Aaron Lewis

Although best known to rock fans as the frontman of the post-grunge band Staind, Aaron Lewis has also enjoyed a chart-topping solo career as a contemporary country singer. He was born in Springfield, Vermont, on April 13, 1972, and attended high school in Massachusetts following his parents' divorce. Lewis co-formed Staind in 1995 and co-wrote early singles like "Just Go" and "Mudshovel," both of which appeared on the band's major-label debut, Dysfunction, in 1999. He also co-wrote 2001's "It's Been Awhile," a power ballad that topped the Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock charts in 2001 and became one of the best-known songs of the alt-metal era. That same year, Aaron Lewis began earning accolades outside of Staind's catalog by duetting with Fred Duerst on "Outside," which also climbed to Number 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart. A decade later, he rebranded himself as a country songwriter with the 2011 EP Town Line. The release was a crossover hit, peaking at Number 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, Number 3 on Top Rock Albums, and Number 7 on the all-genre Billboard 200. A full-length album, The Road, followed in 2012, featuring the Top 40 singles "Endless Summer" and "Forever." As Staind slid into an extended hiatus during the early 2010s, Aaron Lewis began focusing exclusively on his country career, hitting Number 1 with 2016's Sinner and Number 2 with 2019's State I'm In. Two years later, he earned his first Number 1 country single with "Am I the Only One," a conservative-minded protest song that outlined his right-wing viewpoints. The song also charted at Number 14 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and appeared on Lewis' fourth solo album, Frayed at Both Ends, in 2022. An acoustic album of new material, The Hill, followed in 2024, featured sparse arrangements of guitar, dobro, and mandolin.