Aaron Lewis

At the heart of Staind's loud, angst-laden music are the confessional lyrics and introspective personality of frontman Aaron Lewis. While other post-grunge bands were successful in mining the dark caverns once explored by Soundgarden and Alice in Chains, Lewis allowed his sensitivity to pour freely from his words and often pensive vocals, enabling Staind to strike a balance between heavy metal bombast and thoughtful, melodic rock. After the band went on hiatus in 2011, Lewis embarked on a solo country career with the EP Town Line. He continued to blaze his own rootsy path on Billboard-charting full-length efforts like The Road (2012), Sinner (2016), and State I'm In (2019). In 2021, he landed his first number one country single with "Am I the Only One," which appeared on 2022's rootsy Frayed at Both Ends.