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Simple Plan – Taking One For The Team

Album Details

simple-plan-taking-one-for-the-team   Recording Overview Album Tracklist Known Collaborators Expected Sound Making The Album: 2013-2014 Making The Album: 2014-2015 Making The Album: 2015-2016

Making The Album: 2015-2016

First Taste of Album #5: “Saturday”

On June 22nd, Simple Plan gave fans their first official taste of the new album in the weekend-ready “Saturday.” It’s a fun, upbeat, pop punk song spurred on by youthful gang chants of “S-A-T-U-R-D-A-Y… night!” As Pierre Bouvier sings, even though he could be doing any number of crazy things with his friends, the only place he wants to be on the weekend is at home with his girl. “Saturday” isn’t the first single, but it does give us a hint of how the new album will sound.

 

Albums #5 Photo Shoot

On July 15th, Simple Plan shared their 10th vlog documenting the making of their album. This time, we got a behind-the-scenes look at their album’s photo shoot. You can also hear some of the studio version of “Boom” in the background. Check it out:

Live Performance of “Boom” at Alternative Press Music Awards

On July 22nd, Simple Plan performed at the Alternative Press Music Awards. After ripping through their classic “I’d Do Anything,” they played the plugged in version “Boom” for the first time (as opposed to the acoustic debut from late 2014). They continued to play it live during their mini tour in summer 2015. “Boom” is the second song to be heard from the new album, but is not the official lead single. That will come later in the year.

Go to about 3:00 in the below video to see “Boom” –

Simple Plan also had a quick interview after the performance. They talked about co-writing with others for their upcoming 5th album.

 

Filming the “Boom” Music Video

“Boom” is the second song to be heard from Simple Plan’s 5th album. It is not the official lead single, but the song was getting the video treatment:

Ladies and gentleman, we are officially shooting a video. @goodguychady ???????? #BOOM!

A photo posted by Pierre Bouvier (@pierrebouvier) on

 

#BOOM ?

A photo posted by Pierre Bouvier (@pierrebouvier) on

 

“Boom!” Music Video Released

On August 27th, Simple Plan released the music video for “Boom!” The video features concert footage with hundreds of dedicated fans, as well as cameos from quite a few bands. See if you can find the members of All Time Low, PVRIS, Pierce The Veil, Black Veil Brides, Silverstein, Neck Deep, and New Found Glory in the video below:

You can buy “Boom!” on iTunes now.

 

“I Don’t Wanna Be Sad”

On September 17th, Simple Plan surprised fans with another new teaser single. “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad” is soulful and peppy, led by a strong piano riff and complemented by snazzy backup singers and horns.

“I Don’t Wanna Be Sad” is a very effective pick-me-up kind of song, as the protagonist laments his incurable melancholy. He’s ready to be happy again, but is having trouble losing the dark cloud that follows him around. He’s tried pills, therapy, exercise, and positive thinking, but maybe what he really needed was this song. This new single is sure to turn any frown upside down. Pierre Bouvier’s voice sounds better than ever and the carefree mood is impossible to ignore. Listen to “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad” below:

We first heard about “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad” (then just called “Sad”) back in July. Drummer and songwriter Chuck Comeau told Absolute Punk it is one of his favorites from the new album:

I forgot that you had heard “Sad.” That’s one of my favorites on the album. It just felt so awesome for us to do that because it has an up-tempo feel and everything, but at the same time, it’s a little bit throwback-y, it has a little bit CeeLo Green and Bruno Mars in it but then it’s mixed in with the punky energy and with the horns. I don’t want to say it has a ska influence, that’s not really the vibe we were really going for, but at the same time, that energy, that tempo with the horns, it gives a little bit of a Less Than Jake kind of feel. In terms of the lyrics, what I love is that it’s a very sort of Simple Plan theme but at the same time, there’s a very cool positive spin on it, which is rad. It’s kind of like the new version of some of the things we wrote about before. But yeah, I really like that one. One of my favorites.

You can download “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad” on iTunes now. It is the third song to be heard from Simple Plan’s anticipated fifth studio album.

 

Twitter Q&A About New Album: Recording More Songs & Leaving “Saturday” Behind

On September 17th, Chuck Comeau did a Twitter Q&A with fans about the new songs and upcoming album. He revealed a lot of interesting information, but the most important things to note related to “Saturday” and the status of the new record.

Although “Boom!” and “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad” will be on the new album, the first single, “Saturday,” will not:

Additionally, although we all though Simple Plan’s new album is ready to go, they are actually planning to write and record a few more songs:

Finally, Chuck guesses that the new album will have between 11 and 13 songs (presumably bonus tracks will bump up the number), and should be out either very late in 2015 or early in 2016.

https://twitter.com/chuckcomeau/status/644747688844636160

 

Live Chat About New Album

September 18th brought more news: This time, Chuck did a live video chat on Facebook. He confirmed that “Saturday” will not be on the new album, though the other two singles will be. He also said the next single they release will be the official lead single for their still unnamed album.

The record has a wide range of styles on it, from old-school pop punk to the soulful sound of “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad.” There are 2-3 ballads that he’s especially proud of as well. The band is going into the studio in late September to write a few more songs for the album.

Chuck guesses the album won’t be out until early 2016. He says January or February is most likely for the release.

In 2014 Simple Plan wrote two songs with 5 Seconds Of Summer for the younger band. 5SOS did not end up using the songs for their album, so it’s unknown if and when they will be released. As Chuck says, it’s up to 5 Seconds Of Summer. In the future, Chuck would like to collaborate with other artists, including Tyson Ritter of the All-American Rejects, Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding, Lynn Gunn of PVRIS, and Pierce The Veil.

You can see the full video below. Chuck spent a full hour answering questions, and it’s worth the watch:

 

Simple Plan Release Baywatch-Themed Video for “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed”

On October 16th, Simple Plan released the video for their fourth single of the year – and the official lead single from their upcoming album – “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed.” The song has a slick funky groove, amplified by blasting horns and well-placed falsetto vocals. Rapper Nelly also features on the track, bringing the “Summer Paradise” throwback full circle. So far, each new Simple Plan song this year has been better than the last, and “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed” is certainly deserving of the official lead single title.

“I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed” also comes with a fun, Baywatch-themed music video, which the band filmed in August. Frontman Pierre Bouvier stars as himself, while Chuck Comeau plays Dax, Jeff Stinco is Q-Ball, David Desrosiers is Captain Rider, and Sébastien Lefebvre plays J.C. Cunningham. The band members, looking better than ever, take turns saving drowning damsels in between games of volleyball. The video ends with a cameo from David Hasselhoff himself. Check out the fun “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed” video below:

You can buy “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed” on iTunes now.

 

Pierre Reveals New Song Titles

That same day, Pierre Bouvier did a live Facebook chat with excited fans today, and told his thousands of viewers about some of the new tracks.

“I Refuse” is one of the heavier songs that will be on their new album, and it has an anti-bullying message. Even though the band members are in their 30s and three of them have kids, bullying is still a very real presence for them and an important issue they wanted to tackle in their music.

On a lighter note, Pierre’s favorite new song is called “Kiss Me Like Nobody’s Watching.” He didn’t say anything else about it, but if it’s an album highlight it will be exciting to hear it!

In addition to “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed,” which features rapper Nelly, Pierre promises that some other new songs will have features as well. There is no word yet on who the collaborators are or which songs they will appear on, but it will be worth the wait to find out.

Check out the full Facebook chat with Pierre below for more Simple Plan info and news:

 

Announcing Taking One For The Team, Out February 19th

On November 30th, Simple Plan was finally ready to announce the title and release date of their upcoming 5th studio album: Taking One For The Team will be out on February 19, 2016. The long-awaited album has been in the making for more than a year, and early estimates predicted the album would be out in summer 2015. Although we got four new songs this year, the rest will have to wait until the new year.

Taking One For The Team will include three of this year’s singles: The smooth “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed” featuring Nelly, the soulful “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad,” and the punk love song “Boom.”Simple Plan have also mentioned a handful of other tracks that are likely to appear on the new record. Songs like “Everything Sucks,” “I Refuse” and “Kiss Me Like Nobody’s Watching” should be on Taking One For The Team. The single “Saturday,” however, will NOT be on the record. Simple Plan will be recording four more songs for the album, but the full track listing should be announced soon.

You can see the official artwork for Taking One For The Team below:

simple-plan-taking-one-for-the-team

 

Tracklisting Revealed

On December 18, 2015, Simple Plan revealed the full track listing for Taking One For The Team. The album will include 14 total songs.

  1. “Opinion Overload”
  2. “Boom“
  3. “Kiss Me“
  4. “Farewell”
  5. “Singin’ In The Rain”
  6. “Everything Sucks“
  7. “I Refuse“
  8. “I Don’t Wanna Go To Bed” (featuring Nelly)
  9. “Nostalgic”
  10. “Perfectly Perfect”
  11. “I Don’t Wanna Be Sad“
  12. “P.S. I Hate You”
  13. “Problem Child”
  14. “I Dream About You”

You can already pre-order Taking One For The Team on iTunes now. If physical is more your style, Simple Plan has three options available on their website: A simple CD with all 14 songs, an All-Star Team package which comes with a lithograph and t-shirt, and the Hall Of Fame package, which comes with a signed lithograph, t-shirt, 5 trading cards (one for each band member), and a pennant.