Skillet was in the studio putting the finishing touches on the new album when they received the news that their most recent release, Awake, has just been certified platinum for sales in excess of one million copies in the US. It's worth noting that Skillet was the only active rock band to achieve platinum certification in 2012, and were one of only three rock bands (the other two being Mumford & Sons and the Black Keys) to strike platinum in 2012.
Awake was a blockbuster release for Skillet, debuting at No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200 Album Chart and No. 1 on the magazine's Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums Chart. In addition, the record hit No. 1 on iTunes' Top Album Chart, garnered 3 Billboard Music Awards and spawned four hit singles including the No. 1 Active Rock smash "Awake & Alive," as well as "Hero," "It's Not Me It's You" and "Monster." "Monster" lived up to its name, selling more than a million copies and hitting Top 5 at Active Rock radio, while its companion video has generated over 47 million YouTube views. The hook-happy "Hero" was featured in season-long spots for NBC's NFL Sunday Night Football and served as the official theme song for WWE's Royal Rumble Pay-Per-View.
The band toured endlessly in support, playing to sold-out crowds across the country, which earned them a spot on Pollstar's Concert Pulse Chart of the Top 50 Tours for fall of 2010. Awake followed the band's 2006's gold-selling album, Comatose.
Over the course of the past few years the group has sold more than two million units in the U.S. alone, racked up more than 150 million YouTube views and amassed a diehard following (dubbed Panheads) whose members number in the millions.
