Logan hosts the Plain White T’s

The Plain White T’s took the stage at the Ellen Eccles Theatre on Wednesday, Jan. 26, performing their second show of 2022. During the concert lead singer, Tom Higgenson, noticed somebody in the crowd wearing one of their band t-shirts from 2002. 

“This next song goes out to you and that crusty old shirt,” Higgenson said.

The Plain White T’s took the stage with songwriter Higgenson,  the only listed writer of the 2006 hit song “Hey there Delilah.”

Utah has been an impactful place for “Hey There Delilah,” as Salt Lake City radio was the first station to play the song live.

In their early career, the band had connections to promoters in Utah — which brought them here more frequently than other places.

“Because of that, we were really able to build up a good little fan base and a lot of love here,” Higgenson said.

Higgenson, who has co-written many songs in his career, finds his friends and colleagues all look at “Hey There Delilah” differently. 

This week, there has been a stir in the music industry regarding the No. 1 top 100 hits that were created without cowriters. On Jan. 25, Billboard released an article that revealed only 13 of the 283 songs in the past century made this list. 

“They always say, ‘Dude, you wrote that by yourself,’” Higgenson said.

Though, Higgenson doesn’t find his success with “Hey There Delilah” in the fact that he wrote it solo. According to him, if he had written it with members of the band, having a No. 1 hit song would have been enough of an honor. 

He thinks there is no right or wrong way to go about writing a song. Whether you are writing it alone in your room or throwing out ideas with a group of friends, the songwriting process is still the same. 

“But the fact that I am in a small, elite group of 13 of the century so far,” Higgenson said, “that’s pretty cool.”

According to Higgenson, at the beginning of the band’s career, they spent most of their time in a 15-passenger van, driving to any place that would book them.

“Hey There Delilah” changed the entire course of the band. Lead guitarist Tim Lopez doesn’t know if they would have made it this far without it.

“I don’t think we would be doing this interview,” Lopez said. “That is how much it changed things.”

Before “Hey There Delilah,” Lopez remembers the pressure of being broke while trying to provide for his family. He needed something to happen soon.

“I did not expect to have a global No. 1 song that changed the entire trajectory of the band that gave us the opportunity to follow it up with the songs that we did,” Lopez said.

Both members of the band said they owe everything to “Hey There Delilah.”

Though they have found success, Higgenson and Lopez are nostalgic for struggling times.

“The years in the band were definitely some of the most fun times in the band,” Lopez said. “So, it’s not like the struggle was really a struggle. You’re supposed to be having fun doing what you love doing”

Without the tough parts of their careers, when they were making hardly any money, their successes would not have felt the way they did, said Lopez.