Brent Stephen Smith (born January 10, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters of the rock band Shinedown. Prior to fronting the rock band Shinedown, Smith had a high school band named Blind Thought and later was the lead singer in a band called Dreve, which Atlantic Records had signed. Atlantic Records forced Brent to either find another band or lose his record deal. He then went to Los Angeles, California to record with well-known producer Desmond Child. Shortly after returning home to Knoxville, Tennessee, Atlantic dropped the band but retained Smith. He put together Shinedown shortly after. He was soon given a developmental contract by Atlantic Records. Smith moved to Jacksonville, Florida, and began working on the project in 2001.
