3 Doors Down

3 Doors Down’s ’00 debut single, “Kryptonite,” which lead singer Brad Arnold wrote while in high school, peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The parent album, “The Better Life” went 7x platinum. An impressive launch for the Escatawpa, Mississippi, Post-Grunge/Alternative Rock band that formed four years earlier.

Kryptonite

Featuring the singles “When I’m Gone” and “Here Without You” sophomore set “Away From The Sun” (’02) also went multi-platinum.

When I’m Gone

Here Without You

Sharing their success, 3 Doors Down created The Better Life Foundation (TBLF) in ’03, to give as many children as possible a better life by supporting numerous charities across the U.S., including the Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse, and the Habitat for Humanity, as well as providing aid and assistance to the Gulf Coast region of Mississippi during Hurricane Katrina.

The band’s next albums, “Seventeen Days” (’05), the self-titled fourth album (’08) debuted at #1 on the Billboard album survey. “Time Of My Life” (’11) went platinum but each album faced diminishing returns – though most bands would be happy with those sales.

It would be four years until there was another 3 Doors Down album.

First, guitarist Matt Roberts announced in ’12 he was leaving the band to focus on his health.

The following year bassist Todd Harrell was arrested in Nashville following an accident resulting in the death of a man in another vehicle. Harrell failed field sobriety tests, admitted to drinking and taking painkillers.

During the trial the judge admonished Harrell’s doctor for prescribing the bassist with far too many pain pills. Harrell was also charged with bringing controlled substances into a correctional detention facility and was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment followed by six years of probation.

In the wake of the trial 3 Doors Down cancelled a handful of U.S. concerts out of respect for the victim’s family but went ahead with a European trek announcing that Justin Biltonen was the band’s new bassist.

Harrell was arrested again in ’14. This time for a DUI in Mississippi. 3 Doors Down then announced that Harrell was permanently out of the band, and that they would continue with Biltonen.

’16 release “Us And The Night” could only get to #14 on the Billboard chart… still impressive but nowhere near where 3 Doors Down once were.

A few months later, Roberts tragically died at the age of 38 from a prescription drug overdose.

“We have been writing new songs,” offered Arnold in ’18. “Maybe we’ll release a single or a couple of new songs. We just might not release an album for a while.” All that resulted was ’19’s “Acoustic Back Porch Jam,” a six track EP of unplugged hits.

In May of ’25 Arnold announced in a video message that he was dealing with Stage 4 kidney cancer.

“I’d been sick a couple of weeks ago and then went to the hospital and got checked out and had actually got the diagnosis that I had clear cell renal (cell) carcinoma that had metastasized into my lung,” Arnold stated. “And it’s stage four, and that’s not real good. But you know what? We serve a mighty God, and He can overcome anything.”

Clear cell renal cell carcinoma, the most common type of kidney cancer, makes up about 80% of all renal cell carcinoma cases. When ccRCC spreads to other parts of the body, treatment is more difficult and the five-year survival rate is about 10%.

The 46-year-old singer added “I think it is time for me to maybe go listen to (3DD’s ’08 song) ‘It’s Not My Time’ a little bit.” The lyrics focused on “being resilient, going against the grain and going against the world when the world’s trying to push you down, or take you out.”

The song was written for the remake of the film The Poseidon Adventure. In the movie, passengers are trying to escape death on a sinking ship. “They showed me like a 30-second clip of the movie, and I went and wrote that song from it,” recalled Arnold. “And they wound up not wanting it.”