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American Idiot is the seventh studio album by American punk rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2004 by Reprise Records. Co-produced with longterm collaborator Rob Cavallo, American Idiot is a rock opera that criticized the contemporary political climate of the United States.

Following the 2003 recording of about 20 songs, later to become Cigarettes and Valentines, Green Day spent three months recording new music. The first song, "American Idiot", was followed by the recording of the two nine-minute songs on the album. The band decided to produce a concept album, inspired by The Who and numerous musicals. Following early recording at Oakland, California's Studio 880, the band finished the album in Los Angeles.

In mid-2003, Green Day convened at Studio 880 in Oakland, California, and recorded about 20 songs for a new album titled Cigarettes and Valentines.[3][4] However, the master tracks went missing.[5] The band, wondering if it should re-record the songs, consulted with Rob Cavallo over what to do. Cavallo told the band members to ask themselves if the missing tracks represented their best work.[6] Guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong said the band members "couldn't honestly look at ourselves and say, 'That was the best thing we've ever done.' So we decided to move on and do something completely new."[3] The band members agreed to spend to next three months writing new material.[7]

The first new song Green Day wrote was "American Idiot". The band had difficulty following it up. One day, bassist Mike Dirnt was in the studio recording a 30-second song by himself. Armstrong decided he wanted to do the same, and drummer Tré Cool followed suit. Armstrong recalled, "It started getting more serious as we tried to outdo one another. We kept connecting these little half-minute bits until we had something." This musical suite became "Homecoming", and the band subsequently wrote another suite, "Jesus of Suburbia". Armstrong was so emboldened by the creation of the two suites that he decided to make the record an album-long conceptual piece. The band took inspiration from concept records by The Who, as well as musicals including West Side Story and Jesus Christ Superstar.[3] During their sessions at Studio 880, the members of Green Day spent their days writing material and would stay up late, drinking and discussing music. The band set up a pirate radio station from which it would broadcast jam sessions, along with occasional crank calls.[5]