[3] After lead singer Jacob Hoggard placed third on the second season of Canadian Idol in 2004, the group signed with Universal Music Canada and released their self-titled debut studio album the following year.

Hedley saw commercial success with their subsequent studio albums, including Famous Last Words (2007), The Show Must Go (2009), Storms (2011), Wild Life (2013), Hello (2015) and Cageless (2017).

Following the release of their seventh studio album Cageless (2017) and its accompanying tour, current members of Hedley faced accusations of sexual misconduct with young women over the course of their career.

[4][5] After Hoggard faced additional accusations of sexual assault by two women, the group confirmed they would enter an indefinite hiatus.

He recruited guitarist Dave Rosin, bassist Tommy Mac, and drummer Chris Crippin, all of whom previously teamed in the Vancouver band Everything After.

[11] "Villain" was released as the second single from the album on July 26, 2005 and peaked at number 18 on the Canada Rock chart.

During June 2006, the band went on tour in the US, opening for fellow Capitol Records artist, Yellowcard, with Matchbox Romance.

[21] The group began working on their second studio album in May 2007 with producers Dave Genn and Greig Nori.

[19] The first single from the album, "She's So Sorry", was released to radio on August 21, 2007, and had its music video premiere on MuchMusic on September 20, 2007.

[29] "Old School" was released as the album's fourth single in August 2008 and reached number ten on the Canadian Hot 100.

In the United States, the group released Famous Last Words as Never Too Late on May 12, 2009 by Fontana Distribution, at the time owned by Hedley's Canadian record label's parent company Universal Music.

[43] The band performed "Cha-Ching" in a segment with other artists highlighting Canadian music at the closing ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

[45] Around the time of recording, bassist Tommy Mac was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer.

[46] According to the group, Mac's perseverance inspired the band to "create the kind of uplifting songs that might spur others to carry on through their own hard times.

[53] The song peaked at number two on the Canadian Hot 100 and was certified triple platinum in Canada.

[38] A French version of "Kiss You Inside Out" featuring additional vocals by Andrée-Anne Leclerc was also made available on iTunes.

[60] The song reached number seven on the Canadian Hot 100 and was nominated for a Juno Award for Single of the Year in 2015.

[20] "Heaven in Our Headlights" was released on June 17, 2014 as the third single from the album and peaked at number 14 on the Canadian Hot 100.

[29] The album's fourth single, "Pocket Full of Dreams" was released on November 18, 2014 and reached the Canadian Hot 100 chart at number 33.

[65] Hedley headlined the 101st Grey Cup Halftime show at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field in Regina, Saskatchewan on November 24, 2013, performing a 13-minute compilation of "Hands Up", "Anything", "Invincible" and "Cha-Ching".

[67] On September 8, Hedley released "Lost in Translation" as the lead single off their sixth studio album.

[29][20] The album's fourth single, "Can't Slow Down" was released on August 25, 2016 and reached number 43 on the Canadian Hot 100.

[29] The group embarked on the Hello World Tour with supporting acts from Carly Rae Jepsen and Francesco Yates.

[73] On July 3, 2016, they were the headliners of the post-Queen's Plate concert held at Woodbine Racetrack (in Toronto) which also featured The Strumbellas & The Mathew Good Band.

[20] On March 31, 2017, Hedley announced on their Facebook page that their drummer, Chris Crippin had left the band after 11 years.

[83] On February 25, 2018, an Ottawa woman accused lead singer Jacob Hoggard of sexual assault after the pair met on Tinder and went to a hotel to have sex in November 2016.

[84] On October 20, 2022, he was sentenced to 5 years in prison after being found guilty of sexually assaulting the Ottawa woman.

[85] On August 16, 2024, Hoggard began serving his five year prison sentence following an appeal dismissed by the court.