Songfacts®:

• The word "Mayday" is one of those terms that's universally understood and instantly alarming - an auditory flare gun fired into the chaos of an emergency. Officially adopted in 1923, it owes its origins to a rather clever chap named Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London. When tasked with coming up with a distress call that could transcend linguistic barriers, Mockford settled on "Mayday" - a catchy anglicization of the French phrase "m'aider," which roughly translates to "help me." It was simple, urgent, and sounded a bit like something you'd shout if your plane was falling out of the sky, which, let's face it, was exactly the point.
  
  Here, Three Days Grace reinterpret "Mayday" as a musical reflection of the modern world's collective unease.
• Released on November 22, 2024 "Mayday" is an anthem for those who are teetering on the brink emotionally, socially, or environmentally, yet somehow keep soldiering on.
  
  "Even though we feel like we are barely surviving, we keep on moving forward, one foot in front of the other," the band explained.
• Perhaps the biggest headline surrounding "Mayday" was the return of original frontman Adam Gontier, who hadn't sung with the band since 2013. Sharing vocal duties with Matt Walst (who has fronted the group in the interim), Gontier's return brings a double dose of intensity to the track, making it as much a reunion as it is a reinvention.
• Produced by Zakk Cervini and Dan Lancaster - names you might recognize from their work with Bring Me the Horizon - "Mayday" is an alternative rock beast with a melodic chorus and a bone-rattling breakdown. It opens with a bassline that gives a knowing nod to their 2006 hit "Animal I Have Become."
  
  For Cervini and Lancaster, this marks their first time in the producer's chair for Three Days Grace, who have traditionally worked with other luminaries like Howard Benson (he helmed their 2022 album Explosions).
• The accompanying music video, directed by Circus Head, trades the typical rock video clichés for a metaphorical punch: the band navigating a turbulent flight, symbolizing the chaos of current times.
• "Mayday" climbed its way to the top of Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart, becoming Three Day Grace's 18th #1 hit.
• Three Days Grace gave "Mayday" its live debut during their set as the support act for Disturbed at Ford Idaho Center Arena in Nampa, Idaho on February 25, 2025. It was the band's first full show with singer Adam Gontier in 12 years.