Interscope Records released the band's debut album, Behind the Front, in the United States in June 1998.

The album peaked at number fourteen in the US and was certified two times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

It spawned their two highest-charting singles on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time, "Don't Phunk with My Heart" and "My Humps", both of which reached number three.

The first single from the album, "Boom Boom Pow", peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's first US number-one hit, and held onto the top spot for twelve weeks until the album's second single, "I Gotta Feeling", replaced it.

The album's third single, "Meet Me Halfway", has peaked at number one in Australia, Germany and the UK and reached the top ten in the US.