Plain White T's

If Plain White T’s had any sense, they would have quit after the massive success of their middle-school-dance classic “Hey There Delilah.” The drippy ballad is sure to be a fixture on lite FM stations for the next 20 years—it’s already turned up, homogenized and smooth-jam-ified, on American Idol—and it’s difficult to imagine these emo-punk also-rans producing anything nearly as popular ever again. Plain White T’s are pushing forward anyway, with last year’s The Wonders Of The Younger finding the band moving in a “California pop” direction. It’s wise of the T’s to stop chasing their forever-lost punk-rock cred, but still: You might as well start booking that “Totally ’00s” tour for 2019 right now, guys.

Updated 09/15/2011