Perfect

Background:

“People that hate our band, they will never hate me enough to make me stop it. They don't faze me. They go out there and tell us to f*** off or they flip us off or whatever, it's like, that's nothing to me. It's like I love what I do so much they will never stop me from doing it. No matter how loud they scream, I will scream louder and I will always be there for people who love us. They could never boo me off stage, I'll keep playing until my set's over and that's it.” Pierre Bouvier of Simple Plan

French/Canadian pop punk band Simple Plan, comprising of drummer Chuck Comeau, lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier, lead guitarist Jeff Stinco, rhythm guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre and bassist David Desrosiers, was launched to prominence with their debut album, “No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls,” which went multi-platinum in Canada and double-platinum in America. The album spawned such hits as “I'm Just a Kid,” “I'd Do Anything” “Addicted” and “Perfect.” In addition to becoming the group's biggest hit on the Billboard Hot 100, “Perfect” also topped the American Top 40 and reached the Top 6 in Australia. The band gained additional success in 2004 with their sophomore effort, “Still Not Getting Any....” The first single “Welcome to My Life” was a worldwide hit, peaking at No. 1 in Spain and became the Top 40 on the American Billboard Hot 100. The third album, “Simple Plan,” was released in February 2008 with the lead single “When I'm Gone,” a Top 30 hit in U.K. Simple Plan also released two live albums: “Live in Japan 2002” (2003) and “MTV Hard Rock Live” (2005).

A popular band in Canada, Simple Plan picked up four consecutive MMVA Awards in the category of Favorite Canadian Band from 2002 to 2005. They also won a Teen Choice for Choice Music-Rock Group in 2005 and a Juno for Fan Choice in 2006.

Aside from music, members of Simple Plan have participated in numerous side projects, including the Simple Plan Foundation, which deals with youth problems like poverty to drug addiction. Prior to the establishment of the foundation, they supported nonprofit and advocacy groups like the MTV Asia Aid benefit, RADD (Recording Artists, Actors, and Athletes against Drunk Driving), the Make-A-Wish Foundation and MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving). Pierre Bouvier hosted a reality TV show on MTV called “Damage Control,” which debuted in March 2005, while Sébastien Lefevbre and Patrick Langlois started a clothing company, Man of The Hour, which later evolved to an internet radio show named “Man of the Hour.” Along with Chuck Comeau and Langlois, Bouvier also has a clothing line called “Role Model Clothing.”

Montreal Boys

Childhood and Family:

In 1995, in Canada, the future Simple Plan founders Pierre Bouvier (born on May 9, 1979) and Charles-André “Chuck” Comeau (born on September 17, 1979) formed a band called Reset with their friends Philippe Jolicoeur and Adrian White. The foursome hit the streets around Canada with fellow punkers like MxPx, Face to Face and Ten Foot Pole and managed to release a debut album in 1997 called “No Worries.” They, however, only enjoyed moderate success and Comeau, who first worked as a writer for a music magazine, quit the group to attend college.

After two years, Comeau decided to put his studies on the backburner to start a new group with his former high school friends Jeff Stinco (born on August 22, 1978) and Sebastien Lefebvre (born on June 5, 1981), both of whom had just left their bands. Growing tired with his double duty as the front man and guitarist of Reset, Bouvier, who reconnected with Comeau at a Sugar Ray show in late 1999, decided to leave his band and joined Comeau. David Desrosiers (born on August 29, 1980) soon completed the lineup and Simple Plan was born.

Welcome to My Life

Career:

Before heading to the studio to make a record, Simple Plan performed with the annual Warped Tour in 2001 and had spots with the Toronto-based Snow Jam. Their debut album, “No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls,” was released on November 15, 2002, on Lava/Atlantic Records. The first single “I'm Just a Kid,” written by Bouvier, was featured in such motion pictures as ED Decter's “The New Guy” (2002), Casey La Scala's “Grind” (2003) and the remake “Cheaper by the Dozen” (2003), while the follow-up “I'd Do Anything,” featured vocals from Mark Hoppus of the Blink-182 fame. The group, however, did not enter the Billboard Hot 100 until after the release of their third single, “Addicted,” which rose to the Top 45. When the single was released in Australia in 2004, it rose to the Top 10. The last and forth single from the album was “Perfect,” which went on to become Simple Plan's biggest hit on Billboard's Hot 100 (#24). The song peaked at No. 6 in Australia and No. 1 on the American Top 40.“ No Pads, No Helmets...Just Balls” received multi-platinum certification in Canada and went double-platinum in America.

Simple Plan solidified their rising status with hundreds of local performances in 2002 and a successful concert in Japan, where their debut album went gold. They also served as an opening act for Avril Lavigne's 2003 Try To Shut Me Up Tour and headlined the Vans Warped Tour.

In October 26, 2004, Simple Plan resurfaced with their second studio album, “Still Not Getting Any....,” which rose to No. 3. Its lead single, “Welcome to My Life,” debuted at No. 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and reached the Top 11 and Top 21 position on the Top 40 Mainstream and Top 40 Tracks, respectively. A huge international hit, the song also became a No. 1 hit in Spain and stayed at that position for 52 consecutive weeks. This was followed by the singles “Shut Up!” (# 99 on Billboard's Hot 100), “Untitled (How Could This Happen to Me?)” (#49 on Billboard's Hot 100), “Crazy” and “Perfect World.” “Still Not Getting Any....” was certified platinum 4 times in Canada and went platinum in the U.S.

A year later, Simple Plan released “MTV Hard Rock Live,” a second live album after “Live in Japan 2002” (2003). The album comprised of tracks from their first two albums. Also in 2005, they toured with artists like Avril Lavigne, Good Charlotte, Relient K and Green Day. They slowed down their touring schedule the following year to start working on their new album in Montreal. Entering the studio in June 2007, the third album, “Simple Plan,” was released on February 12, 2008. The lead single, “When I'm Gone,” peaked at No. 26 on the UK chart.

“When people ask me to describe our sound, I always think of it as angry, negative, depressive lyrics over really poppy, uplifting music. That's the way it's always been. This is just a really personal record. It's a record about how we're feeling, so that's what reflects out of it.” Pierre Bouvier

Simple Plan will tour in Japan in May, where they are also scheduled to appear on the MTV Japanese awards. Next, they will perform at several festivals, including the Download Festival.

Awards:

• Juno: Fan Choice, 2006

• Teen Choice: Choice Music: Rock Group, 2005

• MMVA: Favorite Canadian Band, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005