Evanescence's Amy Lee has revealed that there was a period where she was concerned that her band would be viewed as a one-hit wonder following the huge success of their single Bring Me to Life.
The track, which was recently certified Diamond in the United States, and surpassed a billion streams on Spotify and a billion more on YouTube, was originally released in early 2003 and featured a guest appearance from 12 Stones vocalist Paul McCoy.
But in a recent interview with Canada's CBC host Tom Power, Lee shared her worries that her band were going to be a flash in the pan, as well as gaining popularity through a song that was largely at odds with the rest of their debut album, Fallen.
"My biggest fear was that we were gonna be a one-hit wonder, that people are gonna hear that one song that was different from everything else that we were ever gonna do next, and then they... It's like a 'bait and switch'," Lee said in an interview on Q with Tom Power (transcribed by Blabbermouth). "Then they would hear the rest of our music and be, like, 'Oh, this is not what I thought it was.' Like, 'You lied.' And they were, like, 'We'll do our best.'"
Lee adds that it was pressure from the label that led to a guest male vocal on the band's debut single, but points out that McCoy was a "hero" during the recording process.
"I remember Paul being so sweet and understanding and excited for us and pouring his heart into it," she explains. "And then, of course, for years I've had to tell the story that I never get time to tell the end of, and it makes him sound like the bad guy. He was absolutely a hero in the story to make it as positive of an experience as it possibly could have been for me.
"We overcame it," she adds. "The whole thing was, 'You just have to do it for this one song.' I was, like, 'Okay, we're gonna make this one song really great.' And it definitely flew higher than anybody expected it to. And we did release another song and another song that were fortunately also understood, accepted and embraced. So there we are."
Evanescence are currently on tour in support of their latest album Sanctuary.
Catch them at the following dates:
Evanescence 2026 world tour dates:
w/ Spiritbox, Nova Twins:
Jul 08: Tinley Park Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre, IL
Jul 09: Noblesville Ruoff Music Center, IN
Jul 11: North Little Rock Simmons Bank Arena, AR
Jul 12: Kansas City Morton Amphitheater, MO
Jul 14: Albuquerque Isleta Amphitheater, NM
Jul 15: Phoenix Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre, AZ
Jul 17: Chula Vista North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre, CA
Jul 18: TBA
Jul 20: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Jul 22: Ridgefield Cascades Amphitheater, WA
Jul 23: Auburn White River Amphitheatre, WA
Jul 25: Salt Lake City Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre, UT
Jul 28: St Louis Hallywood Casio Amphitheater, MO
Jul 30: Cuyahoga Falls Blossom Music Center, OH
Aug 01: Cincinnati Riverbend Music Center, OH
Aug 02: Clarkston Pine Knob Music Theatre, MI
w/ Poppy, K. Flay:
Sep 08: Leeds First Direct Bank Arena, UK
Sep 10: Manchester Co-Op Live, UK
Sep 11: Birmingham Utilita Arena, UK
Sep 13: London The O2, UK
w/ Poppy, Nova Twins:
Sep 16: Brussels Forest National, Belgium
Sep 17: Paris Accor Arena, France
Sep 19: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Sep 20: Dortmund Westfalenhallen, Germany
Sep 22: Amsterdam Ziggo Dome, Netherlands
Sep 23: Hamburg Barclays Arena, Germany
Sep 25: Berlin Velodrom, Germany
Sep 26: Munich Olympiahalle, Germany
Sep 28: Bologna Unipol Arena, Italy
Sep 29: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Oct 01: Barcelona Palau Olimpic, Spain
Oct 02: Madrid Palacio Vistalegre, Spain
Oct 04: Lisbon MEO Arena, Portugal
w/ K. Flay:
Oct 26: Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, CO
