Bradley Kirk Arnold
(September 27, 1978 – February 7, 2026)
was an
American
singer-songwriter
and musician
who was
the lead vocalist
and a
founding member
of the
Mississippi-based
rock band
Early Life
Arnold was born
September 27, 1978
and grew up in
Escatawpa, Mississippi.
He wrote
3 Doors Down's
breakout hit single,
"Kryptonite",
in high school
during math class
at age 15.
Career
Arnold was a
founding member of
3 Doors Down.
He was the band's
lead singer
and former
drummer.
Formed in 1996
the band is known
for the hit songs
"Kryptonite",
"Here Without You",
and
"When I'm Gone".
Both
"Kryptonite"
and
"When I'm Gone"
received
Grammy nominations.
The band's
first studio album,
The Better Life,
was released in
February 2000
and went on to be
certified 7× platinum.
Released in April
of that year,
the single
"Kryptonite"
reached
number three
on the charts
and became
the band's
breakout hit.
Away from the Sun,
the band's
second studio album
, was released in
November 2002
and peaked at
number eight
on the charts.
It went platinum
within two months
of release
and eventually
went multi-platinum.
The band's third
studio album,
2005's
Seventeen Days,
debuted at No. 1
on the Billboard 200
and has been
certified platinum.
3 Doors Down
released their
self-titled
fourth album on
May 20, 2008.
It debuted at No. 1
on the Billboard 200,
selling 154,000 copies
in its first week.
It became the band's
second consecutive
No. 1 album
on the chart after
Seventeen Days,
as well their
fourth album
to reach the Top Ten.
In 2009,
3 Doors Down,
along with
The Soul Children of Chicago,
released the song
"In the Presence of the Lord"
on the compilation album
Oh Happy Day:
An All-Star Music Celebration.
In 2009,
the band
recorded a
Christmas song called
"Where My Christmas Lives",
which was the first
Christmas song
Arnold had written.
3 Doors Down
released their
fifth studio album,
Time of My Life,
on
July 19, 2011.
Their first
greatest hits album
was released on
November 19, 2012.
On January 19, 2017,
3 Doors Down
performed at the
pre-presidential
inauguration concert
of U.S.
President-elect
Donald Trump.
Arnold told
TMZ
that he was
"proud"
to perform
and that he thought
it would be a
"good experience".
In 2020,
Arnold released a
single entitled "
Wicked Man"
as a solo artist
Arnold was a
recovering alcoholic
who stopped drinking
in 2016.
On May 7, 2025,
Arnold announced that
he had been diagnosed
with Stage IV clear cell
renal cell carcinoma
that had metastasized
to his lung.
Despite the severity
of the diagnosis,
Arnold stated
that he had
"no fear".
Arnold died in his sleep
from renal cancer on
February 7, 2026,
at the age of 47.
The news was confirmed
by his family
and the
remaining members
of the band
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