Simple Plan band members (clockwise from left) Jeff Stinco, Sebastien Lefebvre, Chuck Comeau, David Desrosiers and Pierre Bouvier. (Veronica Henri/SUN MEDIA)

TORONTO -- "How many people can the Phoenix hold?" Pierre Bouvier asks, head down, punching furiously into his BlackBerry.

Several hundred fans have been summoned to hear the frontman and his band Simple Plan play songs from their self-titled third release as part of MSN's Orange Lounge series. But as he steps inside an elevator in Toronto's Fashion District, it's a toss up between a venue that will be easier to shoot in, and one that will be better for those getting in tonight.

Since 2002, when the five-piece broke through with "No Pads, No Helmets…Just Balls," Simple Plan have been known as crowd-pleasing punk-pop heroes to the Hollister set. Their resume includes two studio albums, a live release and a handful of tracks for "What's New, Scooby Doo?" The MSN special they are taping is scheduled to have its premiere later this month. And their new album, "Simple Plan," has shot its way to No. 2 on Neilsen's SoundScan Charts.

Still, stretched out on a leather-upholstered couch in the lobby of Hotel Le Germain, Bouvier is feeling jittery about how fans will react to some of the band's new sounds as Simple Plan unveil material worked on with Nate 'Danja' Hills, a protégé of Timbaland who helped retool Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado.

"There is some trepidation around this whole evolution," Bouvier says, with a slight grin. "But that's what makes it cool."

Anyone who has been following Simple Plan's career knows the ease with which they write multimillion-selling teen-pop. "I'd Do Anything" mixed Green Day-lite riffs with angst-ridden vocals, while "Welcome to My Life's" vignette of loss and regret poured slinky guitar lines over energetic drum grooves.

So here comes "Simple Plan," which has been described as a radical departure of sorts. "It's not a complete change," Bouvier corrects. "We weren't trying to pull a 180; just give (the music) a twist."

After the first few months of writing, they soured on the idea of repeating themselves musically. "We knew we wanted to try something different and in order for us to do that, it was important to get involved with people that are good in that domain," he says. "We could have probably come up with some loops on our own, but we figured why not get with the best?"

Ugly Kid Joe guitarist-turned-producer, Dave Fortman, was brought in to retain the band's adrenalized pop, while 'Danja' was added to give the set a slight dance appeal.

"We heard he was the up-and-coming guy," he says. "He'd been working with Timbaland a long time and wanted to branch out and try the rock thing. So, we took the best elements of what we had before. It's still rock, it's still catchy, it's still melodic, but in certain songs, there's a curveball."

And as a result, a smattering of new sounds juggles its way through the record. Bluesy beats on 'When I'm Gone;' a propulsive dance track loop guest DJ Lethal adds to 'Your Love is a Lie' - there are no restrictions.

"I think it was fun to try different things," he continues. "It was a challenge to take that leap, to work with people where we didn't quite know what was going to happen. But that was what made it cool. We allowed ourselves the time to say, 'Let's try things. If it doesn't happen in the next couple of months, it doesn't matter.'"

But not everything worked, he laughs. "There was one song that was too dancey.

"It was too much of a club song," he says, beatboxing midsentence to make his point. "Hopefully we can use it later on a soundtrack, but it didn't fit with this record."

As experimental as some of the sounds are on "Simple Plan," Bouvier says it was a collective desire to please their listeners that sparked this latest change.

And he's certain fans will want to hear it. "There's some nervousness," Bouvier concedes. "But I think what we're more afraid of is not changing.

"If we kept putting out the same sound, same record, same vibe, that's when people would get uninterested and bored by us. If we did the same thing over-and-over again, that was going to be our downfall."

"Simple Plan" is in stores now.