The All-American Rejects | |
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 The All-American Rejects performing at the Hampton Casino Ballroom in 2007 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Stillwater, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
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| Past members |
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| Website | allamericanrejects |
The All-American Rejects (often abbreviated asAAR) are an Americanrock band formed inStillwater, Oklahoma, in 1999.[4][5] The band consists of lead vocalist and bassistTyson Ritter, lead guitarist and backing vocalist Nick Wheeler, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalistMike Kennerty, and drummer Chris Gaylor. Wheeler and Ritter serve as the band's songwriters; Wheeler is the primary composer and Ritter is the primary lyricist. Although Kennerty and Gaylor are not founding members, they have appeared in all of the band's music videos and on all studio releases except for the band's self-titled debut.
The group achieved mainstream success with their debut self-titled studio albumThe All-American Rejects, released in 2002 on theDreamWorks Records label. The album was certifiedplatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and spawned the successful single "Swing, Swing".[6] The band's second studio albumMove Along brought the group further mainstream success in 2005, producing the hit singles "Dirty Little Secret", "Move Along", and "It Ends Tonight", all of which charted in the top fifteen on theBillboard Hot 100 chart,[7] whileMove Along was certified triple platinum in 2024 by the RIAA.[6] Their third studio albumWhen the World Comes Down was released in 2008 and was later certified platinum in 2024 by the RIAA.[6] Its lead single "Gives You Hell" became The All-American Rejects' most successful song to date, peaking at number 4 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart and the top 5 in many other countries.[7][8][9] "Gives You Hell" was certified 9× multi-platinum for sales of over 9 million shipments in the United States by the RIAA in 2024.[10]Kids in the Street, the band's fourth studio album, was released on March 26, 2012, and debuted at number 18 on the USBillboard 200. On October 30, 2015, the group released a new single named "There's a Place".
The All-American Rejects have sold over 12 million albums worldwide.[11][12] They were ranked No. 73 on the "Hot 100 Artists of the 2000s"[13] and No. 183 on the "Billboard 200 Artists of the Decade" list.[14] The band has continued to tour, and released the singles"Sweat" on July 7, 2017,[15] and "Send Her to Heaven" on their new labelEpitaph on July 16, 2019. On March 22, 2025, their fifth studio album,Sandbox was announced. The lead single, the title track, was released April 24, 2025. The second single, "Easy Come, Easy Go", was released June 5, 2025.
The band formed inStillwater, Oklahoma in 1999 while members Nick Wheeler andTyson Ritter were still in high school. It was here that Ritter offered himself for bass duties. Eventually Wheeler and Ritter decided to form the All-American Rejects.[4] When asked where the name of the band came from, Mike Kennerty says, "It was a random name that sounded cool. I feel like we have grown into it over the years."[16]
In 2000, while still in high school, the group made a demo simply labeledThe All-American Rejects, with Nick Wheeler (drums), Tyson Ritter (vocals, bass), and Jesse Tabish (guitar, vocals). The demo CD was engineered, mixed and mastered by Wheeler. It was also managed by Alisa Ben at Half-A-Cup Entertainment. The demo is now commonly referred to asThe Blue Disc orThe Blue Album. The CD consisted of twelve songs, a few of which would be included on theSame Girl, New Songs demo made in 2001. Jesse Tabish later split from the group and later became a member of the folk bandOther Lives. Ritter and Wheeler put together theSame Girl, New Songs EP, which was soon sent to independentDoghouse Records, where an intern saved the disc from the trash, and revealed it to the label owner. The All-American Rejects were soon signed to a recording contract.[17]
In 2001, with producer Tim O'Heir, the band recorded their self-titled debut studio album,The All-American Rejects. The album and its first single, "Swing, Swing," were released towards the end of 2002. The group began looking for additional members for a live act.[18] Edmond, Oklahoma resident Mike Kennerty joined on as rhythm guitarist soon before the album was released. Soon after, the band was having problems with drummer Tim Campbell. Campbell was later replaced by drummer Chris Gaylor, who knew and played in another band with Kennerty.[19]
The group was then signed byDreamWorks Records, a subsidiary of film companyDreamWorks Pictures (also known as DreamWorks SKG). The band hit the road for eight shows in January, and DreamWorks issued a broader-scale distribution of the debut LP. The album peaked at No. 25 on theBillboard 200 Album chart. The single "Swing, Swing" was also re-issued, which peaked on theBillboard Hot 100 at No. 60 as well as No. 8 on theBillboardModern Rock Trackschart.[20][21][22] The single "The Last Song" was also released spring 2003, and climbed to No. 29 on theBillboardModern Rock Tracks chart.[22]
Early in 2003, the band went on tour as an opening act forCKY. While several differing stories have occurred concerning the tour, they were kicked off the tour shortly after it began.
In Spring 2003, the All-American Rejects set out on their first headlining tour, called theToo Bad For Hell Tour. In later 2003, the All-American Rejects released,Live from Oklahoma... The Too Bad for Hell DVD!, their first live DVD – which was later certified Gold by theRIAA. During this time, they performed on theVans Warped Tour. They would later be part of the lineup again in summer 2005. In November, the All-American Rejects joined the bandsMotion City Soundtrack andLimbeck for six shows in the United Kingdom, the first date on the 16th, and the last on the 22nd.[23]
In November 2003,Universal Music Group (UMG) agreed to purchase DreamWorks Records from DreamWorks Pictures for roughly $100 million.[24] The label was eventually shut down in January 2005, and during 2004, many DreamWorks artists were reassigned to different labels at UMG.[25]
In July 2005, the All-American Rejects released their second studio album,Move Along, produced byHoward Benson. It was released via UMG'sInterscope Records, and the album's first single, "Dirty Little Secret," was released that summer to radio stations.
At the end of 2005, the All-American Rejects embarked onThe Rise of the Fall Tour along withThe Academy Is... andRooney.[26] Then, on December 13,The Bite Back EP was released on theiTunes Music Store, and on New Year's Eve 2005, the band performedThe Cars' "Good Times Roll" withFall Out Boy on MTV.
In 2006, the second single andtitle track fromMove Along was released. Within the first weeks after premiering their video, it had been on theTotal Request Live countdown, hitting number-one four days in a row. The single did not chart on theBillboard Hot 100 until almost six months after its release, in June. On March 15, 2006, the All-American Rejects began a tour of the United States that wrapped up on May 13, 2006. On May 25, the All-American Rejects performed at the first everVH1 Rock Honors, covering "Photograph" byDef Leppard. In July the band sent apromotional single fromMove Along, "Top of the World," to modern rock radio. A music video was created for it from clips of the All-American Rejects on tour and in concert.
"Move Along" was also used to help promote theLegoBionicleInika toy sets in the summer of 2006. The group also participated in a promotion for the sets called "Free the Band". The overall priority of the promotion was that the Rejects got kidnapped by the villainous Piraka whilst sailing on a yacht and people had to assist the Inika on finding and rescuing the band via the website 'freetheband.com.' A competition could also be entered where the winners would receive Bionicle and All-American Rejects merchandise alike.[27] That same year, "Move Along" was featured in the filmShe's the Man, which was released by former DreamWorks Records owner DreamWorks Pictures.[28]
In September 2006, a third headlining single, "It Ends Tonight," was released fromMove Along. The video debuted at No. 10 on the VH1 Top 20 countdown. The video also peaked at No. 2 onTRL.[29] Later in the year the All-American Rejects launched theTournado tour in support ofMove Along. The tour kicked off atHartford, Connecticut on October 27, and wrapped up atChampaign, Illinois on December 20.
That New Year's Eve, the All-American Rejects performed on a special on Las Vegas' Fremont Street, which also included the bandsOK Go,Five for Fighting,Rock Star Supernova, andChicago.
On December 21, 2024, the album hit 1 Billion streams on Spotify.
The All-American Rejects began writing material for their third studio album in December 2006. The band also collaborated with composerDanny Elfman on "The Future Has Arrived," which was included on the soundtrack ofDisney filmMeet the Robinsons. The song was created in conjunction with the film's musical score.
On July 17, 2007, the All-American Rejects released their second live DVD, titledTournado, with content from the 2006 headlining tour of the same name. Also during the summer, they covered "Jack's Lament" fromThe Nightmare Before Christmas, which was featured onNightmare Revisited. The finished album version of the song "I Wanna" appeared in the movie,The House Bunny, which was released to theaters on August 22, 2008. Vocalist/bassistTyson Ritter played a role in the film, and offered up "I Wanna" for the soundtrack.[30]
On September 30, 2008, the first single fromWhen the World Comes Down, "Gives You Hell" was released. The All-American Rejects were inducted into theOklahoma Music Hall of Fame, and were awarded with "Rising Star."[31] "Gives You Hell" peaked at No. 1 on Pop charts on billboard.com and also peaked No. 1 oniTunes charts and No. 5 most downloaded song of the 2009 year, and the No. 1 most played song of the year 2009.[32]
The music video for "Gives You Hell" was released November fifth and reached number one onVH1's Top 20 Countdown. On the sixth, in support of "Gives You Hell," the band started theGives You Hell Tour, which hit many small venues and clubs. Then, on the eighteenth "Mona Lisa (When the World Comes Down)," another song from the band's upcoming album, was released digitally on iTunes. In the first week of December, the album version of "Real World" was made available for download on Rock Band for theXbox 360 and thePlayStation 3.
Three years after theMove Along album was issued, the group released their third studio album,When the World Comes Down (produced byEric Valentine), on December 16, 2008.[33] After theGives You Hell Tour wrapped up, the band embarked on a world tour until coming back to the states to start theI Wanna Rock Tour, which hit many major venues in the United States.
In May 2009, the All-American Rejects released a second single in the United States, entitled "The Wind Blows," which achieved moderate success. "I Wanna" was released internationally on July 8 to Australia and the United Kingdom. Another song fromWhen the World Comes Down, In July, "Real World" was released as a promotional single in the United States, followed by "I Wanna" as a headliner. In late summer the All-American Rejects joinedWeezer,Fall Out Boy andTaking Back Sunday for the second half of theBlink-182 Reunion Tour. On August 15, the All-American Rejects made history, performing alongsideHoobastank,Raygun,Boys Like Girls,Pixie Lott andKasabian as one of the live acts at Asia's very firstMTV World Stage Live In Malaysia concert.[34] This performance gained them recognition in Malaysia.When the World Comes Down soon sold over 15,000 digital and physical copies in the country. On August 21 the "I Wanna" single was issued to Austria and Germany.
In October 2009, the All-American Rejects were forced to cancel shows due to an injury to frontman Tyson Ritter. He performed from a wheelchair with his leg in a brace on September 27 during a show in Tampa, Florida, amid reports suggesting the singer had undergone knee surgery to remove a tumor that had been there for many months. Ritter's leg became infected, and he remained hospitalized for five days. Ritter made a full recovery in time to return to kick off theBattle Of The Bands Tour with Taking Back Sunday, with the first date atMSU in Michigan.[35][36] At the end of 2009, Ritter suffered fromalcohol abuse after ending a six-year relationship. Ritter's way of coping with this issue was to write and record music for the band's next album,Kids In The Street.[37]
The All-American Rejects announced that they would be performing their last show in support ofWhen the World Comes Down in Hollywood, California on December 14. Since the date soon sold out, the band added a second date at the venue for the next day. However, the group played one more show at the "Jingle Bell Bash" inSeattle,Washington on December 19.
In February 2010, the All-American Rejects performed live at theVancouver Winter Olympic Games at the Whistler Medals Plaza. They also hadDirecTV performances atSuper Bowl XLIV and a special set aired in February. The band also wrote and recorded the song "The Poison" for theAlmost Alice compilation, a collection of songs representing the 2010Tim Burton filmAlice in Wonderland. From June 25 to July 18, the All-American Rejects toured the United States and Canada as part of theWarped Tour 2010 festival.
Later that year, the band announced that they were working on a fourth studio album, which was planned to be released in early 2012. Songwriters Nick Wheeler and Tyson Ritter went on numerous writing retreats into secluded parts of the United States; a tradition of writing used on their previously released albums. Recording for the album wrapped up in June 2011, with mixing commencing the following August and concluding early September. On November 14, 2011, Ritter announced that exTaking Back Sunday bassistMatt Rubano had joined the band as their bass player for live performances, but stated that Ritter is still the bass player recording-wise.[38][39]
On December 3, 2011, the group announced that the album would be titledKids in the Street and released the song "Someday's Gone" from the album as a free download from their official website, a music video for the track that was filmed over the previous weekend also premiered the same day.[40] The band later announced the track listing for the album on December 16, 2011, and that its first single would be titled "Beekeeper's Daughter," it premiered in an episode of American teen drama90210 featuring the band performing the track on January 31, 2012, as well as being released the same day.[41] The album spawned two further singles; "Kids in the Street" and "Heartbeat Slowing Down," both of which achieved little success in the US.
The All-American Rejects later embarked on theirShaking Off the Rust tour, which began inSan Luis Obispo, California, United States on January 18, 2012, and continued through the year – some of which they performed as a support act forBlink-182's20th Anniversary Tour in the UK – and ended on July 27, 2013. The band performed at Sepang International Center inKuala Lumpur, Malaysia on September 27, 2013, alongsideThe Wanted andFive for Fighting as part of theArthur's Day celebrations promoted by theGuinness brewing company. On November 5, 2013, Ritter released a solo song titled "Air"[42] in order to "tide fans over until the next Rejects record",[43] which Ritter claimed "it's time to start fishing for hooks for", while in an interview withVariance magazine.[44]
The band headlined theSlam Dunk festival tour in the UK on the Bank Holiday weekend of May 2014, alongside other bands such asGoldfinger,Letlive,We the Kings andZebrahead.[45] Following occasional performances of touring for 18 months and a concert withMusikfest, Wheeler announced in an interview with the former that the band plans to begin recording for their fifth studio album in the fall of 2013.[46] He went on to describe the intended creative process as "in the moment", saying they plan to write as well as record new material in the studio rather than write in advance.
The group performed at Universal Studios Orlando annual Mardi Gras event,Wabash College, and Manhattan College in the spring of 2015. A new song by the band titled "There's a Place" is featured in the trailer for the 2015 filmMiss You Already, in which Ritter also stars.[47] The song and its music video were released on October 30, 2015. On July 21, 2016, Tyson Ritter announced a new single from the band, entitled "DGAF." The song was performed live for the first time that night, which also marked the start of the band's tour withBlink-182. The band performed at Emo Nite LA's 2nd anniversary at the Echoplex in Los Angeles, CA in December 2016.[48]
On April 1, 2017, Tyson Ritter announced a new single from the band due out that summer, entitled "Sweat." On June 13 the band officially announced the song via social media. They released their two-song EP, "Sweat" and "Close Your Eyes" on July 7, 2017. The All-American Rejects have written and recorded about 10 new songs as of June 2017. The band toured in the summer and fall of 2017, playing both new singles. Although the band is keeping quiet about the songs and album name, Ritter said in an interview with grammy.com that the next two songs to be released would be "Send Her To Heaven" (a song played on the 2017 summer/fall tour) and "Demons."[49] "Sweat" charted at number 21 on the Hot Rock Songs chart, number 10 on Digital Rock songs chart, and later charted at 29 on the Billboard Adult Pop Songs chart, in the month of October.[50][51]
On February 8, 2018, Tyson Ritter said that the band was no longer signed to Interscope Records,[52] saying that the band intended to release music "without all the politics that come into play when signed to a major label," citing the process of the label paying top 40 stations to play their music as not for them, and not what music is about.
It was later announced on July 10, 2019, thatEpitaph Records had signed the band.[53] On the following July 16, The All-American Rejects released the 3-track single "Send Her to Heaven," followed by its music video. The band later released the single "Me Vs. The World" on November 20, 2020, stating that all of its proceeds would be donated to theMusiCares COVID-19 Relief Fund which aims to support employees in the music industry who have been out of work since the start of theCOVID-19 pandemic.
On August 21, 2020, the band released a 14 song collection to Spotify titled 'Rejects Faves' that contains band-picked favorites from their four studio albums.[54]
On November 30, 2020, when asked if the band would be releasing new material in an interview with RADIO.COM, Tyson Ritter stated that "it's not likely that the band is going to make another record anytime soon if ever, it's given birth to these other projects that I've started." He also quotedJoni Mitchell, adding that "as an artist or as a songwriter you need to know when to stop."[55]
On January 18, 2022, The All-American Rejects were announced as part of theWhen We Were Young Festival with headlinersParamore andMy Chemical Romance. The festival took place in October 2022 and had three dates.[56] The band were set to return for the 2024 event, but backed out on October 11 due to "management change."[57]
On August 2, 2024, the band headlined the Dearborn Homecoming Festival inDearborn, Michigan, a suburb ofDetroit. They co-headlined withThe Verve Pipe.[58]
On August 30, 2024, they teased a new song to be released the following September 13, but did not reveal the title. It was then revealed to be a cover of "Flagpole Sitta" byHarvey Danger.
On March 22, 2025, the band announced a new album,Sandbox, with the title track being released as the lead single on April 24.[59] In May 2025, the band went viral playing a series of pop-up "House Party" shows. The band played at a bowling alley, a barn, and on college campuses throughout the Midwest.[60][61] The album's second single, "Easy Come, Easy Go", was released along with a music video on June 4, 2025.[62]On July 22, 2025, "Easy Come, Easy Go" debuted at 37 on theAlternative Airplay chart, their first song to enter this chart since 2009.[63] In August 2025, the band began hosting pop-up signings for a limited tour edition of their vinyl release,Sandbox, confirming that the full album was scheduled for release in February 2026.
Later that year, the band announced that they – alongsideBoys Like Girls – would be opening for theJonas Brothers on theirJonas20: Greetings from Your Hometown Tour of North America, began in August 2025.[64] They were intended to be an opening act consistently starting in October, but announced on November 9 that they'd be pulling out of the rest of the tour dates due to Ritter needing vocal rest.[65][66]
The staff ofConsequence ranked the band at number 61 on their list of "The 100 Best Pop Punk Bands" in 2019.[67] In 2021, Paris Fawcett ofLouder wrote: "The All-American Rejects wereemo masked as radiorock, and it made them unstoppably popular for about two years. In this time they penned two platinum records, developed a vice grip over high school movie soundtracks and quickly became poster boys for a style of punk so wet that it madeBlink-182 look likeBlack Flag."[68]
Current
Touring
Former
Using mainlyFender andGibson guitars, the All-American Rejects use numerous models. The band usesSennheiser microphones, Dean Markley Custom Lights guitar strings, andDunlop Picks.
Lead vocalist/bassist Tyson Ritter uses two models ofFender; one is a BlackPrecision Bass, and the other model is the then-discontinuedJaguar Bass. Ritter also uses Gibson models, including theGibson Thunderbird and theEpiphoneFlying V.[70]
Lead guitarist Nick Wheeler, primarily uses Gibson guitars. Wheeler's main guitar is theGibson Firebird. He primarily uses a Vintage Sunburst Firebird V. Wheeler owns a rare cherry Firebird VII, which he no longer uses for live shows, as well as a custom Firebird, which is painted in blue glitter. He owns eight Firebirds overall. He also uses a Classic Gibson Firebird. Wheeler frequently uses aGibson ES-335. This guitar is notably used live for the intro of "Top of the World", taking the place of theclassical guitar originally used in the "Top of the World" recording. It is also commonly used in the songs "It Ends Tonight", "Real World", "Stab My Back", "My Paper Heart", "Gives You Hell" and "Dance Inside". Another guitar that Wheeler favors is theGibson EDS-1275doubleneck guitar, which he uses live on "The Wind Blows", "Back to Me", and "Bleed Into Your Mind". He has also been known to occasionally use theGibson Flying V, namely for the performing "The Last Song" live.[71][72]
Rhythm guitarist Mike Kennerty has used theGibson SG since joining the band, and also usesWashburn Guitars. Another guitar that Kennerty favors is thePRS Guitars Mira X which came out in early 2009.[73][74]
Chris Gaylor, drummer for the band, usesRemo heads for his drums. Gaylor used to endorseTama drums, but now he endorses C&C drums. He has a set with a Rootbeer Sparkle wood finish, as well as an acrylic kit. Gaylor's most-current set-up contains seven drums. He uses a 12×7 rack tom, 14×10, 16×12, and 18×14 floor toms, a 14×6.5 Nickel-Over-Brass snare, a 12×7 effects snare, and a 24×16 bass drum. Gaylor uses Tama hardware.
Also, Gaylor usesVater Universal drumsticks, and his cymbals areSabian. His hi-hats are Sabian 14-inch HHX Evolution. His 3 crashes he uses are an 18-inch HHXplosion crash, a 19-inch AAXplosion crash, and a 20-inch HHX stage crash. Gaylor also uses 22-inch HH Power Bell ride cymbal. Gaylor also includes an LP cowbell in his set. He also uses anAlesis ADAT HD24 for recording purposes.[12][75]
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