Good Charlotte stopped by Jimmy Kimmel Live to perform their new single, “Rejects.” The pop-punk band took over the late-night show stage with a backdrop themed around their forthcoming LP, Motel Du Cap, and a lot of billowing smoke.
The musicians premiered “Rejects” yesterday, marking the official start of the band’s new era. “It’s really full-circle because when we made the first record in ‘99, we didn’t know any better than to not give a fuck,” Joel Madden told Rolling Stone of the song’s throwback vibe. “We didn’t know you were supposed to give a fuck. We thought it was the greatest thing ever to make a record and to say whatever the fuck we wanted to say. Then you get into the game of the music business and get a little spun around.”
He continued, “We came full-circle back to where we’re all in really good places in our lives where we don’t give a fuck, in a great way. We certainly care about people and our fans. But our families are really the center of our lives. So Good Charlotte is something that we get to be totally free in. We don’t necessarily need it to perform. We actually just need it to be itself.”
Benji Madden added, “You don’t need to write 50 songs for a record; you need to write 12. Whatever came out in that moment is the whole portrait. We made this record completely unconsciously. We didn’t meditate, we made it. We just said, ‘We need to get some things out,’ and we hit record.”
Motel du Cap is Good Charlotte’s eighth album and their first full-length effort in eight years (Generation Rx dropped in 2018). It arrives Aug. 8. “Rejects” is the LP’s debut single and no other details for the album have been announced.
Earlier this year, Good Charlotte seemingly began to tease the new project on social media when they shared a cryptic video featuring old clips from the band’s early days. “GC 2025,” the caption read. Since then, Good Charlotte have announced multiple festival appearances for 2025, including Ocean’s Calling and Aftershock. Last month, the band played at Welcome to Rockville for their first show since 2023 where Benji told the crowd about the new project and possible touring plans: “We got a record coming out in August, we’ll be on tour.”
From Rolling Stone US
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