As the frontman of one of the ’90s biggest rock bands, Hootie & the Blowfish singer Darius Rucker has had to deal with his fair share of the backlash that comes along with being hugely popular.
“That’s a problem you have when things get so big, when you get something that’s selling a million records a week, people have to hate it. Or they’re not cool,” the singer explains in a new episode of People‘s PEOPLE in the ’90s podcast.
For example, Darius once saw a bumper sticker that read “F*** Hootie” while driving down the highway — but the singer says he took it in stride.
“I laughed my a** off,” he recalls. “I was driving my brand-new truck to my brand-new house and was playing in front of 20,000 people that weekend.”
Since those early days, Darius has racked up lots more experience in making career decisions based on what he wants to do, and ignoring naysayers in the process.
While his move from Hootie & the Blowfish frontman to solo country act surprised many, he got the last laugh. As a country artist, he’s scored nine chart-topping hits — and he still gets to record and tour with Hootie whenever he wants.
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