The All-American Rejects

The All-American Rejects

The All-American Rejects is an American rock band from Stillwater, Oklahoma, formed in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and bass guitarist Tyson Ritter, guitarists and vocalists Nick Wheeler and Mike Kennerty, and drummer Chris Gaylor. The All-American Rejects have released three studio albums, three EPs, and nine singles. Their debut self-titled studio album, The All-American Rejects, was originally released in 2002, producing the successful single "Swing, Swing".The album went on to sell over one million records in the United States and was certified platinum by the RIAA.

The band's second album, Move Along (2005), brought the band more mainstream success. The album produced three hit singles; "It Ends Tonight", "Dirty Little Secret" and "Move Along". "Dirty Little Secret" and "It Ends Tonight" reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Move Along" peaking at number 15. "Dirty Little Secret" was also accredited platinum with one million sales in the US. The album Move Along, was certified double platinum in the US by the RIAA.

The All-American Rejects' third album, When the World Comes Down, was released in December 2008. The first single "Gives You Hell" garnered much attention, with the song peaking Number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Number 2 on Pop 100 charts, as well as in the top twenty of the UK Singles chart and number three on the Australian ARIA Singles chart.

History

Formation and first releases (2001–2004)

The band formed in Stillwater, Oklahoma, in 2001. At a party where future vocalist / bassist Tyson Ritter was serving as a bouncer, he saw Nick Wheeler's band playing, and noticed that it lacked a bass player. Ritter falsely informed Wheeler that he could play the bass in order to join the band, and hastily learned to play the instrument. Ritter and Wheeler later went on to form their own band, which would become the present incarnation of The All-American Rejects. In 2002, they were joined by guitarist Mike Kennerty and drummer Chris Gaylor, who have remained in the band since.

In 2001, with producer Tim O'Heir (Superdrag, Sebadoh, Juliana Hatfield), they recorded their self-titled debut album, The All-American Rejects. Mike Kennerty joined the band in the summer of 2002, while Chris Gaylor replaced drummer Tim Campbell shortly before the release of the first album. The band's first single, "Swing, Swing", was released in 2002 and peaked on the Billboard Hot 100 at #60. In 2003, the All-American Rejects released, Live from Oklahoma... The Too Bad for Hell DVD!, their first live DVD - which was later Gold Certified by the RIAA.

Move Along (2005–2006)

In 2005, the group released their second album, Move Along, which featured the singles "Dirty Little Secret", "Move Along", and "It Ends Tonight". The music video for Dirty Little Secret features images from the collective art project PostSecret.

The All-American Rejects released the The Bite Back EP on the iTunes music store at the end of 2005 followed in 2006 by the second single from Move Along, "Move Along". Within the first weeks after premiering their video, it had been on the Total Request Live countdown, hitting number one four days in a row. The single didn't peak on Billboard Hot 100 until almost six months after its release, in June. "Move Along" was then nominated for "Best Editing in a Video" and "Best Group Video" at the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards, the latter of which they won. In addition, the band performed "Move Along" live at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 31, 2006. The band was also nominated for Choice Rock Group in the Teen Choice Awards "Move Along" was also featured in episode 2 of season 3 of One Tree Hill.

In May 2006, The All-American Rejects performed a cover version of Def Leppard's "Photograph" on VH1 Rock Honors. In August 2006 the band's third single was released from their Move Along album, called "It Ends Tonight". The video for "It Ends Tonight" debuted at number 10 on the VH1 Top 20 countdown. The video also peaked at #2 on TRL.

On New Year's Eve 2005, the band performed The Cars' "Good Times Roll" with Fall Out Boy on MTV. On New Year's Eve 2006, they played a special on Las Vegas' Fremont Street, which also included bands OK Go, Five for Fighting, Rock Star Supernova, and Chicago. The songs "Move Along" and "Dirty Little Secret" were also featured in the video game Rock Band.

When the World Comes Down (2007-present)

In the summer of 2007 the band began recording their third studio album. During this time they also released a DVD featuring live content from their Tournado tour and contributed the song "The Future Has Arrived" to the soundtrack of Disney film Meet the Robinsons.

The group then went into writing the next record which took about two years. They spent around six months in the studio recording When the World Comes Down with producer Eric Valentine. On October 8, 2008, the band was honored as a "Rising Star" by the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. The first single from When the World Comes Down was "Gives You Hell"]]", which was released in September 2008. The music video was released November 5 and the song reached number one on VH1's Top 20 Countdown. On November 18, the band released "Mona Lisa (When the World Comes Down)" exclusively at iTunes. Three years after Move Along, the group's third album, When the World Comes Down, was released on December 16, 2008. Also during this time they covered a song from Nightmare Before Christmas "Jack's Lament" on the Nightmare Revisited.The All American Rejects have a new song called Gives You Hell.

Members

Current members

• Tyson Ritter – lead vocals, bass guitar, piano
• Nick Wheeler – lead guitar, keyboard, backing vocals
• Mike Kennerty – rhythm guitar, backing vocals
• Chris Gaylor – drums, percussion

Discography

Main article: The All-American Rejects discography

Studio albums

• 2002: The All-American Rejects
• 2005: Move Along
• 2008: When the World Comes Down

Notable Tours

• 2003: Too Bad For Hell Tour
• 2006: Tournado
• 2008: Gives You Hell Tour
• 2009: I Wanna Rock Tour

Awards

2003

• MTV Video Music Award - Nominated For "Best New Artist"

2004

• Music Video Production Association Award- Nominated For "Best Pop Video" for "The Last Song"

2006

• MTV Video Music Award - Won category "Best Group Video" for "Move Along"
• MuchMusic Video Award - Nominated For Category "Best International Group" for "Dirty Little Secret"

2007

• ASCAP Vanguard Award - Won
• Teen Choice Award - Nominated For Category "Choice Rock Group"

2008

• Inducted in the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame - "Rising Star"

External links

• Allamericanrejects.com Official website
• The All-American Rejects at Rolling Stone