Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian rock band founded in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, a Toronto suburb. The band gained a following in Canada, and their self-titled 1991 cassette became the country’s first independent release to be certified gold. They achieved national success in Canada with their Reprise Records debut, Gordon, which included the songs “If I Had $1000000” and “Brian Wilson” in 1992. The band’s popularity eventually moved to the United States, first with covers of “Brian Wilson” and “The Old Apartment” from their 1996 live album Rock Spectacle, and continuing with their fourth studio album Stunt, which became their breakthrough success in 1998. The album included their most successful single, “One Week,” as well as “It’s All Been Done” and “Call and Answer.” Maroon, their fifth studio album, fared well as well, with the lead single “Pinch Me.” The band rose to prominence in the 2010s after writing the theme song for the show The Big Bang Theory.
The band’s style has changed over time, and their music, which began as entirely acoustic, quickly expanded to include elements of pop, rock, hip-hop, rap, and so on. Between songs, the band engages in hilarious conversation and freestyle rapping. They’ve won several Juno Awards and been nominated for two Grammys. In March 2018, the group was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame after selling over 15 million albums and singles.