Matchbox 20 were Tabitha's Secret before Rob Thomas, Brian Yale, and Paul Doucette parted ways with John Stanley and John Goff and recruited new members. The threesome snatched Adam Gaynor from Criteria Recording Studios in Miami and Kyle Cook from the Atlanta Institute of Music, and formed Matchbox 20 which are based in Orlando, Florida.

Under Atlantic Records, they released their debut album "Yourself or Someone Like You" in 1996. It was not through the first single that the band launched into stardom but the following singles such as "Push", "3 A.M.", "Real World", and "Back 2 Good". Matchbox 20 soon became one of the most popular rock bands in the late '90s. The album was sold more that 12 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Frontman Thomas collaborated with Carlos Santana for "Smooth", a single which became a huge hit in 1999 and won three Grammys. The band's second album, which was released in 2000, was reeling from the success. "Mad Season" spawned a couple of successful singles such as "Bent" and "If You're Gone", but the following singles including title track did not experience the same.

Third album "More Than You Think You Are" saw the band leaning on more rock sound. Released in 2001, the album had a song written by Mick Jagger called "Disease". It was a success along with "Unwell" and "Bright Lights" although the album did not sell as well as the previous two. The following year, the band released a six-song EP containing live and acoustic versions of their hits like "Push" and "If You're Gone" as well as a new track "Suffer Me" as a bonus.

Matchbox 20 went on a hiatus after that when each of the members pursued side projects. It was followed by the departure of guitarist Adam Gaynor in 2005. Thomas went successful as a solo artist, selling his debut album well that very year. In 2007, Matchbox 20 reunited with Doucette now on guitar replacing Gaynor and Push Stars' Ryan MacMillan on drums. Together they recorded the band's fourth effort, a "retrospective" album titled "Exile on Mainstream", and released it in October that year. "How Far We've Come" and "These Hard Times" became a powerful ammo for the album which reached number three on Billboard Hot 200 chart.

They went on an extensive tour to support the album, visiting both Australia and U.K. Thomas took time to work on his second debut album in 2008, saying the work on Matchbox 20's new album might go without him. It was in 2010 that Thomas announced he was meddling in the work eventually. The work was completed in early 2012 with "She's So Mean" as the first single released. "North" is released on September 4, 2012. "Moving forward is the whole idea of this record," Thomas said. "Finding new direction, finding out who you are, finding where you want to go."