{"id":455316,"date":"2026-02-07T23:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/455316\/"},"modified":"2026-02-07T23:27:07","modified_gmt":"2026-02-07T23:27:07","slug":"brad-arnold-3-doors-down-singer-dead-at-47-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/455316\/","title":{"rendered":"Brad Arnold, 3 Doors Down Singer, Dead at 47"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brad Arnold, lead singer of the rock group 3 Doors Down and their hit \u201cKryptonite,\u201d has died at the age of 47, seven months after revealing he was battling stage 4 cancer<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The band announced Arnold\u2019s death Saturday on social media, \u201cWith his beloved wife Jennifer and his family by his side, he passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, in his sleep after his courageous battle with cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n

More from Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a founding member, vocalist, and original drummer of 3 Doors Down, Brad helped redefine mainstream rock music, blending post-grunge accessibility with emotionally direct songwriting and lyrical themes that resonated with everyday listeners,\u201d the band continued. \u201cHis music reverberated far beyond the stage, creating moments of connection, joy, faith, and shared experiences that will live on long adter the stages he performed on.\u201d<\/p>\n

In May 2025, Arnold revealed he was battling stage 4 clear cell renal cell carcinoma, a type of kidney cancer, and that the cancer had metastasized to his lung. \u201cThat\u2019s not real good,\u201d Arnold said in a video message to fans. \u201cBut you know what? We serve a mighty God, and he can overcome anything. So I have no fear. I really, sincerely am not scared of it at all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The singer added that the band would have to cancel their summer tour and asked fans to to \u201clift me up in prayer every chance you get\u201d\u00a0by listening to 3 Doors Down\u2019s 2008 song \u201cIt\u2019s Not My Time,\u201d which was \u201creally my song. This\u2019ll be a battle so we need our prayers warriors!\u201d<\/p>\n

The Mississippi-born Arnold formed 3 Doors Down in 1996 with high school buddies guitarist Matt Roberts and bassist Todd Harrell in their hometown of Escatawpa, with Arnold serving as both singer and drummer. The following year, the trio recorded their first demo tape, featuring a track titled \u201cKryptonite\u201d that Arnold said he penned while still in high school. The song slowly became popular on local radio stations in the South, eventually drawing the attention of record labels.<\/p>\n

\u201cKryptonite\u201d was ultimately re-recorded in 1999, with the resulting single soaring to Number Three on the Billboard Hot 100 soon after its release in January 2000. The track also featured on the band\u2019s debut album\u00a0The Better Life, and was the first in a string of successful singles penned by Arnold and his bandmates, including \u201cLoser,\u201d \u201cDuck and Run,\u201d and \u201cBe Like That.\u201d In an era where Napster and mp3s began to encroach on sales figures, The Better Life still managed to sell 7 million copies at the turn of the millennium, peaking at Number Seven on the Billboard 200.<\/p>\n

The band\u2019s follow-up, 2002\u2019s\u00a0Away from the Sun, found Arnold shifting strictly to vocalist, with drummer Josh Freese recruited for that multiplatinum LP. Away From the Sun boasted Mainstream Rock chart hits like \u201cWhen I\u2019m Gone,\u201d the title track, and the power ballad \u201cHere Without You.\u201d<\/p>\n

3 Doors Down would finally top the Billboard 200 with 2005\u2019s\u00a0Seventeen Days, and repeat the feat with 2008\u2019s\u00a03 Doors Down. However, 2011\u2019s Time of My Life was the band\u2019s final LP with Arnold alongside original members Roberts and Harrell; with the former leaving for health reasons while the latter was fired from the group after the bassist was\u00a0charged with vehicular manslaughter<\/a>\u00a0in 2013.<\/p>\n

Arnold remained at the forefront of 3 Doors Down for the next decade; while the band only released one more studio album \u2014 2016\u2019s Us and the Night \u2014 3 Doors Down remained active on the live front, including \u2014 controversially \u2014 a performance at one of President Donald Trump\u2019s inauguration parties in January 2017<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Arnold is the second original member of 3 Doors Down to die: In 2016, Roberts, who co-wrote \u201cKryptonite\u201d with Arnold, died following a drug overdose<\/a>. Following Arnold\u2019s death, rhythm guitarist Chris Henderson, who joined in 1998, is the only member of 3 Doors Down who appeared on their debut album to remain with the group.<\/p>\n

Best of Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter<\/a>. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook<\/a>, Twitter<\/a>, and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brad Arnold, lead singer of the rock group 3 Doors Down and their hit \u201cKryptonite,\u201d has died at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":455317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[57],"tags":[212917,236,88,212927,35852,36855,212926],"class_list":{"0":"post-455316","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-celebrities","8":"tag-brad-arnold","9":"tag-celebrities","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-kryptonite","12":"tag-matt-roberts","13":"tag-stage-4-cancer","14":"tag-todd-harrell"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=455316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/455317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=455316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=455316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=455316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}