Ryan Cabrera established himself as a platinum-selling pop-rock musician through his emotional acoustic ballads, his success during the early 2000s and his enduring fan base from the TRL generation. During the peak of acoustic-driven pop rock, he established himself as a leading artist through his emotional songwriting, his clean guitar work and professional studio production.

The release of “On the Way Down” marked his commercial breakthrough as the song reached Billboard Hot 100 success and served as the lead single for his major-label debut, Take It All Away in 2004. The album production by John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls brought out Cabrera's ability to create love songs that worked well on the radio and led to his major industry breakthrough. His music career advanced through his two hit singles “True” and “40 Kinds of Sadness” which made him a permanent fixture in early 2000s pop culture while earning him MTV and VH1 airplay and national tour spots.