Brent Smith

This article is about the singer. For the football player, see Brent Smith (American football).
Brent Smith
Smith performing with Shinedown in 2022
Born
Brent Stephen Smith

(1978-01-10) January 10, 1978
Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S.
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Children1
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentVocals
Years active2001–present
Labels
Member of
Websiteshinedown.com

Brent Stephen Smith (born January 10, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters of the rock band Shinedown.[7][8][9][10]

Early life

Smith was born in Knoxville, Tennessee[7] and is an only child.[11]

Career

Prior to fronting the rock band Shinedown, Smith had a high school band named Blind Thought and later was the lead singer in a band called Dreve. Eventually, Dreve got signed to Atlantic Records, with Smith and his bandmates traveling to Los Angeles, California to record with well-known producer Desmond Child. Although these sessions did not ultimately amount to much from a musical output standpoint, Smith considered this experience transformative, in that his continual interactions with Child about songwriting and the music industry gave a him a solid foundation for his music career from that point forward.[12] Shortly after returning home to Knoxville, Atlantic dropped the band but retained Smith. Atlantic signed Smith to a developmental contract, with Smith needing to either find another band or lose his record deal. He put together Shinedown shortly after, moving to Jacksonville, Florida to began working on the project in 2001.[13]

The first member he recruited was bassist Brad Stewart through local Jacksonville music producer Pete Thornton.[13] Smith and Stewart began recording demos together in a small local studio, whose owner recommended they meet with her fiancé, guitarist Jasin Todd, who Smith brought in as the third member.[13] The original lineup was rounded out by drummer Barry Kerch, who was the seventh drummer the band had auditioned for the spot.[13] The four worked together on creating demos, and submitted their work-in-progress material to Atlantic, who approved of the material and green-lighted a full-length album.[13][14][15] The band's debut album, Leave a Whisper was released May 27, 2003.[16] The album was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA in the United States, indicating sales of over one million.[17] Shinedown has since released six more studio albums: Us and Them (2005), The Sound of Madness (2008), Amaryllis (2012), Threat to Survival (2015), Attention Attention (2018), and Planet Zero (2022). In 2014, Smith and Zach Myers started an acoustic side project called Smith & Myers.[18]

In early 2016, the band started recording their sixth album, as they revealed in an interview with Wes Styles of the 97.7 WQLZ radio station. The album, Attention Attention, was released on May 4, 2018. The first single off the album, titled "Devil", was released on March 7, 2018.[19] On August 28, 2022, Brent was presented with a key to Knox County at a concert in his hometown Knoxville, Tennessee by former wrestler and current Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs.

Personal life

Smith has a son, Lyric Santana Smith, with his ex-fiancée, Ashley Smith Marshall. For years, Smith struggled with both drug and alcohol addiction and weight management.[20] Following an intervention from his then-girlfriend, Smith eventually lost weight through exercise and a healthier diet, including quitting drinking.[20]

Smith says that his former girlfriend, Teresa, his son, and his fans inspired him to lose weight and become healthier.[20][21]

Discography

Shinedown

Main article: Shinedown discography

Smith & Myers

Other

References

  1. ^ "Shinedown, Seether + Breaking Benjamin Lead 'NOW That's What I Call Rock!' Compilation". Loudwire. January 5, 2016.
  2. ^ "Interview- Brent Smith Of Shinedown". Crypticrock.com. August 7, 2013. Retrieved August 7, 2013.
  3. ^ "Shinedown Leave a Whisper". AllMusic.
  4. ^ "Shinedown bringing acoustic tour to Tampa's Straz Center". Tampabay.com. September 14, 2010. Archived from the original on December 15, 2013. Retrieved November 18, 2013.
  5. ^ "Attention Attention review by Shinedown". June 1, 2018. Retrieved October 5, 2020.
  6. ^ "Atlantic Records Songwriting and Second Chances with Brent Smith of Shinedown".
  7. ^ a b "Brent Smith Discography". Discogs.com.
  8. ^ "Shinedown". AllMusic.
  9. ^ "Shinedown's Brent Smith, Steven Tyler and Kid Rock featured on Muscle Shoals tribute album". ABC Radio. 2018. Archived from the original on January 15, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  10. ^ "Q&A with Shinedown's Brent Smith". Baltimoresun. May 13, 2004. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017.
  11. ^ "Shinedown Singer Reflects on Being Only Child and 'Second Chance'". Noisecreep.com. May 4, 2010.
  12. ^ Knight, Buzz (2023). Takin' a Walk Podcast- Brent Smith from the Rock Band Shinedown 4 December 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2026.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Interview with Shinedown". Metal-Rules.com. Retrieved December 7, 2011.
  14. ^ bijog (April 12, 2016). "Brent Smith". bijog. Retrieved August 15, 2016.
  15. ^ Hester, James (November 23, 2016). Rock Scars. iUniverse. ISBN 978-1-4401-2773-1 – via Google Books.
  16. ^ "Leave a Whisper – Shinedown – Songs, Reviews, Credits – AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved May 16, 2018.
  17. ^ "Shinedown front man finds a new way of life during making of 'Amaryllis'". Thedailytimes.com. February 6, 2013.
  18. ^ "Smith & Myers". AllMusic.
  19. ^ "Shinedown to release next Album in April 2018". July 12, 2017.
  20. ^ a b c Fell, James (January 12, 2013). "Brent Smith of Shinedown cleans up and slims down". LA Times. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  21. ^ Karki, Ashmita (September 11, 2016). "Brent Smith reveals how his girlfriend Teresa and his son Lyric Santana Smith changed his life". Retrieved August 20, 2018.
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