'' was released by

Megaforce Records Megaforce Records is an American independent record label founded in 1982 by Jon Zazula and his wife Marsha Zazula to release the first works of Metallica, and devoted primarily to hard rock and heavy metal. It has offices in New York City (whe ...

on March 31, 2015. The release date of '' American Nights'' was pushed back several times by their former record label,

. In 2015, they also appeared on

Blues Traveler Blues Traveler is an American rock band that formed in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1987. They are known for their extensive use of segues in live performances, and could be considered a key part of the re-emerging jam band scene of the 1990s, sp ...

'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 "

" at the 2017

Alternative Press Music Awards The Alternative Press Music Awards was an annual music awards show in the United States, founded by the music magazine ''Alternative Press''. History On April 24, 2014, ''Alternative Press'' announced they were organizing an award show to be h ...

. In July 2017, the band closed the

2017 National Scout Jamboree The 2017 National Scout Jamboree was the 19th national Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America), national Scout jamboree held by the Boy Scouts of America, from July 19, 2017 to July 28, 2017. It was the second National Scout Jamboree held at the Th ...

, exactly 10 years after "

" 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 Surface pressure may refer to: * " Surface Pressure", a song from the film ''Encanto'' (2021) * Surface pressure in physical chemistry * Surface pressure within the Earth's atmosphere {{dab ...

" for '' A Whole New Sound'', a compilation album featuring

pop-punk Pop-punk (also punk-pop, alternatively spelled without the hyphen) is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop music, pop. It is defined by its fast-paced, energetic tempos, and emphasis on classic pop s ...

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) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Every Second Counts'' (2006) * '' Big Bad World'' (2008) * ''

Wonders of the Younger ''Wonders of the Younger'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Plain White T's. It was released by Hollywood Records on December 7, 2010, and was produced by Ian Kirkpatrick. The collection of the songs was designed to evoke the feel ...

'' (2010) * '' American Nights'' (2015) * ''Parallel Universe'' (2018) * ''

Plain White T's The Plain White T's are an American pop rock band from Lombard, Illinois, formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson, Dave Tirio, and Ken Fletcher, and joined a short time later by Steve Mast. The group had a mostly underground followin ...

'' (2023)

Television

The following list includes a selection of television appearances made by the band and performances used by those and other shows: * ''

'' – 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. * ''

'' – 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 Katy Fox is a fictional character from the British Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', played by Hannah Tointon, from 2007 to 2008 and again in 2017. Katy is the sister of Warren Fox ( Jamie Lomas). Her character has been central to several s ...

(

Hannah Tointon Hannah Tointon (born 28 December 1987) is an English actress. She is best known for playing Katy Fox in the Channel 4 soap opera ''Hollyoaks'' and Tara Brown in sitcom ''The Inbetweeners''. Early life Tointon was born to parents Ken and Carol ...

) 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 ''Secrets of New York'' is an American documentary television series created by Arick Wierson and presented by Kelly Choi. The series premiered on February 2, 2005 and is produced by NYC Media, the official public broadcast service 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 LoveFilm was a United Kingdom–based provider of DVD-by-mail and streaming video on demand in the United Kingdom, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Germany. Acquired by Amazon.com in 2011, the service had reached 2 million subscribers. It claimed o ...

, 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 The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

'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 The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

on November 26, 2015. They performed " American Nights" which was broadcast on NBC.

Awards

;Grammy Award , - , rowspan="2",

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, rowspan="2", "

" , Song of the Year , , - , Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals , ;Tony Awards ;Teen Choice Awards , - ,

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

, "Hey There Delilah" , Choice Summer Song , ;American Music Award , - ,

, Plain White T's , New Artist of the Year , ;MTV Video Music Award , - ,

, "Hey There Delilah" ,

Monster Single of the Year The Monster Single of the Year award was first introduced to the MTV Music Video Awards in 2007, as they were revamped that year and a few new awards were introduced. When the VMAs returned to their old format in 2008, though, this award was not b ...

, ;

MtvU Woodie Awards MTVU (formerly stylized as MtvU and mtvU) is an American digital cable TV channel owned by the MTV Entertainment Group, a unit of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. MTVU programming initially served 750 college and uni ...

, - , 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 Magazine

Plain White T's photography

Interview with Plain White T's

Interview with Plain White T's by Jamie Pham on TheSoCalScene

Tim 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