Breaking Benjamin is a rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The band was formed in 1999 by lead singer Ben Burnley and former drummer Jeremy Hummel.

The band was originally named Plan 9, which is a reference to the 1959 film Plan 9 from Outer Space. The band continuously was misnamed as Planet 9 and drove them to change their name to Breaking Benjamin (Which was the name of Ben’s previous band.) The name originates from an incident in which Ben accidentally dropped the mic, and the sound man yelled

“Thanks to Benjamin for breaking my fucking mic!”

In 2004, their sophomore album We Are Not Alone was released. They collaborated with Smashing Pumpkins vocalist Billy Corgan on writing their songs “Rain”, “Forget It”, and “Follow”. The album peaked at #20 on the Billboard 200 and has been certified platinum.

In 2005, they released their second platinum album Phobia. The albums lead single “Diary of Jane” peaked at #2 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. It received a double-platinum certification and was the fastest single added to radio stations in Hollywood Records history.

The band began their hiatus in 2010 after a dispute between band members about the release of the “Blow Me Away” remix with Syndee Duran.

Ben returned in 2014 with a whole new lineup. Their first album together Dark Before Dawn made its way up the charts very quickly and peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200. It was certified gold in 2016.