Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong has celebrated the 20th anniversary of ‘American Idiot.’
The rocker took to Instagram to share a video from one of the band’s shows and admitted that it was a risk to record an album like that. “Happy anniversary ‘American Idiot’!! 20 years!! We took a risk on a politically charged punk rock opera about finding your voice in the middle of chaos and war,” Armstrong wrote. He added: “Still rings true to this day. I’m so proud of this record. It was the record we always wanted to make.”
Green Day has been vocal about social and political issues since the beginning of their careers, and they even have a history of changing the lyrics of their songs on stage.
In one of their performances this year, Armstrong changed the lyrics during ‘American Idiot.’ While performing, Armstrong replaced the original line where he said he wasn’t on board with the ‘redneck agenda’: “I’m not a part of a MAGA agenda.”
They changed the lyrics of the same song during the Trump presidency at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in 2019. Also, right after Trump’s election win in 2016, they spoke out against him while performing their song ‘Bang Bang’ at the American Music Awards. Armstrong sang ‘No Trump, no KKK, no fascist USA’ during the performance
Green Day is celebrating the 20th anniversary of ‘American Idiot,’ with a Deluxe Edition release. This expanded version comes in two Super Deluxe Box Sets—an 8-LP Vinyl and a 4-CD set, both with two Blu-ray discs. Each box includes bonus content like 15 unreleased demos, 14 rare B-sides, and nine live recordings from a 2004 concert at Irving Plaza, plus a special cover of Queen’s ‘We Are The Champions.’