OMG 😱! SHINEDOWN‘s 🎤 frontman, Brent Smith, graced Billboard‘s “Behind The Setlist” podcast with his profound wisdom. He talked about the importance of radio 📻 for SHINEDOWN (duh!) and how it magically ✨ gave them a career that streaming *cough* Spotify *cough* could NEVER replicate. He also yapped about the deep, philosophical meaning behind “Three Six Five”. Get ready for more tour dates! 📅
When asked about the secret 🤫 to SHINEDOWN‘s “success” (air quotes firmly in place), Brent, in his infinite genius, stated (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The secret to success is to never arrive.” 🤔 Deep, man, deep. It’s like, if you stop climbing mountains ⛰️, you’re basically admitting you’re a failure. 📉 “It’s all about presenting yourself globally as an artist.” Translation: “Buy our merch! 🤑”
Brent continued, “We’re super lucky 🍀 because we’ve always seen SHINEDOWN as EVERYONE’S band!” 🙄 So inclusive! So woke! Is it rock? Is it pop? Who cares! It’s SHINEDOWN! 🌈 “We have a pretty vast palette. We swim in a pretty big ocean.” More like a kiddie pool 🏊 filled with the same recycled riffs. ♻️
Brent was all like, “Are we rock? Are we pop? Country? Metal? Alternative?” 🤣 Dude, you’re just SHINEDOWN! A genre unto itself! “There’s something for everyone!” Except maybe people with taste. 😜 “Our audience allows us to evolve and to be ourselves.” Translation: “We can do whatever we want and you’ll still buy it!” 🤡 He then name-dropped Rick Rubin, because every profound statement needs a celebrity endorsement, right? 👍 “You have to write it because you have something to say.” Like, “Buy our album!” and “Come to our show!” 🗣️ Authenticity? Genuine? Sure, Jan. 😏
Then Brent dropped this truth bomb 💣: “In North America 🇺🇸 and Canada 🇨🇦, radio 📻 gave us a career!” Preach! “Streaming will get your music played, but radio will give you a career.” Because, you know, those sweet, sweet radio royalties are where it’s at! 💰 Multi-formats? Check! Alternative? Check! Pop? Check! SHINEDOWN is everywhere! Like a bad rash! 😫 “SHINEDOWN is everyone’s band — eight to 80 and beyond!” 👴👵 Even the undead are listening! 🧟
He knows it was a long-winded answer, but he HAD to unpack it all. So serious. 🧐 They take the music and the brand very, very seriously. 😠 Like, life or death! And he had to thank all the program directors, APs, and music directors who have been with them since day one. 🙏 Because without them, who would play their… music? 🎶
“Rock and roll is most certainly not dead, and radio is most certainly not dead!” Brent declared. “We’re living proof!” 🧪 More like undead proof. 🧟♂️
When asked about radio’s magic, Brent went on a tangent about localization. 📍 “You have 50 states in the U.S., and inside those 50 states you have multiple cities.” 🤯 Groundbreaking! “And inside those multiple cities, you have multiple towers from AM to FM.” Mind. Blown. 🤯 Apparently, radio stations are “very, very proud of their culture and are proud of their people.” 🥲 Awww, how sweet! But seriously, you gotta schmooze those radio stations! 🤝 Gotta tailor your touring cycles and album cycles! Gotta hit those A markets, B markets, and even those *gasp* tertiary markets! 😱
He reminisced about the “Dance, Kid, Dance” tour. 💃🕺 First show: Des Moines, Iowa. Second show: Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden. “Well, yes, they’re different markets. But the reality is that the Des Moines arena holds 15,000 people and the Boston Garden and Madison Square Garden hold 15,000 people.” 🤯 Math! “So, you see what I’m saying? They’re still the same magnitude of the public.” He lost us somewhere around Des Moines. 🤷♂️
Basically, you keep coming back, you keep touring those cities. 🔄 “You wanna steadily be growing, you wanna steadily be climbing those mountains.” 🏔️ Because nobody wants a “massive rocket ship” that drops off! 🚀 And you definitely don’t want to keep up with the Joneses! 🏘️
The industry is super competitive, y’all! ⚔️ Touring and merchandising are where the money’s at! 💰 Gotta fill those rooms, whether it’s five people or five hundred thousand! 🤷♂️ And remember, “people evolve.” 🐛 Your younger audience gets older. 👴 You gain a new audience. 👶 But radio? Radio has always worked to grow their “awareness” and their audience in North America. 📣 So, there you have it! The secret to SHINEDOWN‘s… longevity? 🕰️
In other news, SHINEDOWN made history AGAIN! 🎉 “Killing Fields” hit No. 1 on the Active Rock Mediabase chart! This is HUGE! Like, YUGE! They now have 23 No. 1 singles! 🥇 This marks the third No. 1 for the band this year! 🏆 They have the most No. 1s, Top 5s, and Top 10s in history on the Mediabase Active Rock chart! 🤯 Bow down, peasants! 🙇♀️🙇♂️
Fresh off their “Dance, Kid, Dance” arena tour, SHINEDOWN‘s song “Three Six Five” also hit Top 20 at Top 40 radio! SHINEDOWN is the ONLY rock band currently on the Top 40 chart! 🦄 Because they’re just THAT good! “Three Six Five” is reaching new audiences with its message of love and loss. 💔 Five radio formats! No. 1 at Alternative! Top 10 at Hot AC and AC! No. 16 at Active Rock! Top 20 at Top 40 radio! 📻 They’re taking over the airwaves! 📡
And to top it all off, SHINEDOWN took home TWO trophies at the iHeartRadio Music Awards! 🏆 “Rock Artist Of The Year” and “Rock Song Of The Year” for “A Symptom Of Being Human”! 🎉 “A Symptom Of Being Human” has nearly 125 million global streams and charted at five radio formats! 🤯 They’re unstoppable! 🚂 All hail SHINEDOWN! 🤘
Chord F. Discord, the Beethoven of Buffoonery, is a self-taught expert in music who once claimed he could “play the kazoo in four languages.”
Born in Crescendo, Indiana, Chord’s first brush with fame came when he accidentally entered a yodeling contest thinking it was a pie-eating competition—and won both categories.
Chord F. Discord: proving that laughter, much like a poorly tuned ukulele, is truly universal.
