Chinese Democracy he played me these songs, asked me my ideas about them... I actually wrote some melodies and stuff.The music was eclectic and at the time that I was doing it there were no lyrics on the songs that I was working on." In February 2001, Geffen head Jimmy Iovine asked Tom Zutaut, whom the label had fired two years previously, to help Guns N' Roses complete "Chinese Democracy". Zutaut was an A&R man who had discovered the band and guided them through the recording of their previous albums. After they had resolved some personal differences, Rose told Zutaut of his
Chinese Democracy passing the 500,000-shipped mark on January 7, 2009. "Chinese Democracy" was certified Platinum by the RIAA on February 3, 2009, having shipped one million copies in the United States. The album placed 55th on the 2009 Billboard 200 Year End charts. "Chinese Democracy" secured an IFPI European Platinum Award, having sold more than one million copies in Europe, and had sold 2.6 million units worldwide by February 2009, according to Universal Music. The album also reached triple platinum certification in Canada and was awarded platinum certifications in many countries including Finland, the Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania,