Fall Out Boy emerged at the forefront of emo pop during the mid-2000s by fusing power pop-style hooks with soulful vocals and dance-friendly grooves. After rising from the punk underground, the band achieved mainstream breakthrough status in 2005 via their sophomore album From Under the Cork Tree, which yielded the hits "Sugar, We're Goin Down" and "Dance, Dance." Two years later they reached the top of the Billboard 200 with Infinity on High. By the 2010s the group had moved from Warped Tour audiences to sold-out arenas, releasing a series of chart-topping albums that decade—Save Rock and Roll, American Beauty/American Psycho, and M A N I A—each incorporating a broader array of influences such as R&B and electro-pop. Throughout this period they kept delivering mainstream singles suited equally to mosh pits and sports stadiums. In 2023 they issued their anthemic eighth album So Much (for) Stardust.
The four members first assembled in Wilmette, a bedroom community north of Chicago, around 2001. Vocalist/guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist/lyricist Pete Wentz, drummer Andrew Hurley, and guitarist Joe Trohman had previously played in various groups tied to Chicago’s underground hardcore scene. Most notably, Hurley had drummed for Racetraitor, the furiously political metalcore outfit. As Fall Out Boy the quartet built melody-drenched pop-punk on the unbridled intensity of hardcore while drawing heavily from the emo scene. They debuted with a self-released demo in 2001 and followed it in May 2002 with a split LP on the Uprising label that also included Project Rocket, another band for which Hurley drummed. The group stayed with the label for the mini-LP Fall Out Boy's Evening Out with Your Girl, yet a bidding war had already begun.
Fall Out Boy ultimately signed with Fueled by Ramen, the Florida-based label co-owned by Less Than Jake drummer Vinnie Fiorello, while also receiving an advance from Island Records to record a proper debut. That advance included a right of first refusal on the band’s next album yet funded the recording of Take This to Your Grave at Butch Vig’s Smart Studios compound in Madison, Wisconsin, under producer Sean O’Keefe (Lucky Boys Confusion, Motion City Soundtrack). Take This to Your Grave arrived in May 2003, after which Fall Out Boy received positive reviews for appearances at South by Southwest and on various tours. Their breakout album, the ambitious From Under the Cork Tree, followed in spring 2005, quickly reaching the Top Ten of Billboard’s album chart and spawning two Top Ten hits with "Sugar We're Going Down" and the furiously upbeat "Dance, Dance." The album achieved double-platinum status and earned the musicians a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist.
Fall Out Boy’s underground stardom—fueled especially by the extroverted Wentz, who also gained visibility through his clothing line, his Decaydance record label (an imprint of Fueled by Ramen), and later a celebrity relationship with Ashlee Simpson—had crossed into the mainstream. They toured extensively, supporting the album with international dates, arena shows, TRL appearances, late-night television spots, and music award shows. Without pausing, the members then began work on their next record with From Under the Cork Tree producer Neil Avron (and, somewhat surprisingly, Babyface). Infinity on High, whose title came from a line in one of Van Gogh’s personal letters, appeared in early February 2007, led by the hit single "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race." The album extended Fall Out Boy’s streak, debuting at number one on the Billboard charts and going platinum within a month. Issued in early 2008, the CD/DVD package Live in Phoenix captured the band’s strength as a flashy live act, while the full-length studio effort Folie à Deux arrived later that year.
Recording sessions for Folie à Deux proved difficult, leading the band to enter an open-ended hiatus soon after its release. During the break Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley joined the new band Damned Things, while Wentz formed Black Cards with vocalist Bebe Rexha. Stump used the time to pursue a solo career, shifting away from his band’s emo pop toward a more electronic, R&B-influenced sound. In 2011 he released his debut solo album Soul Punk, which reached the top 50 of the Billboard 200. Despite these side projects, rumors of a Fall Out Boy reunion soon circulated. In February 2013 the band confirmed the rumors, announcing they had reunited for a new album titled Save Rock and Roll and an accompanying tour. Preceded by the single "My Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'Em Up)," Save Rock and Roll appeared in April 2013 and debuted at number one on the U.S. charts. The group remained active the following year, producing a video for each song on the album, recording the punk-inspired EP Pax-Am Days (produced by Ryan Adams), and headlining tours across America, Europe, and Australia.
In late 2014 Fall Out Boy premiered the single "Centuries," the first preview of their sixth album, American Beauty/American Psycho. Produced in part by J.R. Rotem and SebastiAn, it blended the band’s core punk-pop sound with elements of electronica, R&B, and hip-hop. The album debuted at number one upon its January release and remained on the charts thanks to the Munsters-sampling single "Uma Thurman," which earned platinum certification. In October 2015 the band issued a remix version titled Make America Psycho Again.
In April 2017 Fall Out Boy announced that their seventh album, M A N I A, would arrive later that year, accompanied by the lead single "Young and Menace." After releasing a second single, "Champion," the members decided the album required further work and returned to the studio in the latter half of 2017. This version of M A N I A appeared in January 2018 and debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. In September 2019 Fall Out Boy collaborated with Wyclef Jean on the single "Dear Future Self (Hands Up)," which appeared on their second anthology, Believers Never Die: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2.
In January 2023 the group returned with the singles "Love from the Other Side" and "Heartbreak Feels So Good," the first tracks from their eighth studio album, So Much (for) Stardust. That same month guitarist Trohman announced he was stepping away to focus on his mental health. Released in March, So Much (for) Stardust featured production by Neal Avron, who had previously helmed Folie à Deux, and marked the band’s return to Fueled by Ramen after their contract with Island Records concluded.
