The Cranberries were an Irish rock band formed in Limerick, Ireland, in 1989 by lead singer Niall Quinn, guitarist Noel Hogan, bassist Mike Hogan, and drummer Fergal Lawler. Quinn was replaced as lead singer by Dolores O'Riordan in 1990. The band officially classify themselves as an alternative rock group, but incorporate aspects of indie pop, post-punk, folk rock, and pop rock into their sound.The Cranberries rose to international fame in the 1990s with their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, which became a commercial success and achieved five top 20 albums on the Billboard 200 chart: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, No Need to Argue, To the Faithful Departed, Bury the Hatchet, and Stars: The Best of 1992-2002, as well as having eight top 20 singles on the Modern Rock Tracks chart: "Linger", "Dreams", "Zombie", "Ode to My Family", "Ridiculous Thoughts", "Salvation", "Free to Decide", and "Promises". Their fifth studio album, Wake Up and Smell the Coffee, was released in October 2001.
In early 2009, after a six-year hiatus, the Cranberries reunited and began a North American tour followed by shows in Latin America and Europe. The band recorded their sixth album, Roses, in May 2011 and released it in February 2012. Something Else, which covered many of the band's most popular songs along with new orchestral accompaniments provided by the Irish Chamber Orchestra, was released in April 2017. The album also included three new songs: "The Glory", "Rupture", and "Why?.On 15 January 2018, lead singer Dolores O'Riordan was found dead of drowning in a London hotel room. She had recently arrived in London for a studio mixing session on her D.A.R.K. album and to discuss the band's latest album with record label BMG. The Cranberries confirmed in September 2018 that they would not continue as a band; their final album, In the End, was released in April 2019 and they disbanded afterward. Noel Hogan stated: "the Cranberries was the four of us. We don't want to do this without Dolores. So we're going to leave it after this."The Cranberries' total sales are between over 40 and near 50 million albums worldwide as of 2019. The band ranks as one of the best-selling alternative acts of the 1990s, which garnered them an MTV Europe Music Award, a World Music Award, an International Group nomination at the Brit Awards, a Juno nomination, and a Juno Award win. The band was nominated for the Ivor Novello Awards and received an Ivor Novello Award for International Achievement. In 1998, they performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert. In 2016, they received a BMI Award with a Special Citation of Achievement. In the End earned them a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album.
