Brad Arnold, vocalist of American post-grunge band 3 Doors Down, has died of kidney cancer at the age of 47.
Arnold was a founding member of 3 Doors Down and originally the band’s drummer, before later taking over as lead vocalist.
He discovered his songwriting talent early, and among other things he’s the author of the hit Kryptonite. Arnold wrote that hit at 15, while he was still in high school.
3 Doors Down are known for hits like Kryptonite, Here Without You and When I’m Gone. Kryptonite and When I’m Gone were both nominated for a Grammy.
The band’s first studio album, “The Better Life”, came out in February 2000 and went 7x platinum. The single Kryptonite, released in April of that year, hit number three on the charts and became the band’s big hit.
“Away from the Sun”, the band’s second studio album, came out in November 2002 and reached number eight on the charts. Within two months of release it earned its first platinum certification, and it later went multi-platinum.
The band’s third studio album, “Seventeen Days” from 2005, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and went platinum. On May 20, 2008, 3 Doors Down released their self-titled fourth album. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 154,000 copies in its first week. That was the band’s second consecutive chart-topping album after “Seventeen Days”, and their fourth album to reach the top ten. In 2009, 3 Doors Down teamed up with The Soul Children of Chicago for the single In the Presence of the Lord on the compilation album “Oh Happy Day: An All-Star Music Celebration”. Later that same year, 3 Doors Down recorded the Christmas single Where My Christmas Lives, the band’s first Christmas song, written by Arnold.
3 Doors Down released their fifth studio album, “Time of My Life”, on July 19, 2011. Their first greatest hits album came out on November 19, 2012. The sixth and last studio album with Arnold on vocals, “Us And Night”, was released by 3 Doors Down in 2016.
On January 19, 2017, 3 Doors Down played ahead of the inauguration of newly elected US president Donald Trump. Arnold told TMZ at the time that he was proud of the performance and felt it was a good experience.
In 2020, Arnold released a solo single called Wicked Man.
Back in 2006, Arnold was a passenger in a serious car crash when the driver lost control of the vehicle due to hydroplaning (that is, the sudden loss of tire grip when driving fast on a wet road). He needed a number of stitches, and among other things one of his ears had to be sewn back on.
He was known as a recovering alcoholic who stopped drinking in 2016.
In May 2025 he was diagnosed with kidney cancer. It had already reached stage four, with metastases spread to the lungs as well. He passed away surrounded by his family on February 7, 2026, at the age of 47.
