Hoobastank’s 2003alternative rockhit, “The Reason,” is a hit for — well, a reason. Its heartfelt message about coming to terms with one’s own mistakes and seeking forgiveness resonated deeply with listeners. In fact, despite releasing a number of tunes over the past years, the band will undoubtedly be remembered for theirsignature hit. It remainstheir only song to surpass 1 billion streams on both Spotify and YouTube, a testament to its enduring appeal among both longtime fans and new listeners. With lyrics filled with regret and a desire to grow, the song presents a narrator who takes full responsibility for his past mistakes. Many believe its popularity stems from this raw vulnerability, with some music outlets crediting its success to the track’s emotional authenticity.
“The Reason” is objectively Hoobastank’s biggest song to date, and none of their subsequent projects have come close to matching its success. The song proved to be amassive commercial success, peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and earning a 4× platinum certification in the United States. And it’s not even that difficult to understand why. The song exudes such anatmospheric mood, with the narrator recognizing his flaws and expressing a desire to change. The song opens with the line “I’m not a perfect person,” yet admits he’s continuously learning. The chorus goes, “I’ve found a reason for me / To change who I used to be / A reason to start over new / And the reason is you.”
“The Reason” Is Hoobastank’s Most Commercially Successful Single
This isn’t to suggest Hoobastank didn’t release some great songs before and after “The Reason,” with the existence of “Crawling In The Dark,” “Running Away,” “If I Were You,” and “This is Gonna Hurt,” among several others. However, the power ballad from their 2003 second studio album of the same name was met with such overwhelming success that even the band seemed to struggle to follow it up. It’s also why many consider the band aone-hit wonder, even though they’ve had other notable hits beyond “The Reason.” Reflecting on the song’s enduring appeal more than 20 years after its release, lead vocalist Doug Robb suggested it may be because “it was pure in its writing and its message.” He toldUS Weekly:
“It wasn’t like, ‘what does the audience want? What kind of tempo is good? Major minor chords, what chords work together?’ People do construct songs that way. ‘What’s a hot topic now? What’s good, what are phrases you can use’ – everything! They break it down to a science. They take all the ‘romance’ out of it… It was one of the fastest songs from conception to finish that I think we’ve ever written. There wasn’t a lot of second-guessing — going back and going, ‘you should try this chord, try this word.’” He went on to say that the song’s success came down to “the authenticity of it,” adding, “It’s a message that was true to me but not intended to be universal. It wasn’t like I needed to write something that a lot of people could relate to. It was never intended that way.”
“The Reason” Continues To Connect With Audiences
While “The Reason” boasts a long-lasting legacy, its continued relevance is partly thanks to exposure through television and social media. The song was featured in the final episode of the iconic sitcomFriends, titled “The Last One.” More recently, it appeared in the very first episode of Netflix’s smash-hit dramedyBeef, starringSteven YeunandAli Wong. “The Reason” has also inspired a wave of memes online, particularly on TikTok, where users share their most embarrassing moments set to Hoobastank’s timeless hit. The band later created their own TikTok account after the song trended on the platform, even joining in on the trend themselves.
Hoobastank has released a total of seven albums so far, with their first one —They Sure Don’t Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To(1998) — unavailable on streaming platforms and only accessible through a few leaked copies online. The band released their most recent one in 2018, titledPush Pull. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of their second studio album,The Reason, Hoobastank released a special-edition LP last year, featuring redesigned cover art and bonus tracks.
