From its origins in a Nevada jail cell, post-hardcore outfit Falling in Reverse went on to achieve significant success in the 2010s. Fronted by former Escape the Fate frontman Ronnie Radke, the band notched a gold record on their first attempt with 2011's The Drug in Me Is You. Over the ensuing years, Radke and stalwart guitarist Derek Jones led Falling in Reverse through numerous lineups and a succession of consistently charting albums including 2015's Just Like You and 2017's Coming Home. Following 2019's hit standalone single "Popular Monster," Jones died unexpectedly, and Radke soldiered on into the next decade with a new lineup that produced the 2022 EP Neon Zombie. Singles like the Top 100 hit "Watch the World Burn" and the Papa Roach cover "Last Resort (Reimagined)" followed as they built toward their next album.

Falling in Reverse was formed by Radke while he was serving time in Nevada's High Desert State Prison for a 2008 parole violation. While imprisoned, Radke recruited guitarists Derek Jones and Jacky Vincent, drummer Ryan Seaman, and bassist Mika Horiuchi to help him realize the musical vision he was creating in his head while behind bars, meeting with his bandmates during visiting hours and spending the rest of his time writing. After serving two and a half years of a four-year sentence, Radke was released in late 2010, and the band set to work on their debut, bringing their driving, melodic sound to life in 2011 with the release of The Drug in Me Is You. Horiuchi left the band and was replaced by Ron Ficarro in early 2012. That year, Radke and the new lineup returned to the studio to record their sophomore release, Fashionably Late. Released in the middle of 2013, the album saw the band adding hip-hop and electronic elements to their original post-hardcore sound. The album fared well on the charts but received little support from critics. The band kicked off a tour in support of the effort, which was cut short by the birth of Radke's son.

In early 2014, Falling in Reverse hit the road again, this time with Radke's former band, Escape the Fate, on the Bury the Hatchet tour. Ficarro parted ways with the band once the tour concluded, his slot filled by Escape the Fate's Max Green (who ended up leaving the band after just five months, replaced by Zakk Sandler).

The band's third studio long-player, Just Like You (Epitaph), arrived in early 2015 and fared better with critics. Keeping Fashionably Late's experiments with hip-hop on the sidelines, Just Like You saw the band returning to a heavier and more scream-centric focus. They toured for much of the year, parting with longtime guitarist Jacky Vincent that October, and continuing promotion with his replacement, Christian Thompson. Their fourth album, Coming Home, arrived in 2017 bearing a slightly more diverse and emotive sound. Not long after its release, drummer Ryan Seaman left the band while a handful of different sticksmen filled in for him. Over the next few years, Falling in Reverse switched their focus to non-album singles and landed a chart-topper in 2019's platinum-selling "Popular Monster."

Guitarist and founding member Derek Jones died on April 21, 2020; he was 35 years old. A few months after his death, the group released the single "Carry On." With Radke now the only original member, he retooled a lineup that included guitarists Christian Thompson and Max Georgiev, bassist Tyler Burgess, and touring drummer Luke Holland for the band's next phase. Co-producing with Dangerkids singer Tyler Smith, Falling in Reverse issued the 2022 EP Neon Zombie. The band kicked off 2023 with "Watch the World Burn," which became their first single to rank on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Next up was a cover of Papa Roach's "Last Resort," followed in 2024 by the single "Ronald" featuring Tech N9ne and Alex Terrible. ~ Gregory Heaney & Neil Z. Yeung

Going deep into the Southern roots of various styles, Tennessee rapper/vocalist/songwriter Jelly Roll explores themes of addiction, pain, and struggling to reach better days with Southern rap beats and soulful, bluesy vocal performances. His music took the form of rugged Southern rock, R&B-tinged instrumentals, country-inspired acoustic numbers, and hardcore rap on albums like 2020's A Beautiful Disaster, 2021's Ballads of the Broken, and 2023's Whitsitt Chapel, the latter of charted in the top five on the Billboard 200, topped the Rock Albums chart, and helped earn him his first Grammy Award nomination. The Top Ten Hot Country Songs-charting "I Am Not Okay," arrived in 2024.

Born Jason DeFord, Jelly Roll began rapping around 2005, and started to break through the underground thanks to collaborations with Lil Wyte and Haystak. In 2011, he joined Wyte and BPZ in the group SNO, who issued Year Round, an album produced by DJ Paul and Juicy J and released on the Three 6 Mafia-associated label Hypnotize Minds. Jelly Roll's independent debut album, The Big Sal Story, appeared in 2012, and in 2013 he announced his Whiskey, Weed, & Waffle House mixtape, quickly drawing the attention of the breakfast restaurant chain's legal department. After a cease-and-desist letter from Waffle House and some nasty online posts from Jelly Roll, the two parties settled their beef with the mixtape, renamed Whiskey, Weed, & Women, while the rapper declared the chain was still his favorite. By the end of the year, he and Haystak released the collaborative album Business as Usual.

The solo album Biggest Loser followed in 2014, along with the EP Whiskey Sessions. Two years later, Jelly Roll was back with Sobriety Sucks, which featured Struggle on "Train Tracks" and Alexander King on "Need Nobody." The LP became his first to chart, hitting Top Heatseekers, Independent Albums, and even the R&B Albums chart. He followed with No Filter 2 at the end of 2016 before issuing Addiction Kills in April 2017. He teamed up with Struggle again on 2018's Waylon & Willie II & III; that same year, he released the solo Goodnight Nashville. In 2019, Jelly Roll issued a second Whiskey Sessions and the EP Crosses and Crossroads. In March 2020, he put out the full-length album A Beautiful Disaster, which featured guest spots by Krizz Kaliko, Lil Wyte, Struggle Jennings, and others. It landed at number nine on the Billboard Independent Albums chart. Another full-length, Self Medicated, followed that October.

In 2021, Jelly Roll offered up the short project Ballads of the Broken. The brief album took a different stylistic approach on almost every track, going from country-adjacent hooks to eerie, remorse-filled pop tunes. In addition to eight more fully fleshed-out productions, Ballads of the Broken included two demo recordings. The set broke into the Billboard 200 and the U.S. Indie Top 30. 2023 saw the release of Whitsitt Chapel, which included the hit single "Need a Favor" and featured guest spots from Brantley Gilbert, Struggle Jennings, Yelawolf, and Lainey Wilson. It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and number two on the Country Albums chart and topped the Rock Albums chart. Later that year, he received a Grammy Award nomination for Best New Artist. In 2024, he guested on Joyner Lucas' song "Best for Me" and scored a Top Ten Hot Country Songs single with "I Am Not Okay." ~ David Jeffries