CREED’s SCOTT STAPP Picks U2’s BONO As His ‘Rock God’

CREED frontman Scott Stapp was the featured guest on BBC‘s “The Rock Show With Johnnie Walker” during the “Rock God” segment. Scott picked U2 singer Bono and stated about his choice (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The reason I’ve chosen Bono is because the impact that his lyrics have had on my life, especially off [U2‘s] ‘The Joshua Tree’ album during a time in my life between the ages of 14 and 17, when I was going through a very difficult period.

“I believe I discovered [U2] through MTV. I asked my grandmother at the time to get me the album, and I could not take the cassette out of my stereo. For three years, over and over and over, and the lyrics just connected with me on such a personal level. I felt like the band and Bono was speaking directly to me, encouraging me, giving me hope, helping me get through a very difficult period in my life. And that’s the beauty of music. And that’s the gift that Bono has. Inspiration and love and hope. And I’ll never forget that record and what Bono and his music has done for me.

“In my opinion, ‘The Joshua Tree’ is by far one of the greatest albums ever written, musically and lyrically,” he continued. “Not only is the music inspiring and uplifting, but it’s diverse and takes you through a gamut of emotions.

“I did get a chance to meet the band in 2001 at the Grammys, got to have a great conversation with The Edge and briefly met Bono, and it was a dream come true.

“There is no other, in my opinion, rock god greater than Bono,” Scott added.

As previously reported, Stapp will release his fourth solo album, “Higher Power”, on March 15, 2024 via Napalm Records. The LP will arrive just a month before the iconic frontman returns to the stage with CREED for the first time in ten years.

“Higher Power” follows 2019’s “The Space Between The Shadows”, which debuted at No. 3 on the U.S. Current Rock Albums chart, the U.S. Current Hard Music Albums chart, and the U.K. Rock and Metal chart, among countless other top chart positions.

“Higher Power” was produced by Marti Frederiksen and Scott Stevens, with co-production by Stapp.

One of the most iconic voices in rock, Stapp first emerged as the high-energy, post-grunge frontman of CREED. With anthems like “Higher”, “My Own Prison”, “My Sacrifice” and “With Arms Wide Open”, the band sold over 50 million albums, including a diamond certification. Throughout the early 2000s, CREED broke airplay records, sold out arenas, earned countless Billboard Music Awards and American Music Awards, and a Grammy for “Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group”. As a solo artist, Stapp has released the platinum-certified “The Great Divide” (2005),“Proof Of Life” (2013) which featured his first solo No. 1, “Slow Suicide”, and 2019’s “The Space Between The Shadows”. In April 2024, Stapp will reunite with his CREED bandmates for the first time in a decade, as he returns in fighting form and stands as an inspiration to others who are struggling.

Stapp went through a highly publicized, drug-inflamed meltdown in 2014, after which he entered into an intensive rehab program. Stapp also lost custody of his three children during this period, while also missing a court hearing and allegedly threatening to kill then-president Obama.

After completing rehab, Scott spent the following year in intensive therapy. Although he was initially diagnosed with bipolar disorder, it was later determined that it was severe depression that led to addiction. Now nine years sober, Stapp spoke to Men’s Health about health and fitness in 2019 when his comeback album was released, saying, “I hate to use the word, but I guess it has become my new addiction.”

Scott Stapp photo credit: Sebastian Smith