CREED's SCOTT STAPP Admits There Was 'Frustration, Anger' And 'Hurt' Over Being 'The Most Hated Band By The Media'

In a new interview with Consequence, Scott Stapp was asked if the enthusiastic response to CREED's current reunion serves as vindication for the singer and his bandmates after they experienced "a good amount of backlash" following their initial commercial success. He responded: "To comment on the word you just said, 'vindication,' I don't have time in my life nor space in my heart to ever think about vindication. So I'm just looking at everything from a positive perspective, and not a way of kind of, 'Haha, told you so.' That's not who I am. That never entered my mind.

"I think the initial backlash, some of it was just part of being so big, so fast — eight straight Number One singles," he explained. "I mean, we were all over the radio. You couldn't escape us. I think the initial narrative was completely created by kind of the elite, critical media, kind of the cool guy club, who liked bands that didn't sell a lot of records. So it was a narrative that was kind of generated by that niche of the media and then propagandized out there to make people think that that was the voice of the people. And as that narrative was being put out there, we were selling out multiple nights of arenas, releasing diamond records, and had stadiums on hold. So it didn't even line up at all with the masses. Again, it was a media-generated narrative. And once that kind of gets out there and just gets hammered home, you'll always have the fringes that come out on both sides, but it didn't represent the people, and CREED has always been a people's band. And that's what meant so much to us, were the awards and the recognition that we got that the people chose, and that the numbers said, and that the concert tickets said. So that's really my perspective on it, from a thousand-foot view, but at the time it definitely kind of caught all of us off-guard. We didn't understand because we went from being on the cover of magazines that said, 'CREED's the savior of rock 'n' roll' to all of a sudden the most hated band by the media — not by the public, by the media. So, it was just kind of, like, 'Hey, this doesn't line up with our rock 'n' roll dream. What's going on?'

"Being that young age, of course there was some frustration, anger, hurt," Stapp admitted. "But being where we are now, we kind of know that that's just what comes with it. It's just part of the deal. I mean, it happens in pro sports. Mark [Tremonti, CREED guitarist] and I were doing an interview the other day, and he was talking about how this has happened with LeBron James. He goes from King James and then now he gets hate. He's one of the most hated players in the league, and it's all because of how dominant and how successful he is. And so it's just par for the course. It just comes with the territory, and being more mature and older now. All that matters is the fans, and all that matters is riding on the positivity and then just trying to deliver to the fans every night and focus on what's good, and just let all that stuff go. It doesn't hurt anymore."

CREED played its first two shows in 12 years last month as the headliners of the Summer Of '99 cruise.

CREED performed aboard a second cruise, the "Summer Of '99 And Beyond", traveling from Florida's Port Canaveral to Nassau from April 27 to May 1. A full-fledged tour, also dubbed "Summer Of '99" tour, produced by Live Nation, will kick off on July 17 and will run through September 28.

In a recent interview with Ryan McCredden of the I-Rock 93.5 radio station, Stapp spoke about the fact that younger generations of fans have discovered CREED's music in the 12 years since he and his bandmates played their last concert. He said: "Yeah, a hundred percent. And the analytics don't lie. We've started seeing, in late 2020, CREED beginning to go viral on TikTok, Instagram and then Facebook. And then it just seemed like every two or three months… The first couple months in 2021, we went viral again, and it just kept happening every two or three months. And then you look at the analytics, and you realize that when you look at the numbers, it's three generations. And now it's gotten down into high school kids. And so, what a gift and what a blessing. And I do not take that for granted. I understand how rare that that is. And I think I can speak for all of CREED, because we've had these conversations in private, that it's something we definitely understand is a gift, it's rare and we're not taking it for granted and we're just so grateful and appreciative that this has happened. And I think we're in the nurture phase of this whole thing and not taking a single bit of it for granted and just want to just share how grateful we are and fortunate we are that all these years later [so many people are discovering our music."

Stapp went on to discuss the overwhelmingly positive response to the announcement of CREED's first shows together in 12 years.

"I learned this from Mark the other day in a Guitar World interview that we did together," Scott said. "One thing about Mark, and I hope he doesn't get mad at me for sharing, but he's always in touch with our long-term agent from day one, Ken Fermaglich at UTA. He started with us when we were doing clubs and nobody was showing up, and he's still our agent today. And Mark checks in with him to get analytics and get numbers. And Ken shared with him that right now we are bigger in terms of sales and how things are moving than we were at our peak in 2001, 2002, which blows my mind. It still doesn't seem that way to me, but Mark made a comment. He goes, 'Oh, well, you'll see it when you step out and there's 25,000 people in front of you.' And I said, 'Don't scare me, man.' It's been a long time since I've stepped in front of an audience that big."

When McCredden suggested that "the social media world of TikTok and Instagram" played a huge part in generating interest in a CREED reunion tour, Stapp said: "I've learned in my journey in sobriety and in recovery that… I believe in God and I believe that God has a plan. And looking at this from a thousand-foot perspective, it just all just seems, to me, without a doubt that God's had a hand in it. And I'm just grateful that I'm included on the ride and I'm just not gonna take a moment for granted and [I'm gonna] try to deliver every night and give the fans what they're asking for."

Stapp, whose road to sobriety kicked off in 2014 after issues with drugs and drinking, along with thoughts of suicide, credited his recovery with providing him with the necessary tools to reach new heights with his CREED bandmates. "Absolutely," he said. "In my experience, that's the only way you really learn. And, really, you have no other option. You have to get back up, no matter what you do and deal with the consequences, of course, but learn from it and grow. And one thing I'm looking at when I reflect back on my career is it kind of happened in reverse. With CREED, it was instant. It was first single 'My Own Prison', within 11 months, we're in arenas. But then there's been this 15-year drought for me where I went all the way back as a solo artist playing in small clubs and just duking it out, sweating it out in clubs and bars for over a decade. I mean, man, since 2005 or [2006]. So, I mean, we're talking 17, 18 years. So, it's happened in reverse, and I think that's how it needed to happen, because I think it really gave me a different perspective on how I wish I could have approached this from day one back in the day. But it is what it is, and I'm just gonna enjoy it now and be grateful for it."

CREED's enormous success is largely due to the prolific writing team of Stapp and Tremonti, who founded the band together in 1993. Their winning combination of driving guitar riffs, rousing hooks and introspective lyrics earned them legions of loyal fans around the world. Following the release of their first two albums, the four-piece — which also included bassist Brian Marshall and drummer Scott Phillips — became the first band ever to have seven consecutive No. 1 singles on Billboard's Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks. CREED's third album, "Weathered" (2001),also debuted at No. 1, and produced several popular singles, including Top Ten hits "My Sacrifice" and "One Last Breath". Though CREED announced its breakup in 2004, the band briefly reunited in 2009 to release "Full Circle". Heavier than their previous albums, "Full Circle" debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, proving the incredible staying power of the band.

CREED disbanded in 2004 but reunited five years later for the aforementioned "Full Circle" LP and an extensive tour. Stapp has since toured and recorded as a solo artist, although he suffered a drug-related mental breakdown in 2014 and spent several years recovering from that.