Matchbox Twenty(originally Matchbox 20) is a rock band from Orlando, Florida. The band released their first album, entitled yourself or someone like you in 1996.
The first single, Long Day, was a radio only hit, however the album quickly spun off several Top 40 hit singles throughout 1997 and 1998, including 3 A.M., Real World and Back To Good. The album eventually went on to sell over 12 million copies in the US alone, earning diamond status.
Before recording their next album, Itaal Shur, Carlos Santana and Thomas wrote a song for Santana's comeback album, Supernatural, on which Thomas sang lead vocals. The song, Smooth, became the album's lead single and a gigantic hit in 1999; Shur, Thomas and Santana earned several Grammys for writing Smooth.
In 2000, Matchbox 20 renamed themselves matchbox twenty and released their second album, mad season. The first hit single off the album was Bent, followed by the evocatively arranged ballad If You're Gone. The song Mad Season was also a hit single.
For their third album, the other band members demanded equal songwriting credit. Sharing the songwriting duties proved to be a good idea, as the band once again had a greatly successful album, more than you think you are, that was omnipresent on radio for more than a year and a half with several hit singles
including Disease, Bright Lights and Unwell, which topped the charts for 20 weeks in 2003.
In May 2004, the band released a concert DVD, Show: A Night in the Life of Matchbox Twenty, featuring 20 songs, including all of their hit singles.
In February 2005, rhythm guitarist Adam Gaynor officially left the group, which has been on hiatus to allow other members to pursue side projects. Rob Thomas has released some solo work, including the US Billboard 200 #1 album, Something To Be, and the top ten hit, Lonely No More.