Simple Plan And Sum 41 Reflect On The Current Pop-Punk Renaissance

Pop Punk is back, and veterans of the genre Pierre Bouvier and Deryck Whibley are nothing but thrilled!

The careers of bands Simple Plan and Sum 41 have spanned 20-plus-years and counting. In an interview with Kerrang, Pierre Bouvier and Deryck Whibley, the lead singers of the iconic groups, were asked about their thoughts on the mainstream pop-punk renaissance and their new single "Ruin My Life."

The release of Ruin My Life comes at a time when pop-punk is having a renaissance in the mainstream thanks to artists like Machine Gun Kelly and jxdn. As bands who were a part of pop-punk’s first commercial peak, what have you made of its return to the fore?

Pierre: “It’s exciting and bizarre – it makes me feel young and old at the same time! It fills me with a sense of pride, because we’re still here 20 years later, having survived the haters and those who said we were “too pop” or whatever. It feels like we have people’s respect. So to be in that position and now see these newer artists coming in and revitalizing the scene is really inspiring. I grew up on bands like Green Day who inspired the music I then made, and now we’re seeing artists come through who grew up listening to Simple Plan, Sum 41 and Good Charlotte. Hopefully, these artists will continue to inspire future generations – that’s the beautiful thing.”

Deryck: “It’s really cool. I’m always happy to see guitars and guitar bands in the mainstream, regardless of what style it is. But seeing this kind of music in particular having a big moment is awesome, and a lot of the new artists that are coming out are really great. Plus, the bands that have been around for longer are still putting out really good records. Overall, it just feels like a brilliant time for guitar music right now.”

Simple Plan’s single Ruin My Life ft. Deryck Whibley is out now.