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By Ashley Perez-Hollingsworth
t ’ s 2024 , and somehow , “ Hey There Delilah ” is making headlines . Again . The iconic Plain White T ’ s song went viral when Drake and parody rapper Snowd4y shared their version entitled “ Wah Gawn Deliah .” So , what did Plain White T ’ s singer / songwriter Tom Higgenson think ? He ’ s flattered but still questions if it ’ s real . Yet , he ’ s in awe that the song is still being talked about 18 years since its release . That ’ s quite the lifespan for a song written for a girl he was crushing on .
Suddenly , Plain White T ’ s were no longer Chicago ’ s best-kept secret ; they were rock stars . For a while , Plain White T ’ s had a chokehold on the emo / alternative scene of the mid- 2000s dominating with hit singles like “ 1,2,3,4 ” “ Hate ( I Really Don ’ t Like You ), and “ Rhythm of Love .” Though things have changed for the band since that time , they ’ re stronger than ever . They returned with their ninth ( self-titled ) album , Plain White T ’ s , last year . They ’ re still touring , and yes , still playing their signature song at every show and loving every minute of it . As for the 45-year-old Higgenson , despite the success he ’ s achieved with the band , he ’ s still the same kid from the suburbs who wants to live out his rock n roll dreams .
Hours before he ’ s due to hit the stage in Washington , Higgenson sits down with IE to discuss the evolution of the band , his relationship with “ Hey There Delilah ,” and why he ’ s still making music over two decades into his career .
20 illinoisentertainer . com july 2024
Illinois Entertainer : It ' s hard to believe Plain White T ’ s have been around for over 20 years . If you asked me , I would ’ ve said , “ Hey There Deliah ” came out only 10 years ago . Tom Higgenson : Well , the funny thing is , the band started in ‘ 97 . So , that ' s even stupider . We ' re going on 27 years ? Is that the math right ? What the hell ? That ' s insane . I ' m having a nightmare over here . [ laughs ]
IE : Well , since the band formed 27 years ago , so much has changed with the music industry and with the band itself , but you ' re still here making music . You guys put out a new album last year . What motivates you guys to keep going as a band ? TH : Honestly , the same thing that motivated us 27 years ago . We love music . I love music so much , and I want to make it all the time . It ' s where my brain is always at , you know ? With Plain White T ' s – we ' ve been able to last all this time and keep finding , I mean , did you see that Drake thing ?
IE : I did ! It ’ s funny that it popped up as I was prepping for the interview . TH : “ Hey There Delilah ” has had a life of its own ever since we wrote that thing . I don ' t know . It ' s my love of music , and it ' s always exciting . There ' s always something on my mind . There ' s always something to write about . There ' s always something I need to get off my chest . And music is the way I ' ve been able to do that .
The Timing is Right
IE : Yeah . Well , since you brought it up , what was your reaction to the Drake remix ? TH : I still have no clue what the hell that was [ laughs ]! I don ' t know if it was real or if it ’ s AI . Everybody ' s saying it ' s real , but it just seemed so weird and kind of not that good . Drake is good . He ' s got some good songs . I feel like he would have done better on the song if he actually did it . It just seemed too weird and too goofy to be real . It ' s funny because the song went viral one more time . It ' s just a crazy thing with that song .
IE : It ’ s hard not to think about that song when you think about the band . It ’ s amazing how the song exploded . But when a band gets a song that “ defines ” them , it can be tricky . It can be annoying , or you end up resenting the song . What was your relationship with the song after it exploded and how has your relationship with the song changed ? TH : When I wrote it , my intention for writing the song was oh , ' I like this girl . I want to write this cute song for her .' I wasn ' t thinking about writing a number-one hit song or something . It was this cute little thing I wanted to write for this girl that I liked . So , it definitely held a close place in my heart because of that and because I really did like it . I thought it was a great song . Once I started playing it for other people – the band and friends and fans – it was an overwhelming response of ' that ' s your best song .' And I ' m like oh , really ? Okay , that ' s cool !
But we listened to everybody , and we let the song go and take on a life of its own . I feel like my relationship with the song started out , like I said , personal , intimate , and cute . But honestly , I don ' t think it ' s changed that much .
I ' m so lucky we ' ve had the success we ' ve had with the song . It basically afforded me my whole life as far as success goes . That alone is an incredible thing . That ' s probably one of the best relationships I ' ve ever had in my life , you know , me and that song . But as far as the actual song and performing it I still love it . I never once had that resentment like some artists would have with their hit songs . We still play the song at every show we do . And every time we play it you know it ' s going to be the crowd favorite . You know everybody ' s going to get out their phones . You know everybody ' s going to sing along . You know everybody ' s going to be smiling and feeling it . And that ' s why Istarted playing music in the first place . I ’ m super lucky to have a song that connected so much .
IE : Last year you guys released the latest album , the self-titled record . And you went into it with the idea of capturing the thing that makes the Plain White T ' s , Plain White T ' s . When making the record , what was it like to reflect on what the band has done and try to hone in on the thing that makes the Plain White T ' s unique ? TH : It was really fun , honestly . If you go back through the discography , every album feels a little bit different . We ' re always trying to kind
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