Brad Arnold, lead singer of 3 Doors Down, has died at the age of 47. He passed away seven months after announcing he had advanced cancer. The news arrived yesterday via the band's social channels: «With his wife Jennifer and his family at his side, he passed away peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by the people he loved, after battling cancer».
«As the founder, singer and first drummer of 3 Doors Down, Brad marked the rock of the 2000s, mixing post-grunge with direct lyrics that reached ordinary people», reads the message. «His music went beyond concerts, it created moments of sharing, joy and faith that will remain alive beyond the stages on which he played».
In May 2025, Arnold said he had stage four kidney cancer that had spread to his lungs. “It's not good news,” he said in a video to fans. «But do you know what? We have a great God and he can overcome everything. So I'm not afraid. Really, it doesn't scare me at all.”
He added that the band would be forced to cancel their summer tour, asking fans to “pray for me” by listening It's Not My Time by 3 Doors Down, a song released in 2008. «It's going to be tough, we need someone to support us!».
Arnold founded 3 Doors Down in 1996 with high school friends Matt Roberts (guitar) and Todd Harrell (bass) in their hometown of Escatawpa. At first he was both a singer and a drummer. The following year they recorded their first demo with Kryptonitewhich Arnold said he wrote while still in high school. The song became popular on Southern radio, attracting the attention of major labels.
Kryptonite was re-recorded in 1999 and, in January 2000, the single flew to number three on the Billboard Hot 100. Included in the first album The Better Lifethe song was the first of many hits signed by Arnold and his associates: Loser, Duck and Run, Be Like That. Although Napster and MP3s were already hitting sales, The Better Life it sold 7 million copies and reached seventh place in the charts.
On the second disc, Away from the Sun in 2002, Arnold gave up the drums to focus on singing. Josh Freese has arrived in his place. The album, later certified multi-platinum, included hits such as When I'm Gonethe title track and Here Without You.
3 Doors Down reached the top of the Billboard 200 with Seventeen Days in 2005, and they returned with the self-titled album in 2008. But Time of My Life 2011 was the last with Arnold and original members Roberts and Harrell: Roberts left due to health problems, Harrell was removed from the group after being accused of vehicular homicide in 2013.
Arnold led 3 Doors Down for another ten years. The band released only one more album — Us and the Night in 2016 — but has continued to play live, including a performance for Trump's inauguration party in January 2017 that divided fans. Arnold is the second original member of 3 Doors Down to die. In 2016, Roberts, co-author of, died of an overdose Kryptonite.
From Rolling Stone US.
