Plain White T's

Plain White T's
The Plain White T's playing at the Metro in Chicago, May 2009
Background information
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, US
Genres	Pop rock, pop punk
Years active	1997–present
Labels	Atlantic Fearless Hollywood (2006-present)
Website	Official website UK website
Members
Tom Higgenson Dave Tirio Mike Retondo Tim Lopez De'Mar Hamilton
Past members
Steve Mast Ken Fletcher

Plain White T's is an American Pop rock band from Chicago, Illinois. Formed in 1997 by high school friends Tom Higgenson and Ken Fletcher, the group had a mostly underground following in Chicago basements, clubs, and bars in its early years, and underwent numerous personnel changes.^[1][2]

The band is best known for the number-one hit song "Hey There Delilah", which achieved platinum status in 2007 and earned two Grammy nominations,^[3] as well as "1, 2, 3, 4", which turned platinum in 2009.

History

Early formation

The Plain White T's formed in Lombard, Illinois, in 1997. Vocalist and guitarist Tom Higgenson had been a guitarist in a number of bands during high school. He and bass player Ken Fletcher were in a band called Harvey's Daughter when they decided to move on. The two asked Dave Tirio to play drums for their group, and Plain White T's came into existence by the fall of 1997.^[4][5]

Higgenson suffered a car crash in 2001, breaking several vertebrae in the accident.^[6]

Mainstream breakthrough (2006–2008)

In early 2006, the band teamed with Motion City Soundtrack for a Winter/Spring tour. "Hey There Delilah" was first released on their third album All That We Needed in 2007. The same year the band was featured for a month as a "Hip Clipz" artist on the website of Curly Grrlz Skateboards. In 2008, they released the album Big Bad World. The album had two hit singles: "1, 2, 3, 4" and "Natural Disaster". Both were on the AT40 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, they performed the single "It's Our Time Now" on an episode of the Nickelodeon television series, iCarly.

2010-present: Wonders of the Younger

The band's new single "Rhythm of Love" went live on alternativeaddiction.com in July 2010. The track is the first from their 2010 album The Wonders of the Younger. The record has the band leaving their previous sound behind and adopting a "live-in-the room acoustic California-pop feel", and is the first to feature some songs without lead singer Tom Higgenson, instead with guitarist Tim Lopez taking the lead vocal duties on several tracks.

Band members

• Tom Higgenson — lead vocals, acoustic guitar
• De'Mar Hamilton — drums, percussion, backing vocals.(2002–present)
• Dave Tirio — rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Tim G. Lopez — lead guitar, vocals (2005–present)
• Mike Retondo — bass, backing vocals (2002–present)

Previous members

• Ken Fletcher — bass (1997–2002)
• Steve Mast — lead guitar/vocals (1997–2005)
• Kahealani Sanchez

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions
		US [7]	US Rock [8]	US Indie [7]	US Heat [9]	AUS [10]	AUT [10]	CHE [11]	FRA [12]	NLD [13]	UK [14]
2000	Come on Over Released: 2000 Label: Self-released	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2002	Stop Released: August 20, 2002 Label: Fearless	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005	All That We Needed Released: January 25, 2005 Label: Fearless	—	—	31	26	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006	Every Second Counts Released: September 12, 2006 Label: Hollywood	10	3	—	—	45	27	66	65	66	3
2008	Big Bad World Released: September 23, 2008 Label: Hollywood	33	14	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2010	Wonders of the Younger Released: December 7, 2010 Label: Hollywood	149	23	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Extended plays

Year	Album details	Peak positions
		US Indie [7]
2001	Rip Off Of the Hits Released: 2001 Label: Self-released	—
2007	Hey There Delilah EP Released: May 21, 2007 Label: Hollywood	36
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions												Album
		US [15]	US Pop [16]	US Adult [17]	US AC [18]	US Alt [19]	AUS [10]	CAN [20]	FRA [12]	GER [21]	NLD [13]	NZ [22]	UK [14]
2004	"All That We Needed"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	All That We Needed
2005	"Take Me Away"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006	"Hate (I Really Don't Like You)"	68	—	—	—	25	—	—	—	—	—	—	53	Every Second Counts
2007	"Hey There Delilah"	1	2	1	3	3	3	1	26	1	8	9	2
	"Our Time Now"	90	—	35	—	29	37	—	—	87	—	—	114
2008	"Natural Disaster"	125	—	—	—	38	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Big Bad World
	"1, 2, 3, 4"	34	32	5	10	—	—	—	—	27	—	—	—
2010	"Rhythm of Love"	38	20	5	4	—	85	98	—	—	76	—	60	Wonders of the Younger
2011	"Boomerang"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Guest appearances

Year	Song	Album
2007	"Recluse" (Stacy Clark featuring Plain White T's)	Apples and Oranges
2008	"Little Miss Obsessive" (Ashlee Simpson featuring Tom Higgenson)	Bittersweet World
2009	"Bored of Your Love" (Meg and Dia featuring Tom Higgenson)	Here, Here, and Here
2009	"U and I" (Crash Boom Bang featuring Tom Higgenson)	Gold Rush
2009	"What Would You Say?" (Breathe Electric featuring Tom Higgenson)	Emotion

Compilation appearances

• "Bruises", from Oil: Chicago Punk Refined
• "Take Me Away", on the album All That We Needed
• "Song 2" (Blur cover), on the album Punk Goes '90s
• "Season of a Lifetime", on the album Taste of Christmas
• "It's So Easy", on the album Sound of Superman
• "Better Luck Next Time", on the album Dead Bands Party: A Tribute to Oingo Boingo
• "When I See an Elephant Fly", on the album DisneyMania 6^[23]
• "Miss Kneel", on the album Elmhurst vs. Villa Park
• "Cell Phone Number" and "Move On" on the album Songs from a Scene
• "Poor Jack", on the album Nightmare Revisited
• "Natural Disaster", on the DVD Take Action: Volume 8
• "Welcome to Mystery" on the soundtrack of the motion picture "Alice in Wonderland", called "Almost Alice", in 2010.

Television

• Greek - The band provides "Our Time Now" as the theme for commercials and trailers for the show. They appear playing the song as well as "Hey There Delilah" in the episode "The Rusty Nail". They play the songs "Friends Don't let Friends Dial Drunk" and "Making A Memory" in the episode "Friday Night Frights", and they also play the songs "Come Back To Me", "You and ME" and "Let Me Take You There" on the episode "A New Normal". Two members of the band also appear in the episode "The Great Cappie" as members of the Kappa Tau fraternity.
• iCarly - The band appears as a special guest for the webshow in the episode "iRue the Day", singing their song "Our Time Now".
• "Making A Memory" was featured in the final episode to feature Katy Fox (Hannah Tointon) in the UK soap opera Hollyoaks, symbolizing what should be happening rather than what was happening.
• "Revenge" is used as the theme song to the NYC TV show Secrets of New York.
• "1,2,3,4" and "Gimme A Chance" were featured in the teen drama 90210.
• "1,2,3,4" is featured in a Hallmark Cards commercial for Valentine's Day 2010.
• "Rhythm of Love" was featured in a fall 2010 promo for the season two premiere of Parenthood on NBC.
• "Rhythm of Love" was featured in One Tree Hill.
• "Rhythm of Love" was featured in a fall 2010 promo for the season premiere of Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family.
• "Rhythm of Love" was featured in a TV advert for a rental DVD company in the UK called LoveFilm

Awards

1. Grammy Awards

• Best Pop Performance by a Group for "Hey There Delilah" - Nominated In 2008

1. Teen Choice Award

• Choice Summer Song for "Hey There Delilah" - Won In 2007

1. American Music Awards

• Best New Artist - Nominated In 2007

1. MTV Woodie Award

• The Breaking Woodie (Best Emerging Artist) - Won In 2006

Other Information

Tom Higgenson and Dave Tirio of the Plain White T's went to Willowbrook High School Class of 1997.

References

1. ^ "Plain White T's". Pandora Music. http://www.pandora.com/music/artist/plain+white+ts. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
2. ^ Nate Cavalieri. "Plain White T's". Rhapsody. http://www.rhapsody.com/plain-white-ts. Retrieved July 20, 2009. 
3. ^ Grammy.com: 2008 Nominations and Winners
4. ^ http://www.100xr.com/100_XR/Artists/P/Plain_White_T_s.htm
5. ^ http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/plain_white_t_s/artist.jhtml#biographyEnd
6. ^ http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/19931891/ns/today-today_entertainment/
7. ^ ^{a b c} "Plain White T's > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums". Allmusic. Macrovision. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/plain-white-ts-p528743/charts-awards/billboard-albums. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
8. ^ "Plain White T's Album & Song Chart History: Rock Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/plain-white-t-s/chart-history/484894?f=408&g=Albums. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
9. ^ "Plain White T's Album & Song Chart History: Heatseekers Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/plain-white-t-s/chart-history/484894?f=324&g=Albums. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
10. ^ ^{a b c} "Discography Plain White T's". Hung Medien. http://australian-charts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Plain+White+T's. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
11. ^ "Discographie Plain White T's" (in German). Hung Medien. http://hitparade.ch/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Plain+White+T's. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
12. ^ ^{a b} "Discographie Plain White T's" (in French). Hung Medien. http://lescharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Plain+White+T's. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
13. ^ ^{a b} "Discografie Plain White T's" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. http://dutchcharts.nl/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Plain+White+T's. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
14. ^ ^{a b} Zywietz, Tobias. "Chart Log UK: Rodney P. - The Pussycat Dolls". Zobbel. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_P.HTM. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
15. ^ "Plain White T's Album & Song Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/plain-white-t-s/chart-history/484894?f=379&g=Singles. Retrieved 2011-06-02. 
16. ^ "Plain White T's Album & Song Chart History: Pop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/plain-white-t-s/chart-history/484894?f=381&g=Singles. Retrieved 2011-06-02. 
17. ^ "Plain White T's Album & Song Chart History: Adult Pop Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/plain-white-t-s/chart-history/484894?f=343&g=Singles. Retrieved 2011-06-02. 
18. ^ "Plain White T's Album & Song Chart History: Adult Contemporary". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/plain-white-t-s/chart-history/484894?f=341&g=Singles. Retrieved 2011-06-02. 
19. ^ "Plain White T's Album & Song Chart History: Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. http://www.billboard.com/#/artist/plain-white-t-s/chart-history/484894?f=377&g=Singles. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
20. ^ "Plain White T's > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/plain-white-ts-p528743/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
21. ^ "Chartverfolgung / Plain White T's / Single" (in German). PhonoNet. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/Plain+White+T%2527s/single. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
22. ^ "Discography Plain White T's". Hung Medien. http://charts.org.nz/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Plain+White+T's. Retrieved 2010-12-09. 
23. ^ Amazon.com: Disneymania, Vol. 6: Various Artists: Music

External links

• Official website
• Plain White T's on Myspace
• PlayPro.com Interview
• Plain White T's Interview - Dec 2010 - Hit The Floor Magazine
• Plain White T's photography
• Trash the Stage interview with De'Mar
• 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