Shinedown‘s “A Symptom of Being Human,” the current single off the band’s latest album, Planet Zero, has hit #1 on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart. It’s Shinedown’s 19th leader on Mainstream Rock Airplay, which is the most for any artist since the chart began in 1981.
Speaking with ABC Audio, frontman Brent Smith compares Shinedown’s continued chart success to “being in the third grade forever.”
“I’m baffled by it all,” Smith says. “My humility is very genuine.”
Smith notes that Shinedown’s accomplishments hold a particularly special place for him now that he’s “better at reflecting.”
“I used to be, like, I would never reflect on anything,” Smith explains. “It was like, ‘Go, go, go, go, go, go, go!’ I’m still, like, ‘Go, go, go, go, go,’ but if you can’t enjoy it and you can’t embrace it and be proud of yourself, it starts to not matter as much.”
Beyond the four people in the band, Smith says that Shinedown shares their accomplishments with many people behind the scenes. He gives a shoutout to the wives of the band members, whom he calls “some of the most bada** women on the planet.”
“They get it, they understand it, they realize the sacrifice,” Smith says. “That’s something that we don’t take for granted.”