NEW YORK – Years before the Goo Goo Dolls song “Iris” became a viral trend, singer-songwriter Matt Hansen uploaded a cover of the 1998 hit. Hansen recorded it in his garage and decided that he was comfortable enough with how it came out to share it on YouTube.
To date, his video has 12 million views.
“I really love the song and I can connect to it very deeply,” Hansen, 25, says. The Los Angeles-based singer is the latest artist to play for USA TODAY Acoustic, a series that provides a stage for notable and rising talent across the USA TODAY Network. “It’s so cool to me because these are songs that I think are some of the greatest songs ever written. They’re just songs that bring people together.”
Matt Hansen performs at USA TODAY headquarters in New York City on May 14th, 2026.
The staying power of “Iris,” which Goo Goo Dolls front man John Rzeznik wrote for the film “City of Angels,” is undeniable. And now, almost five years after Hansen shared his cover, the artist is telling his own story through original music. Hansen’s debut album “Orchid” is out now.
“It’s basically my path from heartbreak to hope,” the singer shares. “It took a lot of effort, a lot of therapy, a lot of self-reflection and ownership of things and moments where I went wrong.”
The album is four years in the making, during which a breakup in his personal life led to several writing sessions. Hansen notes a turning point for the LP was his 2023 release of the song “Let ‘Em Go,” about the cathartic experience of learning to move on and includes lyrics like “Sometimes you need the pain / To know it isn’t love.”
After the song was released, Hansen “realized I actually have something really legitimate to say.
“I saw a lot of people react in a way I hadn’t seen them react before,” he continues. “Then I just started really digging into how I’m feeling.”
Matt Hansen poses for a portrait at USA TODAY headquarters in New York City on May 14th, 2026.
Matt Hansen prepares for a headlining tour to support ‘Orchid’
Fans of Hansen can expect to hear “Let ‘Em Go,” “yellowstone (holding you)” and more in the set list for the singer’s headlining tour.
On May 26, Hansen announced a world tour that includes an 18-city trek across North America. After touring Europe in October, he’ll play Montreal on Nov. 13 and start the U.S. run on Nov. 17 in New York. Hansen wraps his run on Dec. 13 in San Francisco. Tickets go on sale May 29.
The singer previously toured with Train and says the band’s lead singer, Pat Monahan, offered some advice that he’ll take with him on his solo trek.
“(Pat) was like, ‘Just make sure that you’re enjoying all this because this is why you do it,'” Hansen says. “If you write these songs and then you see people out there loving them, it’s a next-level amazing feeling.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Matt Hansen was covering ‘Iris’ in his garage. Now he’s going on tour.
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