Jimmy Eat World's Bleed American Celebrates 25 Years as Jim Adkins Reflects on "The Middle"

*‘Bleed American’ album artwork. (Dreamworks/Interscope)*

Jimmy Eat World's 2001 album Bleed American turns 25 on Friday. The record took the Arizona rockers from a beloved underground emo band to chart-topping stars thanks to its breakout single, "The Middle."

Speaking with ABC Audio, frontman Jim Adkins recalled when he first realized that "The Middle" had reached a much larger audience.

"Maybe when I started hearing it more on the radio, in places that just had the radio on, like rental car lobbies or, like, a gym," Adkins said. "Like, what? What?"

"The Middle" eventually peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, introducing Jimmy Eat World to a much broader audience, including Taylor Swift. Despite the song's crossover success, Adkins said he didn't feel it divided the band's fanbase.

"A small group of people were, perhaps, wanting to keep the thing that was really secret and special to themselves," Adkins said. "The majority of people were stoked for us. They were like, 'Aw man, that's great for you guys.' People were happy for us."

Bleed American also produced fan favorites including "Sweetness," "A Praise Chorus," and the title track.

Reflecting on the lyric "Started my rock 'n' roll fantasy" from "A Praise Chorus," Adkins said he still feels like he's living that dream.

"I'm never not amazed by all of this, and I think on some level I always have been," Adkins said. "I've never taken any of this for granted. I haven't let it in and been able to celebrate it always to the fullest that I probably should've, but I've never taken any of it for granted."

He added, "I still don't believe I'm doing this."

Jimmy Eat World is currently on tour celebrating the 25th anniversary of Bleed American.

Content for this summary was derived from original reporting by ABC Audio, as featured on 105.7 The Point