3 Doors Down's Smash Hit Kryptonite Went Platinum, But Fell Short Of This Milestone

"Kryptonite" was a massive hit for 3 Doors Down, and it collected almost every achievement that a song can — except for the mighty feat of going all the way to No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100, aka, the pop chart. Only four years after forming in Mississippi, 3 Doors Down exploded onto the national scene in 2000 with "Kryptonite," a song that makes use of Superman terminology to paint a complex, first-person portrait of anxiety. Lead singer Brad Arnold, who died of cancer in February 2026, wrote the song in the mid-'90s, when he was 15 years old. 

"Kryptonite," melancholy but melodic, heavy but vulnerable, aggressive but emotional, and combining elements of grunge and metal, proved so popular that it would be a foundational song in millennium-era rock. In the early 2000s, lots of bands sounded like 3 Doors Down and they all wanted their "Kryptonite." Few acts approached the level of success enjoyed by the band, or "Kryptonite." But while it was the first and most significant of many hits for 3 Doors Down, it just couldn't completely top the pop chart.

One could argue that 3 Doors Down was one of the most important rock bands of the 2000s, but it's objectively true that it was one of the most successful. And it all started with "Kryptonite," the first single and first track from 3 Doors Down's first album, "The Better Life." The Recording Industry Association of America certified "Kryptonite" eight times platinum, meaning it sold the equivalent of eight million copies. On the strength of that song, the band won the "Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist" prize at the 2001 American Music Awards. "Kryptonite" has been streamed more than 1.2 billion times on Spotify alone.

"Kryptonite" was one of the biggest radio hits of 2000, and that's across multiple formats. On Billboard's Alternative Airplay chart, it reached the No. 1 position in May, and it stayed there for a whopping 11 weeks. "Kryptonite" fared well on the Pop Airplay chart, too — it was the most-played song at Top 40 radio for five weeks. But all that still wasn't enough to tip the all-genre-encompassing Hot 100 in 3 Doors Down's favor, sealing its fate as a band that sold millions of records but never had a No. 1 hit. Seven months after it entered the Hot 100, and garnering significant sales and radio play along the way, "Kryptonite" topped out at No. 3 on the pop chart in November 2000.