Americana is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on November 17, 1998 on the Columbia label. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), The Offspring commenced work on a new album. The music on the album marked a change, expanding their sound and exploring more pop punk elements.
Americana was a huge commercial success, debuting at number six on the Billboard 200 with around 175,000 copies sold in its first week and peaking at number two for two nonconsecutive weeks, spending 22 weeks nonconsecutive in the top 10, becoming the Offspring's highest ever chart position. It is the band's second best selling album to their 1994 breakout Smash. Americana has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide with over 9 million copies certified, while going 5x platinum in the United States for 5 million copies shipped. The album contains the hit singles "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?", "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "She's Got Issues". The singles (except "She's Got Issues") can also be heard on the band's Greatest Hits compilation.
Americana was nominated for the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Album, but lost to Boyzone's By Request. The Offspring supported the album with a worldwide tour and appeared at the infamous Woodstock 1999, where their performance was broadcast live on pay-per-view television.Americana is the fifth studio album by the American punk rock band The Offspring, released on November 17, 1998 on the Columbia label. Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), The Offspring commenced work on a new album. The music on the album marked a change, expanding their sound and exploring more pop punk elements.
Americana was a huge commercial success, debuting at number six on the Billboard 200 with around 175,000 copies sold in its first week and peaking at number two for two nonconsecutive weeks, spending 22 weeks nonconsecutive in the top 10, becoming the Offspring's highest ever chart position. It is the band's second best selling album to their 1994 breakout Smash. Americana has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide with over 9 million copies certified, while going 5x platinum in the United States for 5 million copies shipped. The album contains the hit singles "Pretty Fly (for a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?", "The Kids Aren't Alright" and "She's Got Issues". The singles (except "She's Got Issues") can also be heard on the band's Greatest Hits compilation.
Americana was nominated for the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Album, but lost to Boyzone's By Request. The Offspring supported the album with a worldwide tour and appeared at the infamous Woodstock 1999, where their performance was broadcast live on pay-per-view television.false2025-09-26 13:59:40Americana19981998-01-011998-01-0187PunkPunk RockRock11220721168672e5af9d2-f262-3f73-ab47-4884e945fa8e23a03e33-a603-404e-bcbf-2c00159d7067fb43ac3a-8d28-3686-8653-bbf15a5e4389/media/data/media5/Music/The Offspring/Americana/folder.jpgThe OffspringThe OffspringThe Offspring is an American punk rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Todd Morse, multi-instrumentalist Jonah Nimoy and drummer Brandon Pertzborn. The Offspring is often credited (alongside fellow California punk bands Green Day, NOFX, Bad Religion, Rancid, Pennywise and Blink-182) for reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the 1990s. During their 40-year career, the Offspring has released 10 studio albums and sold more than 40 million records, making them one of the best-selling punk rock bands.
The Offspring's longest-serving drummer was Ron Welty, who replaced original drummer James Lilja in 1987. He was replaced by Adam "Atom" Willard in 2003, who was replaced four years later by Pete Parada. Parada was fired in 2021 after he declined to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and was replaced two years later by Pertzborn. Gregory "Greg K." Kriesel (one of the Offspring's co-founders) was the band's bassist until he was fired in 2018; this left Holland as the sole remaining original member. Kriesel was replaced by Todd Morse, who had been the Offspring's touring guitarist since 2009. Morse his position as touring member was filled by Jonah Nimoy, who became an official member in 2023.
After achieving a local following with their early releases, including their 1989 self-titled debut album and the vinyl-only EP Baghdad (1991), the Offspring signed with independent label Epitaph Records and released two albums: Ignition (1992) and Smash (1994). Smash, which contained the band's first major hit "Come Out and Play", is one of the best-selling albums released on an independent record label, selling over 11 million copies worldwide and helping to propel punk rock into the mainstream. The success of Smash attracted attention from major labels including Columbia Records, with whom the Offspring signed in 1996; their first album for the label, Ixnay on the Hombre (1997), did not match its predecessor's success, but received favorable reviews and gold and platinum RIAA certifications. The band reached furthest success with their fifth album Americana (1998), to which three of its singles − "Pretty Fly (For a White Guy)", "Why Don't You Get a Job?" and "The Kids Aren't Alright" − became mainstream radio and MTV staples, while the album managed to sell over five million units in the US. Though their next two albums, Conspiracy of One (2000) and Splinter (2003), were not as successful as those from the previous decade, they were both critically acclaimed, with the former going platinum and the latter being certified gold. The Offspring's eighth studio album, Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace (2008), cemented their comeback on the strength of its second single "You're Gonna Go Far, Kid", which reached number one on the Billboard rock charts for eleven weeks and has since obtained platinum status. The band released no new studio albums between Days Go By (2012) and Let the Bad Times Roll (2021), but continued touring and released a series of one-off songs in the interim. Their eleventh studio album, Supercharged, is set to be released on October 11, 2024.