Photo: Scott Legato/Getty Images
Brad Arnold, lead singer and songwriter of 3 Doors Down, died February 7. He was 47. The 3 Doors Down official social-media account announced their founder’s passing, saying Arnold “passed away peacefully, surrounded by loved ones, in his sleep after his courageous battle with cancer.” Arnold announced his diagnosis of stage-four kidney cancer in May 2025. 3 Doors Down blew up in the early 2000s with songs like “Kryptonite” and “Here Without You.”
Arnold was born in 1978 in Escatawpa, Mississippi. According to the band’s eulogy, he wrote 3 Doors Down’s breakout hit, “Kryptonite,” at 15 years old. He was in algebra class when he crafted the song. A year later, Arnold founded his band. 3 Doors Down’s first album, The Better Life, dropped in February 2000, with “Kryptonite” releasing as a single in April. The song became a mainstay on TRL and reached No. 3 on the Billboard “Hot 100.” The band’s second album, Away From the Sun, went platinum within two months of release.
In 2016, Arnold went to rehab for alcohol addiction, at the prompting of country singer Charlie Daniels. “Mr. Charlie answered the phone that night, and I just sat there and cried to him,” Arnold said in 2020. “I sat there and cried on the phone for probably an hour talking to him and his wife. They had compassion for me. He understood. He didn’t get on to me. I just told him what the problem was, and he told me what he thought the solution was.” From then on, Arnold became a more devout Christian and began preaching at his concerts.
3 Doors Down played Donald Trump’s first inauguration. The band remained steadfast in the commitment despite many other acts bowing out. At the time, Arnold told TMZ, “It’s all about America. I’m proud to be here. We love America, man.”
— 3 Doors Down (@3doorsdown) February 7, 2026
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