NEW YORK — The members of 3 Doors Down barely had a chance to bask in the glow of their recent American Music Awards win before being reminded they haven't reached superstardom yet.
As lead singer Brad Arnold tells it, the band — best known for their smash rock jam, "Kryptonite" — were backstage after winning the award for best new artist when overzealous security guards questioned whether they truly belonged there with other music stars.
"We didn't have our passes on, and we got harassed," said Arnold in his thick Mississippi drawl.
"We nearly got run out of there," chimed in guitarist Matt Roberts.
It's been that kind of year for the rock group, who have sold almost 4 million copies of their debut CD, "The Better Life."
Geoff Mayfield, director of charts at Billboard magazine, said that like Creed and other rock acts, the five-member band have not been heavily hyped.
"If their success has been quiet, that's not necessarily out of line," he said. "They are not an outrageous, in-your-face kind of rock band."
Still, they're part of a mini-resurgence in rock acts making waves on the pop charts.
"We're glad we can be on the scene and represent rock music," said Arnold. "I just think there's a lot of hip-hop and pop music definitely dominates the market right now, for sure. It's good to look on the charts and see Creed and us there right next to Britney Spears and 'N Sync. That's a good thing."
Much of the credit goes to the single "Kryptonite," a huge record that was not only big on alternative music charts, but also Top 40 radio formats. The guitar-heavy song ranked 15th on Billboard's top 20 hits of 2000.
The success of that single, and their next song, "Loser," spurred multiplatinum record sales and netted them a Grammy nod and their a trophy at the AMAs, where they also performed.
"It was fun — we were playing 'Loser' and looking down and (there was) Aerosmith sittin' in the front row, right there," said Arnold.
The band developed from the friendship among Arnold, Roberts and Todd Harrell. When 3 Doors Down first started out, it was Arnold on drums and vocals, Roberts on guitar and Harrell on bass.
"We've known each other a lot longer than we've been playing music," Arnold said. "Me and Matt went to school together since like, third grade, and Todd, he used top go out with my sister actually when he was in high school, and I was a lot younger, so I've known everybody in the band for a long time."
The group grew to a foursome when they added another guitarist, Chris Henderson, in 1996. The fifth member, drummer Richard Liles, was brought on to relieve Arnold from doing double duty on drums and on vocals during performances.
Even though they've yet to become household names, they're not complaining.