Rob Thomas (musician)

Thomas was born at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany to Bill and Mamie Thomas. Bill Thomas was a United States Army sergeant. Thomas has an elder half-sister, Melissa, from his mother's previous marriage. The Thomas family returned to the United States when Thomas was six months old. Thomas's parents divorced when he was two years old. Following the divorce, Thomas lived with his mother and sister. Their stories inspired him to be a songwriter. Thomas's home life was not stable. Thomas describes his mother as an alcoholic who occasionally beat him. His sister ran away from home to get married, leaving Thomas to care for their mother on his own. She eventually entered remission. Mamie dated a series of men, some of whom beat her; she loved wild parties. To impress girls at parties, Thomas wrote and played music. He played in a series of cover bands and began writing songs in earnest. Thomas said that "in songwriting I felt special for the first time. And all I wanted to do was get out of Florida." One of his bands, Fair Warning, earned a three-week job playing at a hotel in Vero Beach. They were fired three days into the job after they were caught stealing beer and candy from the hotel. At one point, Thomas was a member of another band, Tidal Wave, which played mostly surf tunes. ==Career==

1993–1995: Formation of Matchbox 20 In 1993, Thomas formed the band Tabitha's Secret. Brian Yale was the group's bass player. Paul Doucette earned a spot as drummer after answering an ad. The band was popular in the Orlando area, Producer Matt Serletic heard them play and was intrigued. The band met him for an introductory meeting, but broke up before any contracts were signed. Thomas worried that he'd never get another chance for a recording contract. Thomas, Yale, and Doucette were still interested in working together, and Serletic introduced them to rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor and lead guitarist Kyle Cook; together, they formed a new band, Matchbox 20. The band recorded several demo tapes, with Serletic as their producer. Three radio stations in Orlando and Tampa added the songs to their rotations. Executives at Atlantic Records noticed that the songs were being requested frequently. Although the band sounded very green, executives thought the songs were good. It was released in October 1996, The album sold only 600 copies in its first week. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award and two American Music Awards. In 1997, readers of Rolling Stone named Matchbox 20 the best new band. The band members decided together that they wanted to be more professional and began cleaning themselves up. Cocaine use was no longer tolerated. Songwriter Itaal Shur had given a demo tape to Santana's representatives. Although they liked the music, they thought the lyrics and melody could be strengthened. One of the executives sent the demo to Thomas, asking him if he'd like to work on it. He wrote the song intending for it to be sung by George Michael. Thomas wrote the verses to the song that became "Smooth", and he and Shur collaborated on the chorus. "Smooth" increased his visibility, and that of Matchbox 20. Thomas says that "Smooth" "really opened up the door for me as a songwriter and a solo artist." and they sold out Madison Square Garden in 15 minutes. When Santana prepared to record his follow-up to Supernatural, he sought to collaborate with Thomas again. Instead of providing vocals, Thomas wrote two songs for the album, which were recorded by Seal and Musiq. When the tour for More Than You Think You Are ended, Thomas, Cook, Doucette, Yale, and Gaynor decided to take a break to focus on their families. 2004–2007: ...Something to Be and Exile on Mainstream On April 19, 2005, Thomas began his solo career with the release of ...Something to Be which debuted at number 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance and Best Solo Rock Vocal Performance. His first single from the album, "Lonely No More", reached number six on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single debuted in the top 10 of the Australian ARIA singles chart on the week of April 4, 2005. The second single, "This Is How a Heart Breaks", went gold in the US and hit the top 50 in Australia. The third single, "Ever the Same", became a top five Adult Contemporary hit. On October 5, 2005, he started his first solo tour, the Something to Be Tour. In the summer of 2006, Thomas toured with Jewel and Toby Lightman. In September 2006, Thomas's solo effort received more exposure when ABC started using the song "Streetcorner Symphony" in promotional ads for its popular Thursday night lineup. This song was subsequently released as a single. In January 2007, Thomas released a single entitled "Little Wonders" from the soundtrack to the Disney animated feature, Meet the Robinsons. "Little Wonders" reached No. 5 on the Mediabase Hot Adult Contemporary chart. Thomas was featured on the June 14, 2007, episode of the long-running PBS series Soundstage. Thomas reunited with his Matchbox Twenty bandmates in 2007. Gaynor had left the band, leaving only four of them. They decided to release a greatest hits album, Exile on Mainstream, which included an additional six new songs. The album released three singles: "How Far We've Come", "All Your Reasons", and "These Hard Times". 2009–2011: Cradlesong On September 15, 2008, Thomas told Billboard his second solo album was tentatively called Cradle Songs. Thomas characterized the album as "the usual mish-mosh of styles, but hopefully just holding true to a bunch of good songs." The article also mentioned that the record would nonetheless feature several tracks that "take a more global, rhythmic direction after working with South American and African percussionists." Thomas explained one such experiment: We started off with the idea of doing a newer version of (Paul Simon's) The Rhythm of the Saints, and that kinda carried us a long way through. It gave us a whole new bed to work with, like 'How do I get my pop sensibility around this and work it into that?' It was a lot of fun. But you go through different phases when you're writing; it took a different turn, and I just followed it, too. On March 2, 2009, Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly interviewed Thomas, where he confirmed he had since shelved his initial efforts to evoke The Rhythm of the Saints, and claimed the album was scheduled for a June 30 release. Having played half the forthcoming album to Entertainment Weekly, it was reported that many of the lyrics on Cradlesong were about troubled relationships, and three more song titles were revealed: "Meltdown" (described as "INXS-esque power pop" that stood out as "a possible first single"), "Fire on the Mountain" (an "epic, tribal drum-driven" track inspired by Dave Eggers' book What Is the What) and "Getting Late" (suggested as the "set's likely closer" and what Thomas described as "a little ditty about death."). On March 11, 2009, Rob Thomas created his own Twitter account and announced via the social application that "Her Diamonds" would be the lead single from Cradlesong. Thomas has also stated via Twitter that Cradlesong had been mastered and featured fourteen tracks culled from the twenty-four songs recorded during the album sessions. All twenty-four tracks were fully mixed and mastered, leaving plenty of material left over for B-sides, iTunes, or EPs. On June 9, 2009, Thomas released "Give Me the Meltdown" to the US iTunes Store. Similarly, "Someday" was released on June 16. On June 22, Cradlesong was made available for streaming only on the we7 website, one week ahead of its UK release date. Thomas promoted the album with his 2009/2010 tour, Cradlesong Tour. In March 2010, Thomas announced plans to release a four-song digital-only EP entitled the Someday EP. Featuring three new songs, the EP was released to iTunes on March 30, 2010, and all other digital retailers April 6, 2010. 2012–2014: North After his solo success, many of Thomas's confidants urged him to leave Matchbox Twenty. As Thomas wrapped up his tour for Cradlesong, he began writing songs for consideration for the next Matchbox Twenty album. Finally, producer Serletic appeared and told them to stop drinking and get to work. The lecture worked. The result was a true collaboration. Matchbox Twenty's next album, North, was released on September 4, 2012, ten years after their last full-length album of new material. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart. Thomas released the first single from The Great Unknown, "Trust You", on May 25, 2015. The Great Unknown was released on August 21, 2015. He spent two years touring it prior. "Hold on Forever" was announced as the album's second single on September 28. The tour for Thomas' album included holographic representations of Thomas produced with vntana technology so that fans could pose for photos with him during the concert. Thomas announced on February 15, 2019, that his fourth studio album—titled Chip Tooth Smile—would be released on April 26, 2019. The lead single for the album, "One Less Day (Dying Young)", was released on February 20, 2019. On October 7, 2021, Thomas announced that his first Christmas studio album titled "Something About Christmas Time" would be released on October 22. He recorded the album, which includes both original and cover songs, in his home studio in New York during the summer. Matchbox Twenty got back together for Where the Light Goes album in May 2023, which they went on tour to promote in 2024. 2025–present: All Night Days and label change On May 6, 2025, Thomas announced that his sixth solo studio album will be titled All Night Days and that he would embark on a 25-date U.S. tour, The All Night Days Tour, from August 1 to September 6, 2025. On May 25, 2025, he announced 11 tour dates in Australia and New Zealand from October 24 to November 15, 2025. The tour is to feature special guests A Great Big World and The Lucky. On July 11, 2025, Thomas released the album's first single, titled "Hard to Be Happy", another song from the album, "Thrill Me", plus information about the album on streaming services: the tracklist, a release date of September 5, 2025, and a change in labels from Atlantic Records to Universal Music Group. Thomas released "Picture Perfect", the album's next single, on August 8, 2025. ==Artistry==

Music and voice During solo tours, Thomas plays some Matchbox Twenty songs, but arranged differently—often for acoustic instruments. His solo albums have a much stronger pop feel. Monique La Terra of the Music called him a "defining voice of post-grunge pop rock." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic wrote "As the lead singer for Matchbox Twenty, Thomas was at the forefront of the polished mainstream alt-rock that emerged in the late '90s." His detractors say the music is fluff and too sweet. Thomas chooses his words carefully, "trying to make my phrases more colourful when I'm writing, trying to find the longest way to get to the point that I'm trying to make as opposed to the quickest way." ==Personal life==

A mutual friend introduced him to model Marisol Maldonado at an afterparty in Montreal in late 1997. When he returned to the United States, they went on their first date, to a music festival in Boston. That night, he told her he would marry her, Thomas has a son, Maison Thomas Eudy, from a previous relationship, born on July 10, 1998. Maison is credited as a songwriter for Thomas's song "I Love It" from his 2019 album Chip Tooth Smile. Charity work The Thomases are committed animal lovers and supporters of animal charities. Thomas and his wife have established the Sidewalk Angels Foundation, a non-profit organization created to help needy people in and around America's big cities by partnering with various charities to assist people who cannot afford medical care, and animals that have been abandoned or abused. Political views Politically, Thomas considers himself a "fairly liberal guy". He is a strong supporter of gay rights and wrote a piece in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage. He closed the article by writing, "Each of us has a short ride on this earth and as long as we stay in our lane, and don't affect someone else's ride, we should be allowed to drive as we see fit." ==Discography==

• ...Something to Be (2005) • Cradlesong (2009) • The Great Unknown (2015) • Chip Tooth Smile (2019) • Something About Christmas Time (2021) • All Night Days (2025) ==Tours==

Headlining • Something to Be Tour • Cradlesong Tour • A Special Intimate Performance with Rob Thomas • The Great Unknown Tour • Chip Tooth Tour • The All Night Days Tour ==Awards and nominations==

APRA Music Awards ASCAP Pop Music Awards American Music Awards BMI Pop Awards Billboard Music Awards Billboard Music Video Awards California Music Awards Grammy Awards Teen Choice Awards XM Nation Music Awards ==Television==

Thomas appeared on the American sitcom ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' in its fourth season, in which he played himself as a deranged patient of a rehabilitation center. He also served as an advisor for Cee-Lo Green's team during the third season of the NBC reality competition series The Voice. Thomas has noted that he is sometimes mistaken for television writer Rob Thomas, and vice versa. A conversation between the two men on this subject led to Thomas agreeing to perform a musical number as himself in the season two finale of the TV show iZombie, penned by his namesake. He and his wife were devoted fans of the show. Thomas was killed in the episode. He performed on NBC's Rockefeller Center Tree Lighting Concert on November 29, 2023. His 2021 song, A New York Christmas, was chosen because it centers on compassion, understanding and peace. ==See also==