The de facto leader of Matchbox Twenty is lead singer and songwriter Rob Thomas. The album was released in October 1996 to little attention, but Matchbox Twenty continued to tour America, cultivating a fan base. They eventually landed their single ‘Long Day’ on several influential radio stations, which paved the way for their breakthrough hit, ‘Push.’ During fall 1997, the record picked up momentum, as ‘3am’ became a bigger hit than ‘Push,’ propelling Yourself or Someone Like You to multi-platinum status.. Matchbox Twenty reserved 1999 as the year to record their eagerly anticipated second album, but they didn’t disappear from the spotlight, due to the unexpected success of ‘Smooth,’ a Santana song co-written and sung by Rob Thomas. Its success brought more attention to Matchbox Twenty, and Yourself or Someone Like You rocketed to over ten million copies sold — which now qualified it for the RIAA’s Diamond Award, which is only granted to records that have moved over ten million units. On top of that, Thomas was named BMI’s 1999 Pop Songwriter of the Year, for ‘Smooth’ and his work with Matchbox Twenty. Early in 2000, Thomas won three Grammys for ‘Smooth’ — Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. All of this success happened as Matchbox Twenty was recording their second album, again with producer Matt Serletic. The success raised expectations for the new album, entitled Mad Season, which was released in May 2000. Two years later, the band emerged with its third album, More Than You Think You Are. With this particular record, the band shared songwriting duties as a whole for the first time ever. Despite, or perhaps because of, the band’s success and frequent touring, Matchbox Twenty decided to take a break from recording. In 2007, the reunited Matchbox Twenty — with Doucette now on guitar replacing Gaynor, who left the band in 2005, and Push Stars’s Ryan MacMillan on drums — delivered the hits collection Exile on Mainstream which included a bonus EP of new tracks. Among their many accolades are five Grammy nominations and three American Music Award nominations, while Rob Thomas has earned three Grammy Awards, 11 BMI Awards, and has been twice named Billboard’s Songwriter of the Year.
