Hedley

Canadian pop-rock band Hedley formed in Abbotsford, B.C., in 2003. Its founding members were Ryan Federau, Kevin Giesbrecht, Kevin Heeres, Jacob Hoggard and Brandon McKay. In 2005, Hoggard appeared on "Canadian Idol" (CTV, 2003-2008) and made it into the top three before being voted out. Shortly afterward, all except Hoggard departed the band. Hoggard re-formed Hedley with musicians Tommy Mac, Dave Rosin and Chris Crippin, and the band released its first commercial single, "On My Own" (2005), which hit No. 1 on the Canadian Singles Chart. After releasing a self-titled debut album, they toured across Canada. Their second album, "Famous Last Words" (2007), went platinum after just 10 days. Rock group Bon Jovi brought the group on as the opening act for the Canadian leg of its Lost Highway Tour. The band continued its own tours afterward. As the years went on, Hedley experimented with its pop-rock sound to break out of the conventional mold of the genre, culminating in the album "Storms" (2011), which took the No. 2 slot on the Canadian Albums Chart upon release and became the group's best-selling album to date. Hoggard's energetic role as frontman at live shows was praised by critics. Drummer Crippin exited the band in 2017 and was replaced by Jay Benison. In early 2018, following reports of sexual misconduct, Hedley announced the group would take an indefinite hiatus.