What are some popular songs by the goo goo dolls?

The Goo Goo Doll's biggest hit (and certainly the one that boosted the American band to star status worldwide) was the 1998 song "Iris", which was written for the soundtrack of the 1998 film City of Angels and was included later that same year on the band's album Dizzy Up the Girl. It's been covered by many artists since, including a 2011 version recorded by Leona Lewis.

Frontman John Rzeznik gave the song its title after reading an article about American singer-songwriter Iris Dement, thinking the name Iris was a nice name. Ironically, the word iris never appears in the song's lyrics, despite the title.

You've almost certainly heard it before - here are the lyrics for the chorus:

• And I don't want the world to see me
  'Cause I don't think that they'd understand
  When everything's made to be broken
  I just want you to know who I am

In its initial year of release, the song peaked at #6 on the US charts and #50 on the UK charts. Interestingly, it's re-entered the UK charts three times since - the last being in 2011 when it peaked at #3 - and reportedly is expected to enter the UK charts again soon (as of December 2012) following recent X Factor exposure. One Direction's Harry Styles has been raving about 13-year-old Beatrice Miller, who performed the song on the US X Factor in November 2012, saying she has "the coolest voice".

"Name", from the band's album A Boy Named Goo, was a hit for the band in 1995 - at least in Canada and in the US, where it peaked at #5 on the charts. "Slide", also from the Dizzy Up the Girl album, was another big hit for the band, topping the US charts at #8 and #43 in UK.

1993's "We Are the Normal", from their Superstar Car Wash album, was not a mainstream hit for the band but did peak at #5 on the US Alternative chart, and got the band's name out there at a time when alternative music in the US was as, or even more, popular than mainstream popular music. "Black Balloon" (1998) is another popular song for the band's fans.

Somewhat ironically, the Goo Goo Dolls in their early days were often mentioned as being "the next Replacements", but American band The Replacements - who had only one single on the US charts that peaked at #51 ("I'll Be You") and never had a hit in the UK - never had anywhere near the mainstream success as the Goo Goo Dolls. Both were darlings of (and, in the case of The Replacements, legends) among the college rock and alternative crowds in the US in the 1980s and 1990s, but that's as far as it went for The Replacements, while the Goo Goo Dolls and "Iris" struck gold, as it were (and still is, in the case of "Iris").

The Goo Goo Dolls are actually in the studio (as of December 1st, 2012) recording a new album right now. For now, check out "Iris" below: