Formation (1997–1999) The Plain White T's was formed in Lombard in early 1997. The group began as a trio, with Higgenson as singer and guitarist, Fletcher on bass guitar and Tirio on drums. The group played mostly local punk shows in Chicago's suburbs, eventually having gigs at the Metro in Chicago's
Wrigleyville neighborhood. As the band began to establish itself in the local scene, a fourth member, Steve Mast, was recruited. He played lead guitar and sang backing vocals. Higgenson broke several vertebrae in a car crash in 1999 while driving the band's van. He was in a back brace for three months and had to learn to walk again. Higgenson changed his songwriting process, choosing songs that were more meaningful to him, and the band began taking its music career more seriously.
Come on Over, Stop and lineup changes (1999–2003) In 2000, the band recorded its first album, titled
Come On Over. In 2002, the band self-financed the recording of
Stop, a full-length album that attracted the attention of
Fearless Records. While the band toured in support for the album, both Fletcher and Mast left in 2003; they were replaced by Tim Lopez and Mike Retondo. Shortly after, Tirio decided to switch from drumming to rhythm guitar and new drummer De'Mar Hamilton was added to the line-up.
All That We Needed (2004–2007) The 2005 release,
All That We Needed, was the first studio album from the reformed line-up, and featured the single "
Hey There Delilah". In 2006 the band signed to
Hollywood Records and recorded
Every Second Counts, featuring a new version of "Hey There Delilah" with a string section.
Every Second Counts was released in September 2006. That same year, "Hey There Delilah" reached #1 on the
Billboard Hot 100 chart for two weeks. The song was written for the track star
Delilah DiCrescenzo, whom Higgenson had met in 2002. The song received two Grammy nominations, and
Every Second Counts was certified gold. In early 2006, the band teamed up with
Motion City Soundtrack for a winter/spring tour.
Big Bad World (2007–2009) In 2008, the group released the album
Big Bad World. The album had two hit singles: "
1, 2, 3, 4" and "
Natural Disaster". Both were on the
American Top 40 at numbers 1 and 2 for three consecutive weeks. By late 2008, the band had joined the
Rock Band Live tour with
Panic! at the Disco,
Dashboard Confessional and
The Cab. Later that year, the band played at the
Give It a Name festival in the UK. In 2007, the band performed the single "Our Time Now" on an episode of the Nickelodeon television series,
iCarly. "Our Time Now" was also played in commercials for the ABC Family dramedy series,
Greek.
The Wonders of the Younger and ''Should've Gone to Bed'' EP (2009–2013) The band's "
Rhythm of Love" single was the first to be released from the group's 2010 album,
The Wonders of the Younger. The song reached number five on the Hot AC chart, and was in the top ten in 2010 as well. ''
Should've Gone to Bed'', a four-song EP, was released on April 9, 2013.
American Nights, Parallel Universe, and ''Plain White T's'' (2013–present) The band left
Hollywood Records after creative conflicts with the label during the production of the
American Nights album.
American Nights was released by
Megaforce Records on March 31, 2015. The release date of
American Nights was pushed back several times by their former record label,
Hollywood Records. In 2015, they also appeared on
Blues Traveler's album
Blow Up the Moon, co-writing the song "Nikkia's Prom." On November 22, 2015, the band released a music video for "American Nights" featuring Higgenson's son, Lennon. In May 2017, Plain White T's released a music video for their song "Land of the Living". The band, which had left their label Fearless in 2005, returned to the label. As of April 2017, the band has said that they are currently writing new music. The band performed "
Hey There Delilah" at the 2017
Alternative Press Music Awards. In July 2017, the band closed the
2017 National Scout Jamboree, exactly 10 years after "
Hey There Delilah" was
number-one on the charts. In 2017, Plain White T's re-signed with Fearless Records. Their latest studio album,
Parallel Universe, was released on August 24, 2018. Tirio quit the band in October 2020, leaving Higgenson as the only remaining founding member. After releasing six singles through 2023, Plain White T's officially released their
self-titled studio album on November 17. In September 2024, the band covered "
Surface Pressure" for
A Whole New Sound, a compilation album featuring
pop-punk covers of songs from classic Disney films. The band are confirmed to be making an appearance at
Welcome to Rockville, which will take place in
Daytona Beach, Florida in May 2026. == Band members ==