Hawk Nelson was formed in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada in 2003 by Jason Dunn, Dave Clark, Matt Paige, and Daniel Biro.
The band played independently in Peterborough, Ontario for a few years before they signed with Tooth and Nail Records, largely on the recommendation of Trevor McNevan, the lead singer of fellow Tooth and Nail bands Thousand Foot Krutch and FM Static. McNevan, also from Peterborough, is credited with discovering the band. In July of 2004, Hawk Nelson released their major label debut Letters to the President. It was produced by Aaron Sprinkle and McNevan, who also co-wrote the album's fourteen songs. He has also appeared on some of the band's songs, as well as in their video for the song "California". Dave Clark was replaced by Jonathan Steingard on guitar in 2004.
The band released their second studio album, titled Smile, It's The End of the World, on April 4, 2006. The album's first single, "Everything You Ever Wanted", went on to hit #1 for 9 weeks on the R&R Christian CHR chart, and was the fourth most played song of 2006. Hawk Nelson released a 3-track Christmas EP titled Gloria on November 21, 2006.
In 2007, Aaron Tosti (who had joined the band to replace Matt Paige on drums) left the band to pursue other musical ventures and was replaced by Justin Benner. Justin had previously toured with Hawk Nelson before with The Send. Hawk Nelson's third full album, Hawk Nelson Is My Friend was released on April 1, 2008, and featured songs co-written by Trevor McNevan of Thousand Foot Krutch, Raine Maida of Our Lady Peace, and Richard Marx. The album was nominated for a 2009 Grammy Award in the category for Best Recording Package.
On July 21, 2009, Hawk Nelson released their second single from their fourth album Live Life Loud called "The Meaning Of Life", and on August 8, the song "Alive" began to be played on Christian Radio. They released the album in September of the same year.
Their fifth studio album, Crazy Love, which was released in stores February 8, 2011.
On February 1, 2012, lead vocalist Jason Dunn announced he would be leaving the band, in order to pursue his solo project.
On December 11, 2012, Hawk Nelson announced they had signed with Fair Trade Services. Made was released on April 2, 2013. The album's release was preceded by the release of the album's debut single on January 15, 2013, "Words", featuring Bart Millard of MercyMe, while "Faithful" was released on September 12, 2013.
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