"Kryptonite" is the debut single by American rock band 3Doors Down. It was originally released as a demo for local play by 97.9 WCPR-FM in Biloxi, Mississippi. The song first charted on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, reaching number one for nine weeks, then hit number one on the Modern Rock Tracks chart for 11 weeks. It also reached number one on the Mainstream Top 40 chart for five non-consecutive weeks, number four on the Adult Top 40 chart, and number three on the BillboardHot 100, the band's highest-charting single on the listing. The main chorus of the song were sampled in the 2007 song "Goodnight Goodnight" by band Maroon 5.
Composition and inspiration
The song was written by vocalist/drummer Brad Arnold in a mathematics class when he was fifteen and was one of the first songs he ever wrote. In terms of the song's meaning, Arnold has said:
Music video
Directed by Dean Karr, the music video presents an old man who was a big-time action hero on 1950s TV. The scene cuts between the band hanging around on the roof of the apartments where the old man lives, spying on a man harassing a woman. When the man drags her away, the old man dons his superhero suit and follows. In between shots of the old hero chasing the bad guy and failing to protect himself against a group of goths, the band is shown playing in a club with several other elderly people dressed as caricatures of comic villains. Several of these people are seen riding a mechanical bull during the final chorus. The video comes to a close when the old man dives through the skylight and catches the bad guy off guard, possibly knocking him out by falling on top of him. The video ends with the old man smiling, giving a thumbs up to the camera, having successfully completed his mission.
Live performances
"Kryptonite" was first performed live in Pascagoula, Mississippi on January 15, 1997. As of April 1, 2019, it has been performed 493 times, making it the most performed song by 3 Doors Down.
In the media
"Kryptonite" has been featured in several television shows, including Roswell, Cold Case, Unsolved and Dancing with the Stars. The song can also be heard in films Corky Romano and Kick-Ass, and in the video gamesSingStar Pop, Guitar Hero 5, and is available as DLC for the Rock Band series.
