Blue October

It took ten years and four albums, but theatrical mood rockers Blue October finally broke out of the regional scene in 2006 with Foiled. Powered by their hit “Hate Me,” the Houston quintet has become a national headline act in the Maroon 5/ Hoobastank niche of mainstream rock. Not that it’s been all roses for the band, as our own John Nova Lomax opined in his year-end column; “On the rock front, Blue October had the biggest hit, with a song we wish didn’t exist.” Lomax’s criticism aside, BO has racked up almost 5 million hits on “Hate Me” on their MySpace site, so somebody out there likes what they are doing.