Rob Thomas is one of the greatest living songwriters my generation has seen.

He debuted in 1994 and both Matchbox 20 and his solo work chart consistently.

And there's not a nostalgia or irony the his enduring popularity like, say, Bon Jovi or Aerosmith in the 90s. [Both bands bought songs from Swedish pop factories to orchestrate their resurgence, btw] Rob doesn't buy hits, he actually sells songs to other artists such as Willie Nelson, Mick Jagger, Marc Anthony, Pat Green, Taylor Hicks, Travis Tritt and Daughtry).

His first album with a band went 12x platinum. His first solo album went to #1 on Billboard. And we have to talk about Smooth. It was demoed for Santana as a possible track to purchase for his Santana "comeback" album. He liked Rob's voice on the demo and made it a collab instead. It is Billboard's second most successful song of all time.

He's never been the subject of a scandal, is by all account socially responsible, and every single time he's on an album it gets mad airplay. And he never really took a break in the last 20 years.