The members of Simple Plan Photo: Courtesy of AEG Live Asia

The French-Canadian pop punk band is back. 

After their sold-out 2012 and 2013 tours of China, the members of Simple Plan are coming back to rock China once again, this time performing their latest album at the Huiyuan Space in Beijing on August 28 and the Mixing Room in Shanghai on August 30 and 31.

In addition to fresh hits from their new album, the tour is also "a greatest hits concert" that will bring back old classics, the band's lead vocalist Pierre Bouvier told the Global Times in an e-mail interview.

Concert tickets are now available by phone or online with prices ranging from 288 to 588 yuan ($43-88). 

New voyage



From the catchy reggae-styled "Singing in the Rain" to the slow-tempo of "Perfectly Perfect," their latest album Taking One for the Team, their first in five years and their fifth since their 1999 debut, shows the group's ambitions to shake up their characteristic pop punk style.

However, taking a new path hasn't been easy.

"It was a little bit long," wrote rhythm guitarist Sébastien Lefebvre.

"We are not the kind of band that puts out albums quickly just to get back on tour, as you have noticed.

"We want to make sure that every song on the album could be someone's favorite. And with that in mind, we want to make sure the essence of SP is in there, and we also want to try new things."

Still seen as a "pop punk band," "rock group" or "punk rock revivalists," Simple Plan is still the band we know despite these changes - happy, lively and exciting.

"It's a reference to the fact that being in a band is very similar to being on a sports team together," said drummer Chuck Comeau, explaining how they came up with Taking One for the Team as the title for the new album.

"We win and lose together; we go through highs and lows. Being in a band also implies that each member often has to make sacrifices for the greater good and over the last 17 years, we've all done that and put the band first before ourselves."

This probably best sums up the band's musical career over the past nearly two decades.

After China, the band plans to continue on their Asia Tour to countries such as South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

"We are very excited that our Asia Tour is taking us back to all our favorite places," they said.

Local ties



Asked what they love the most about China, "Awesome food and culture," wrote Lefebvre.

"And what I love the most about China has to be the shows. We love to get on stage and party with our Chinese fans.

"Our Chinese fans have been greatly supportive since our very beginning," he added.

Long known to be very interactive with fans, be it sing-alongs at concerts or the use of fan-contributed material in their music video  for "This Song Saved My Life," the group says it is extremely grateful for the support their Chinese fans have given them over the years. As a thank you, the band promised the "most awesome show ever with all the best of Simple Plan" for the coming tour.

Outside hard-core fans in China, the band entered the mainstream in the country with their 2012 hit "Jet Lag," in which the band cooperated with Chinese pop singer Kelly Cha on an English-Chinese duet, with Kelly writing and singing the Chinese parts of the song.

Despite the English-Chinese version, the song has also been released in three other languages, with duet partners ranging from Natasha Bedingfield for the English version, Marie-Mai for the French version to Tantri of the band Kotak for the Indonesian version.

"Kelly is an awesome singer!"

The band was full of praise when talking about the singer.

"We really enjoyed working with her and we have become good friends since the collaboration," the band wrote.

For fans of "Jet Lag" and this type of cross-border mix music, chances are they can expect similar songs in the future.

"We are looking forward to working with Kelly again," the group wrote.