P.O.D. - Youth of the Nation I Singer Reacts I 

It was released long enough ago, that the youth are now 40.

"told the world how he felt with sound of a gat..." this line still sends shivers down my spine, every single time. 23 years later and this song is criminally relevant to the US. STILL.

"instead of taking the test I took two to the chest" is always a eye opener in these lyrics

The song's inspiration stems from a trip when the band was on their way to record for Satellite on March 5, 2001. They were held up in traffic and discovered that the reason was a mass shooting at Santana High School, where a fifteen-year-old student named Charles Andrew Williams killed two and wounded thirteen. The album was consequently delayed, and the band was inspired to write "Youth of the Nation." In a 2008 interview, guitarist Marcos Curiel described the event: "We were rehearsing and writing Satellite a couple of blocks away from the school. One day on the way to the studio, there were all these helicopters and cars speeding by. We really didn’t know what was going on. When we got to the studio, this guy had the news on, and he was like, ‘This kid just went and started blasting fools.’ So we started jamming, and that rhythm just naturally came out, then Wuv [Bernardo, drummer] put that drumbeat on it, and the song was born." Curiel added, "When you can hear something that's going to uplift you like 'Alive' or something that's going to bring out knowledge like 'Youth of the Nation,' we've done our jobs as an artist."

This song came out in 2001. One of their biggest songs. Still around, their 11th album is due out in May. Alex Lopez joined as touring drummer in 2022, he is married to Tatiana from Jinjer. She features on the new album, on a song called "Afraid to Die". "I Won't Bow Down" is the newest single. "Boom" is another of their bigger songs.

The pictures in the back are ALL the children who were killed in School Shootings and it always hits 😢 different. I remember hearing this when it first came out and it’s was very “RAW” and RELEVANT because of the SCHOOL SHOOTING’s. It’s a GREAT SONG. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this OG Song. 🎧🎼❤️‍🩹🎶🙌🏽

Such a banger. That album is fire.

POD - alive, consider that one))

One of those Nu Metal classics that will always stay relevant

This reaction is so different from others. It's like she doesn't even realize that he sings about a shooting and stuff ... 🤯 That reminds me of myself listening to it the first time. I'm ESL so it takes time for me to pick up on all the lyrics. After getting all the meanings right, this song makes me cry rivers like almost every time.

"It's kind of hard when you ain't got no friends, he put his life to an end, they might remember him then" As someone who has struggled with depression (and still has moments), this line hits so real. This song really struck a chord with the state of the mental and societal challenges the younger generations face, and it continues today.

Recently, P.O.D. made a sound with Tatiana Shmayluk from Jinjer, on the song "AFRAID TO DIE". There's a video on their channel. Another interesting fact about the band is that Katy Perry sings backing vocals on the song "Goodbye for Now", before she was famous.

P.O.D. was part of the late 90's/ early 2000 rap rock scene (w/ Linkin Park, Crazy Town, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach) but what set them apart was that they were a Christian rock band... This song was inspired by the aftermath of the Columbine school shooting, I'm guessing... It became P.O.D.'s biggest hit from their platinum record 'Satellite' in 2001... w/ the other singles - 'Alive'... 'Satellite'... 🔥🔥 P.O.D. had been doing this 'nu metal' sound since the 90's... their major album 'The fundamental elements of Southtown' in 1999 had the MTV singles - 'Rock the party' ... 'Southtown'... P.O.D. is still around putting out new music and touring.

My friend heard this recently and thought it had just came out because of the lyrics. Kinda brilliant that this song is as impactful now as it was when it was released.

Songs about partying and wealth dominate the Grammy Awards, while songs about social issues like this one struggle to gain recognition.

This was a great song at a a great time

Interesting is a very good way to put it, POD has never just been about expectations. More about challenging you with a message. I'm sure someone brought it up, but they're having a bit of a comeback, and just recorded a collab with Tatiana from Jinjer, friends of theirs. Great, thoughtful reaction!

Man this song always gets me goosebumps the message cuts thru

This was one of POD's first hits, if not THE first hit, back around 2001. I actually saw them live once, they were opening for Jinjer, plus 2 other bands. (2022) Word is that Tatiana is married to POD's drummer, Alex Lopez. Something I noticed when they played this song live was that it looked like the keyboardist picked up some drumsticks and also started to play drums, giving the percussion a meatier sound for this song.

Youth of the Nation was a #5 hit in Germany. Their previous song Alive went to #16.

grew up listening to P.O.D. awesome Christian nu metal band from the San Diego area.

Yay! Love P.O.D., they have some great songs. Their songs tell different stories. Great sound all around, much different from most. Music in just about any feeling and a lot of truth to them. Thanks for reacting!🙏🏼🌹💕

Nice one Rachel. Try P.O.D. - Satellite next, it's a great song.

This would be one of the first songs that would play on MTV AM in the morning before I went to school. Sad that gun violence has only gotten worse. I am 35 now and the politicians still don't care about the youth.

This album was actually released on 9/11/01. I was only 11, but I still remember getting it that day 😢

You definitely have to listen to “Satellite” and “Alive”, also really cool songs!

I saw P.O.D. in 1994 at a church youth rally before they went mainstream. they still are Awesome

Thanks for that reaction. IMO, that was the anthem of my generation growing up in the 90s and early 2000s. 60's and 70's was about rebellion, 80's was about the pursuit of pleasure, and it produced the 90's, the generation of hopelessness and nihilism.

Yet here we are all the years later after this song came out and it's lyrics still are current in the world we live in still. So sad folks haven't woken up.

This song was written after a shooting that took place at a H.S. in San Diego. The band was stuck in traffic in DTSD due to the shooting.

I am now 37, but somehow i still feel like the youth... Wonder if this feeling ever goes away with the age. The one thing i miss from those years is the carelessness. We would embark on a big road trip with a few friends, with barely enough money to fill up the car, certainly not anywhere near enough to sleep at a hotel or any proper accommodation, with a car which should've never left the city limits... Never even given a single thought of what we would do if we would brake down aside of the road... Absolutely can't do this now, my brain simply won't let me do it.

Woo! P.O.D. is one of my favorites! Such awesome dudes and super awesome live. They also dabble in reggae as well so they jam out pretty hard. Some of my favs: The Reasons Lost in Forever Teachers Awesome video as always!👍🏽

A childhood classic. An absolute banger

The album this song is off is awesome 👌

Goodbye For Now is another song by them that's one of my favorites--worth a listen.

After the Columbine school shooting and the high school shootings in San Diego that also happened. This song was written I honor of them

Great reaction. Blessings from Costa Rica 🇨🇷

old song but still holds true

Crazy that this song is still so relevant today.

I love your hair Ray 😍💜, and yea this is my favorite P.O.D jam.🎶

This was my favorite song on my first ever CD. I still listen to the songs today and can quote all the lyrics and the album still holds true all this time later. They still are in my top 5 favorite bands ever and much of the lyrics of Sonny's songs influenced the world view I hold today.

You should check out one of their earlier heavier songs called Southtown, shit is a banger. Anyway this whole album is fantastic, you should definitely do some more from this record in the future

This album came out on THE 9/11. I was at work and we were listening to the full album and when we were listening to this song we found out about the towers being hit. It was surreal

I like "Will You" from POD.

It’s sad how little has changed in 23 years 😔

Fun Fact (for me, lol) my nephew Jon Robert Hall is one of the kids singing the chorus on the track

I believe I was 12-13 when this was on MTV...yes, In the past, MTV used to broadcast music videos.

LOVE P.O.D😎👍👊🤙🤟🤘

Pod and Korn are in the same genre category of Nu metal. That’s why you are hearing the similarities between them

This song give me chills every time I heard

This is timeless. Came out sophomore year and spoke truth that never seems to fade away. Really warps the song into a much sadder piece

Very nostalgic song and album 💿

i've been listening this song for over 20 years, since i was in 1st year on elementary school, and now i have 2 childs, so many things i've been through, this song has the feelings, sad, anxious, happy.

P.O.D.= Payable On Death. This song was ahead of it's time!

Listened to these guys through my youth. Still love em at 31.

They’ve also touched on hardcore punk in their songs (with the singer of Bad Brains on this same album) and they’ve also recorded a song with Katy Perry (on their song Goodbye for Now) before anyone really knew who she was. I haven’t listened to them in awhile, but this album is the only one I still listen to once in awhile.

One of my favorite song from them

But now we're not afraid to die.

P.o.d. Is such an amazing band. This song is just a taste of them. They dont really fit into any category, they branch out into punk, funk, reggae, nu metal, hip hop, rock and so much more. Their catalog is so diverse. This song and album is when they peaked in the mainstream but theyre still going strong. Warriors!

P.o.d babyyyyyyyyyyyy 🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟🤟

Takes me back! Good teen years!

I saw P.O.D. at Tomfest way back in the day, their bus was caught in a 4 hour traffic jam, they still played that night and jammed for hours for us.... Amazing band.

One of my favorite bands

This was our anthem growing up in the 90s

Always glad to see this song reacted to, as it became a personal favorite track of mine last year. These guys actually have real strong faith and spiritual convictions, but they don’t market themselves like that or use that angle for promotion. The lead vocalist has said he would never use his faith that way. This song has a very serious-minded vibe to it, though they can also brighten things with more positivity. For this style of music I consider them one of the best.

Wonderful Reaction. POD plays all of those genres throughout their career. Deep Meaningful Lyrics in this song. PS. They have a brand new song out with Tatiana from Jinger lending her vocal talents in the song “Afraid to Die”.

Absolute banger

Cant wait for your reaction to P.O.D "alive" ❤

Not a POD fan but this song is even more relevant today than it ever was. Kinda sad when you think of it

They won DOve Awards in CHristian music, they always stayed right outside of the line Mega popular but the 2 song's that was huge for them made big splases

This was such a jam at the time !!!! I own this cd .. i did say cd ❤ such a good song

They have a good amount of great songs, like this, Alive, Boom, Sleeping Awake, Southtown,... Their last album sounds good at the moment, with bangers like Drop (with Randy Blythe of Lamb of God). "I got Nu Metal, I got Hard Rock, I got Hip Hop, I got Reggae,...". Girl, you need to listen to Skindred!

My daughter was born just after this song was released, and now shes in her early 20s. Time flies far too quickly ❤

One of the few songs by POD that I liked.

Great song...thx for reaction...

I'm a grandfather now, this breaks my heart

I was 11 when it came out. Would sing it but didn't really know what it meant till yrs later. Not much has changed though this song fits today

One of my favorite bands they have so many great songs. This time, Set your eyes to zion, execute the sounds, the reasons, freedom fighters, asthma, roots in stereo, sounds like war, and ridiculous are some other great ones.

I'm 20 and this song haunts me with the memories i remember having one of those portable cd players with a pod cd damn time moves quick

The pictures in this video are all pictures of missing children.

I listened to that song a lot in high school. The video was different than I was expecting. It still speaks to me though, especially with all the crap I went through growing up.

The concern and caring is written all over this chick's face, what a dope person

They're a mix of metal, reggae, punk, rap and Latin.

Hello Everybody! as I remember that band wrote this song in a few minutes there was a tragic shooting at a school commemorates this thank you very much for listening to you just now because today in Hungary (where I live) your public speech today is resounding with a similar tragedy a few weeks ago peace love unity

Fun fact: In their song "Goodbye for now", Katy Perry sang with them back when she was trying to be a Christian singer.

You have to go into a rabbit hole. They do a bunch of styles. But they give it their own flair. One of my favorites for a long time.

A variety of things. 1) No, the pictures were not of kids killed in school shootings, they were of kids variously killed, murdered, and missing. These were the types of images commonly seen in papers, on telephone poles, in stores, and on the news at the time. 2) No, the song was not at all just about a school shooting, as the lyrics make clear. It's about being lost, drugs, a lack of self-respect in a chase to be accepted and like, and about s-cide. 3) This is more relevant today largely s-cide remains an epidemic, and no longer just among the youth. Gun violence in schools is more prevalent, but not the type referred to in this song relative to population growth. The near entirety of mass shootings in the U.S. are due to gang violence, and when it occurs in schools it's almost invariably in inner city schools in particular cities. The distant second most common scenario in which mass shootings occur is domestic violence, which at its extreme often leads to multiple victims and fatalities regardless the weapon used. But we don't talk about these actualities of gun violence. We try to talk as though it's white gun nuts shooting up schools and public places because they're white gun nuts. And that's why we can't make any headway. You can't create effective responses to a problem you won't even talk honestly about.

The people he wrote about are real people he knew growing. Plus, of course, his own parents who were killed when he was 16 by a school shooter. Also, there are over 1k picture flyers that real teenagers that went missing, were murdered, or committed suicide in San Diego the year the album came out.

I still have problems listening to this song at times i had a classmate in one of my high school classes he was also my best friends neighbor i grew up when this song was super popular in 2005 when I was a freshman my classmate unalived himself after school in his basement bedroom and my best friend actually heard the gunshot in his house next door in his own house its still hard to hear at times cause my classmate never showed any signs of anything he was always happy and laughing and joking around first few months afterwards and this song would play anywhere I would break down thinking about my classmate cause he just seemed like such a genuine guy normally

We need more reactions to P.O.D. Thank you)

Both me and my daughter know this song word for word

Great song. Still relevant. POD is an excellent band.

P.O.D. was very good early to mid 2000s. If you want to hear a new sound check out their collaboration with matisyahu.

This one is specifically about Santana Shootings out here in San Diego. They're a San Diego local band out here, and I have been listening to them since like 1994. Cool band, going to see them at the San Diego house of Blues on April 28. They do like all sorts of styles. Rock, Hip Hop, Reggae Metal and even kind of punk style.

The drum and bass lines in this song are epic!

"Insted of taking the test I took 2 to the chest" Always was the strongest line of this song. As a parent now this is aways a scary thought. This song came right after the Colombine school shooting.

Their album “The fundamental elements of Southtown” was a real good album.

Just so you know, Godsmack singer does an English version of the words if you like the song I haven’t finished watching your video but I will now since you did my favorite video 16 moments ago

I remember back in their days, they had to cancel a show here nearby due to the venue roof crumbling during their soundcheck.

They have some great bangers on their The Fundamental Elements of Southtown album.