"Underclass Hero" is the first single from

Sum 41 Sum 41 was a Canadian rock band formed in Ajax, Ontario, in 1996. The band's final lineup consisted of Deryck Whibley (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards), Dave Baksh (lead guitar, backing vocals), Jason McCaslin (bass, backing vocals), Tom T ...

's fourth studio album ''

Underclass Hero ''Underclass Hero'' is the fourth studio album by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It is the first of two albums by the band recorded as a three-piece since the departure of guitarist Dave "Brownsound" Baksh the previous year. It was released on July ...

''. The song impacted radio on May 15, 2007. The song in its entirety was leaked on April 23 from a 91X podcast interview with

Deryck Whibley Deryck Jason Whibley (born 21 March 1980), also known by the stage name Bizzy D, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known for his work as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist, main songwriter, produc ...

. It was confirmed on Sum 41's official site that this would be the opening track for the album. The song was used in the

EA Sports EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they imitated real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network" (EASN) ...

video game '' Madden 08'' and Sony's '' NBA 08''. It is the band's first single since the departure of guitarist

Dave Baksh Dave Baksh (born July 26, 1980) also known by his stage name Dave Brownsound, is a Canadian musician best known as the lead guitarist of rock band Sum 41. Baksh quit Sum 41 in 2006 (not counting a guest appearance on stage in 2008) to pursue ...

Critical reception

Andrew Blackie of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' cited the song as an example of "on ofthose rare occasions when the trio do shut up and honestly ''play'' with as much zest as they can muster, which can thus be spoken about with half-hearted approval". Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic compared the song to "

Fat Lip "Fat Lip" is a song by Canadian rock band Sum 41. It is the fourth track on their debut album, '' All Killer No Filler'' (2001), and was released as the lead single in April 2001. It is the band's most successful single to date, topping the ''B ...

", referring to it as a "less rhythmic variation".

Music video

Sum 41's video for "Underclass Hero" was premiered May 29, 2007, on their official website. It shows the band playing behind a large group of teenagers, fireworks, a marching band and bonfire, supposedly a pre-high school pep rally for a football game with a mascot, which represents the

anarchy Anarchy is a form of society without rulers. As a type of stateless society, it is commonly contrasted with states, which are centralized polities that claim a monopoly on violence over a permanent territory. Beyond a lack of government, it can ...

symbol. The video was launched worldwide on May 31, 2007, on ''

Total Request Live ''Total Request Live'' (commonly abbreviated as ''TRL'') is an American television program that premiered on MTV on September 14, 1998. The early version of ''TRL'' featured popular music videos played during its countdown and was also used as ...

'' on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. The video was co-directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

and Sum 41's drummer,

Steve Jocz Stephen Jocz (born July 23, 1981), also known as Stevo32 (or simply Stevo), is a Canadian drummer and YouTuber, best known as the founding drummer for the rock band Sum 41. Biography Jocz joined Sum 41 in 1996. He graduated from Exeter High ...

. This is Sum 41's first video without their former guitarist

, who had left the band the previous year, but returned in 2015. The music video garnered Sum 41 a nomination at the

2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards Japan were held on Saturday, May 31 at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. Awards Winners are in bold text. Video of the Year Exile — "I Believe" * Mr. Children — "Irodori" * Rihanna featuring Jay-Z — "U ...

in the category for Best Group Video.

Track listings and formats

*CD single #"Underclass Hero" – 3:14 #"This Is Goodbye" – 2:28 #"March of the Dogs" – 3:09 #"Road to Run #4" (Webisode) #"Underclass Hero" (Video)

Personnel

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

, keyboards,

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, producer *

Jason McCaslin Jason "Cone" McCaslin (born September 3, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the band Sum 41. He and frontman Deryck Whibley are the only two members of the b ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

–

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

Charts

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Underclass Hero (Song) 2007 singles Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Sum 41 songs Songs written by Deryck Whibley Songs written by Steve Jocz 2007 songs Island Records singles