Editing Donots (section)

===Mainstream breakthrough (1999–2007)===
The Donots released their third album and first major label release ''[[Better Days Not Included]]'' in 1999, produced by [[Die Ärzte]] producer Uwe Hoffmann, together with their first single "Outshine the World", which received minor radio and TV airplay. They went on to play their first co-headlining tour called "Ladies First, James Last" across Germany, Austria, Italy and the Netherlands, together with fellow German punk rock peers the [[Beatsteaks]].

In 2001, the band released their fourth album ''[[Pocketrock]]'', with which they achieved their breakthrough into the mainstream, mainly through their hit single "Whatever Happened to the 80s", which reached No. 67 on the German charts. The following singles "Room With a View", "Today" and "Superhero" also received video airplay on MTV. They played their first headlining tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland with [[Midtown (band)|Midtown]] as support. The following year, ''Pocketrock'' was re-released through [[Burning Heart Records]] all over Europe.

The band released their fifth album ''[[Amplify the Good Times]]'' in May 2002, which achieved similar success with the singles "Saccharine Smile" and "Big Mouth". After the album's release, they played a European tour with [[Millencolin]] and [[Anti-Flag]]. In September, they released a cover version of "[[We're Not Gonna Take It (Twisted Sister song)|We're Not Gonna Take It]]" by [[Twisted Sister]] on an EP, which turned out to be one of the band's biggest hits, reaching No. 33 on the German charts. This was followed by the "Amplify the Good Tour" with [[Favez]] as support through Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France, and Spain.

In 2003, ''Amplify the Good Times'' became a surprise hit in Japan, with the album reaching No. 10 on the International Album Charts and the singles receiving heavy radio airplay, with "Saccharine Smile" reaching No. 19 on the [[Oricon Singles Chart]]. The band and "Saccharine Smile" would receive further international recognition when the song appeared in the acclaimed 2004 racing video game ''[[Burnout 3: Takedown]]''. The band played their first Japan tour in June 2003. That year they also recorded the "Protest Song" with Anti-Flag, which was released as a bonus track on ''[[The Terror State]]''.

The Donots released their sixth album ''[[Got the Noise]]'' in 2004 with the accompanying singles "We Got the Noise" and "Goodbye Routine", the former becoming another big hit, landing on No. 33 in Germany. The band was also featured on the [[Fat Wreck Chords]] compilation ''[[Rock Against Bush, Vol. 2]]'' with their b-side "Time's Up". In 2005, they released their first DVD "Ten Years of Noise".

In 2006, the band left their major label due to creative differences. Guitarist Guido explained: "Over time we fought each other more and more, rather than looking for solutions together. We simply did not understand each other anymore. The last record was actually just damage control. Even during promotional activities, we were absolutely not on the same wavelength. Especially with video clips, selection of singles and the entire image of the band."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.musik-base.de/news/interview-mit-den-donots/5679 |title=Musik News: Interview mit den Donots |website=www.musik-base.de |access-date=22 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121205012247/http://www.musik-base.de/news/interview-mit-den-donots/5679 |archive-date=5 December 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
The band released the greatest hits and b-side compilation album ''[[The Story So Far: Ibbtown Chronicles]]'' as a send-off to their major label. That year they also founded [[Solitary Man Records]].

[[File:Ingo Knollmann of Donots at Southside Festival 2014 in Neuhausen ob Eck.jpg|thumb|Ingo Knollmann at Southside Festival 2014]]