Stadium Arcadium

Stadium Arcadium is the ninth studio album by alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on May 9, 2006 via Warner Bros. Records. It sold 442,000 copies in the U.S. in the first week and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album spawned five hit singles: “Dani California”, “Snow ((Hey Oh))”, “Desecration Smile”, “Hump De Bump”, and “Tell Me Baby”. According to the band’s frontman Anthony Kiedis, Stadium Arcadium was originally scheduled to be a trilogy of albums each released six months apart, but was eventually condensed into a double album.

Stadium Arcadium was critically praised for integrating musical styles from several aspects of the band’s career. The album gained the band seven Grammy Award nominations in 2007 including an award for Best Rock Album. It was the most nominations that the band had garnered in their 25-year career. Kiedis attributed the album’s success to less abrasive dynamics within the band, saying that the band’s “chemistry when it comes to writing is better than ever. There was always a struggle to dominate lyrically. But we are now confident enough in who we are, so everybody feels more comfortable contributing more and more valuable, quality stuff.”

After the release of their previous album, By the Way, the Red Hot Chili Peppers embarked on a world tour, which lasted from July 2002 to a mid-June 2004 date at London’s Hyde Park. The band later appeared at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and at Rock am Ring to tie up their tour in support of By the Way. The band then settled down to begin recording their next album in September 2004 with producer Rick Rubin, with whom they had recorded four albums previously.