plain sailing
Noughties pop legend looks unrecognisable 17 years after smash hit song that sold 4 million copies
Tom broke his back in a horror car crash in 1999, but his near-death experience inspired him to pursue his dreams
HE was responsible for one of the biggest one-hit wonders of the early 2000s, but now he's all grown up.
Plain White T's frontman Tom Higgenson looks very different 17 years after the launch of Hey There Delilah.
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The American singer was known for rocking the long side-swept haircut that has now been banished to the depths of our inactive MySpace accounts.
While his hair is still long, it is slightly more of a mullet, which of course has become fashionable again thanks to Gen Z.
Tom recently shared a moody selfie to celebrate the launch of the band's latest album.
"It's out!!!" he wrote, now 44.
The rest of the band, Tim Lopez, Mike Retondo and De'Mar Hamilton were also pictured in the grainy black and white photos.
The band formed in Lombard in 1997 and began as a trio, with Tom as singer and pianist, former members Ken Fletcher on bass and Dave Tirio on drums.
Despite being known for their cute indie love songs, they played mostly at local punk shows in Chicago's suburbs.
The fourth member Steve Mast joined as the band gained popularity.
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However, just two years later, Tom broke his back in a horror car crash and had to learn to walk again.
He had been driving the band's van at the time of the crash and was in a back brace for three months.
This was actually a blessing in disguise for Tom, as he felt inspired to take his career more seriously after the near-death experience.
Steve and Ken both quit the band in 2003 and Dave stepped down in 2020 - making Tom the last-standing original member.
He was joined by Tim Lopez, Mike Retondo and De'Mar Hamilton in the same year and they have been a foursome ever since.
The track that arguably put Plain White T's on the map in 2007 was Hey There Delilah.
It sold a staggering 4million copies across the world.
It was written about Delilah DiCrescenzo, who Tom thought was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Despite the rumours, Tom never actually dated Delilah - who was a competitive cross-country runner and graduate of Columbia University.
However, after falling pretty hard for her after they first met, he wrote the song in the hopes of impressing her.
Unfortunately for Tom, Delilah wasn't interested and was actually dating someone else.
Speaking to USA Today at the time, she said: "When I’m at the gym, ["Hey There Delilah" is] playing; when I’m at the pool, it’s playing. Part of me wants to scream at the top of my lungs that it’s about me. Another part of me wants to cower and say it’s not.”
In 2013 she told ESPN that she "was nervous that I'd let Tom's fans down. They'd be disappointed to hear I have a boyfriend.
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"Every girl would want a song written about her, and they'd think I was ungrateful and rude to deny Tom. I felt pressure to live up to those expectations,” she added.
Delilah even attended the 2008 Grammys with Tom and the rest of the band.
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