Rascal Flatts

Rascal Flatts was an American country music group founded in 1999 in Nashville, Tennessee. The group consisted of Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cousin, a brother-in-law of country music singer James Otto, and a former member of the contemporary Christian music duo East to West. LeVox and DeMarcus are both natives of Columbus, Ohio. From 2000 to 2010, they recorded for Disney Music Group's former Lyric Street Records division. While on that label, they released six studio albums, all of which have been certified platinum or higher by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The group's self-titled debut Rascal Flatts was released in 2000, and Melt (2002), netted their first number-one single, "These Days". Feels Like Today (2004), Me and My Gang (2006), Still Feels Good (2007), and Unstoppable (2009) all topped the US Billboard 200 upon release. After Lyric Street closed in 2010, they moved to Big Machine Records. During their tenure with that label, they recorded five more studio albums: Nothing Like This (2010), Changed (2012), Rewind (2014), a Christmas album entitled The Greatest Gift of All (2016), and their final studio album Back to Us (2017). Rascal Flatts released more than forty singles, sixteen of which reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay, and/or Canada Country charts. Their longest-running number-one, a cover of Marcus Hummon's "Bless the Broken Road", spent five weeks at number one on Hot Country Songs in 2005. Through 2006–07, "What Hurts the Most" was number one on both the Hot Country Songs and Adult Contemporary charts, and garnered their highest peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at number six. The band also had commercial success with a cover of Tom Cochrane's "Life Is a Highway", which they recorded for the soundtrack of the Pixar animated film Cars (2006). Rascal Flatts' music is defined by country pop influences, as well as their distinct vocal harmonies. In addition to their own music, DeMarcus has produced albums for Chicago, Jennette McCurdy, and Brooks & Dunn member Kix Brooks. On January 7, 2020, Rascal Flatts announced that they would be disbanding following a farewell tour after twenty years together. However, this farewell tour was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic; the group's disbandment was officially confirmed in October 2021.