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Matchbox Twenty

Matchbox Twenty (or MB20, MBT, matchbox twenty, originally spelled Matchbox 20) is a rock band formed in Orlando, Florida.

Matchbox Twenty has sold in excess of 37 million albums worldwide from the releases of Yourself Or Someone Like You, Mad Season, and More Than You Think You Are. They released their latest album, Exile on Mainstream, on October 2, 2007. The current members of the band are Rob Thomas, Paul Doucette, Brian Yale, and Kyle Cook. (Adam Gaynor (rhythm guitar) left the band in 2005, after performing on their first three studio albums.) Rob Thomas is the principal songwriter and lead singer. Rob Thomas has created a well-established solo career for himself after releasing the album, ...Something to Be.

Matchbox Twenty released their debut album, Yourself Or Someone Like You, in 1996. While their first single, "Long Day", was a rock radio-only smash, the album soon spun off several Top 40 hit singles throughout 1997 and 1998, including "Push", "3 A.M.", "Real World", and "Back 2 Good". The album eventually went on to sell over 12 million copies in the U.S. alone, earning diamond status. The band toured relentlessly for several years, performing from the album, along with some cover songs such as Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" and The Beatles' "Don't Let Me Down". Their fan base grew from concert to concert based on their electrifying live performances and the longevity of their hit singles on radio. That same year, Matchbox Twenty recorded a live version of their Top-40 hit "3 AM" for release on the charity album Live in the X Lounge, benefiting cerebral palsy research.

Before recording their second album, Rob Thomas collaborated with Itaal Shur on a song called "Smooth" for Carlos Santana's comeback album, Supernatural. The song had a pop-tinged Latin beat and showcased Thomas' lyrical talents. Thomas was supposed to act solely as songwriter on "Smooth", but Carlos Santana had him sing on it as well after hearing the song's demo recording. "Smooth" was the album's lead single and became a hit in 1999; Thomas earned three Grammys for writing and performing on "Smooth", including Record of the Year and Song of the Year.

In 2000, Matchbox 20 renamed themselves Matchbox Twenty and released their second album, Mad Season. The album featured lush instrumental arrangements, and spun off several hit singles, including "Bent" (which went #1 on the Hot 100) and "If You're Gone". The video for "Bent" poked fun of singer Thomas' heightened profile from "Smooth" by showing the other band members assaulting him mercilessly. The evocatively arranged ballad "If You're Gone" became a big hit, especially on adult contemporary formats. The band's next two singles, "Mad Season" and "Last Beautiful Girl" were not as successful.

For their third album, More Than You Think You Are, the band returned to a harder rock sound. Thomas shared the songwriting efforts with the other band members on several songs. The album contained hit singles "Disease", "Unwell", and "Bright Lights". Although it was not as commercially successful as the band's two earlier efforts, it had an enormous radio presence for well over a year, and received a large amount of critical praise.

In May 2004, the band released a live concert DVD, Show: A Night in the Life of Matchbox Twenty, filmed in Atlanta and featuring 20 songs, including all of their hit singles.

In February 2005, rhythm guitarist Gaynor officially left the group, which had been on hiatus to allow other members to pursue side projects. Rob Thomas went on to release a solo album, ...Something To Be, which became the U.S. Billboard 200 #1 album the first week of its release. The album featured four hit singles: "Lonely No More", "This Is How a Heart Breaks", "Ever the Same", and "Streetcorner Symphony".

In January 2007, Rob Thomas released a single, "Little Wonders", which he wrote for the Disney movie, Meet the Robinsons.

The group returned to the music scene in 2007, with the release of their 'retrospective' album, Exile on Mainstream, on October 2. "How Far We've Come" was the first single off the new album, which also includes 5 other new songs and a complete collection of all 11 of their previously released singles. The album was also released in the new MVI (Music Video Interactive) format, which includes 2 video interviews discussing the 6 new songs and 11 greatest hits, plus extras like a retrospective photo gallery, U-MYX (to remix 'How Far We've Come'), buddy icons and wallpapers, and more. How Far We've Come was released on the band's MySpace page in July, with the video release on September 6, 2007. Rob Thomas has said in several interviews that a US tour will start in January and then move onto Australia in April. On September 25, 2007, VH1.com released the band's entire album on "The Leak", a portion of their website for listening to free streaming music VH1 The Leak.

Matchbox Twenty is set to headline an amphitheater tour with special guest Alanis Morissette. The spring 2008 tour will be opened by Mute Math.

There are also rumors of a 2009 album that has yet to be named. First, Rob Thomas is expected to spend most of 2008 working on his second solo album.

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