Grammy-nominated rock band 3 Doors Down frontman Brad Arnold dies at 47 after battling cancer

The band announced his death in a statement, saying Arnold passed away peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by family and loved ones.

Arnold revealed his cancer diagnosis in May last year, saying he had been diagnosed with clear cell renal carcinoma that had spread to his lungs. The illness forced the band to cancel a planned summer tour, media reports said.

Formed in Mississippi in 1995, 3 Doors Down rose to prominence with the release of their breakout single “Kryptonite,” which earned a Grammy nomination in 2000. Arnold wrote the song while still in high school, a fact often cited as emblematic of the band’s unlikely rise to mainstream success.

The group’s debut album, The Better Life, became a commercial success, selling more than six million copies in the United States. A second Grammy nomination followed in 2003 for the hit single “When I’m Gone.”

Over the course of their career, 3 Doors Down released six studio albums, with their most recent, Us And The Night, arriving in 2016.

Their catalog included chart-topping singles such as “Loser,” “Duck and Run” and “Be Like That,” which featured in the soundtrack of the 2001 film American Pie 2.

In a tribute, the band said Arnold helped shape mainstream rock music by combining post-grunge sounds with emotionally direct lyrics that resonated with a broad audience.

Reflecting on his career in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press, Arnold said longevity in music was a privilege. “If you do something as long as we’ve done it, you can’t help but get better at it,” he said.

In 2017, 3 Doors Down performed at the inaugural concert for former U.S. President Donald Trump.

“His music went far beyond the stage,” the band said. “It created moments of connection, joy and shared experience that will endure long after the final note.”