The American band Evanescence is deservedly considered one of the most famous rock bands of our time, on the music of which a whole generation has grown up. Ahead of the band’s show in Kyiv (Ukraine), which will be held on June 26, we made a selection of 10 interesting facts from the band’s biography.
The band was founded in 1995 by 13-year-old vocalist Amy Lee and 14-year-old guitarist Ben Moody. Young people met in the summer camp of Christian youth and by the mid-90s they had written songs "Give Unto Me" and "Understanding", and then "My Immortal" and "Haunted".
One of the possible names of Evanescence could be "Childish Intentions" and "Striken".
Wind-up Records, with which the band signed a contract in 2002, initially promoted Evanescence's music to Christian music lovers. So the song "Tourniquet" topped the charts of Christian radio stations, and the first broadcast of "Bring Me to Life" was on KLAL-FM radio. However soon Ben Moody in one of the interviews "made it clear that they weren't a proper Christian group". Also, for music promotion, the band accepted the offer of Nintendo, heading "Nintendo Fusion Tour 2003".
In 2004, Lee claimed to be working on music for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe", but that the music was rejected by the studio for being "too dark." However, the producers of Narnia stated that Lee was never asked to compose any music for the film, whose score was written by Harry Gregson-Williams, and that "No Evanescence music was planned for the soundtrack."
In 2010, after the release of the single "Together Again", which became the official B-side of the second album "The Open Door", the group donated all funds from its sales to the victims of the earthquake in Haiti.
Amy Lee dedicated the songs "Hello" and "Like You" to her younger sister, who died at the age of three years from illness. That's why these two songs are not performed by the band at concerts.
In January 2014, Amy Lee filed a lawsuit against former record label Wind-up Records, seeking $1.5 million in unpaid royalties owed to the band Already in March, Lee announced via her Twitter account that she and Evanescence had been released from their record label and were independent artists.
During their long music career, Evanescence has repeatedly got into various prestigious nominations and tops. Currently, the group has 20 awards and 58 nominations, including MTV Awards (16 nominations, 3 wins), Teen Choice Awards (2 nominations), National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, Grammy (2 wins in 7 nominations), Billboard Music Award (2 wins in 3 nominations) and so on. In addition, the very frontman of the band Amy Lee has repeatedly won various awards, including those that evaluated her physical beauty (Kerrang! Awards "Sexiest Female", Revolver Magazine’s "Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock", and NME Awards "Hottest Woman"), and those that focused on her professional merits (National Music Publishers Association’s "Songwriter Icon Award", Revolver Golden Gods Award "Best Vocalist", Parents' Choice Award "Silver Honor in Music", etc.).
Evanescence's songs have several times become movie soundtracks. "Breathe No More" was recorded for the film "Electra", the song "Made of Stone" was used in the film "Another World 4: Awakening", and the tracks "My Immortal" and "Bring Me to Life" can be heard in 2003’s action movie "Daredevil". "Bring Me to Life" also was used in separate episodes of the TV shows "Office", "CSI: Crime Scene Miami" and "Without a Trace", and the song "My Immortal" — in the series "Moonlight", "Smallville's Secrets", and "Hollyoaks".
In addition to Evanescence, the founders of the band Amy Lee and Ben Moody (who left the group in 2003) also took part in other music projects. Amy Lee's vocals can be heard in Seether's song "Broken" and Korn’s "Freak on a Leash", in the track "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" recorded for the tribute album "We Walk the Line: A Celebration of the Music of Johnny Cash", in "Goodnight" from "Blitz Locals", as well as in the songs "Halfway Down The Stairs" and "Sally's Song" on cover albums "Muppets: The Green Album" and "Nightmare Revisited" respectively. Also, Lee co-wrote the soundtracks for the movies "War Story", "Indigo Gray: The Passage", "I Am Her", and "Blind". Ben Moody released his debut solo album "All for Thisruen" in 2009, also, since June 2009, he is a member of the band We Are the Fallen, and since 2012 — the guitarist of The Halo Method. As a producer, musician and composer, Moody has worked with such artists as Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Avril Lavigne, Anastacia, Lindsay Lohan, the bands Drowning Pool, Daughtry, Halestorm, Flyleaf and others.