Mr. Brightside And The Never-ending Hit
Mr. Brightside and the never-ending hit of The Killers has established a new record after remaining in the UK's Top 100 for 260 consecutive weeks, which is equivalent to an entire five years. Nothing else comes close. Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars is the second-longest-running chart hit, having spent 166 weeks at the top. Mr. Brightside is streamed 1.2 million times per week on average, and has sold 3.52 million copies since its initial release in 2003.
Author:Rhyley CarneyReviewer:Paula M. GrahamNov 14, 202226.1K Shares348K Views
Mr. Brightside and the never-ending hitof The Killers has established a new record after remaining in the UK's Top 100 for 260 consecutive weeks, which is equivalent to an entire five years.
Nothing else comes close. Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars is the second-longest-running chart hit, having spent 166 weeks at the top. Mr. Brightside is streamed 1.2 million times per week on average and has sold 3.52 million copies since its initial release in 2003.
Not bad for a song that only charted at number ten in the UK on its second release in 2004 after failing to chart at all the first time around.
The Report
Without any marketing initiatives, its popularity has only grown. The only notable film appearance of Mr. Brightside is in the 2006 romantic comedy The Holiday, where a buzzed Cameron Diaz shout-screams her way through the chorus. Mr. Brightside has never been licensed to a television show or UK advertising campaign.
When Brandon Flowers' first serious relationship ended when he was 19 or 20 years old, he wrote the lyrics to Mr. Brightside. He described how he found out his girlfriend was having an affair in a Las Vegas bar while talking to Q Magazine in 2009.
At about the same time, guitarist Dave Keuning, who had already created Mr. Brightside's backing track, introduced Flowers to him. His sorrow gushed onto the page as soon as he heard that chiming riff.
A crude demo was recorded by the two using a drum machine, and it was later included in The Killers' Direct Hits compilation.
It was a much darker song at that point. Flowers' vocals are raw and raspy against a grungy, fuzztone guitar, and he alternately sounds angry and on the verge of tears.
Flowers claims that David Bowie's Queen Bitch had an influence on his urgent delivery; however, when he recorded the studio version of Mr. Brightside, he adopted a more detached, almost voyeuristic tone.
Iggy Pop, a musician who is closely associated with David Bowie, had an influence on that decision.
“„If you listen to the Lust for Life record, Iggy does a monotone delivery on Sweet Sixteen, and I was trying to sound like that. It's just that I have a sweeter voice than Iggy, and I was a kid, so it came out the way it did.- Brandon Flowers
The Killers' first finished song, Mr. Brightside, was the only song from their debut album, Hot Fuss, to remain in its original form.
After The Strokes' Is This It, a record that revolutionized American guitar music at the turn of the millennium was released, all of the other songs were abandoned.
Mr. Brightside was first performed by The Killers in 2002 at their very first concert, which took place at Cafe Roma in Las Vegas.
Flowers later remembered:
“„It was terrible, awful. Before we went on, I was looking for a place on the floor to get rid of whatever I'd eaten that day. I didn't throw up, but after my voice broke a couple of times I decided that I'd just play keyboards, because singing made me so nervous.- Brandon Flowers
It took a while before things started to get better. The Cure, New Order, and Depeche Mode were major influences on the band's sound, which was unappealing to the US record business. They didn't sign a record deal until their demo was received by the UK independent label Lizard King.
Heath was especially taken by the band's lead singer. "He was a big star, that much was obvious to me. He was very charismatic. He had complete faith in his actions. He merely made a statement and carried the tune."
Mr. Brightside was made available by Lizard King in 2003 in a limited edition of 500 CD singles. It featured early performances by Zane Lowe and Steve Lamacq on Radio 1 as well as their very first review in The Times.
Despite the buzz, 500 copies weren't enough to even scratch the surface of the charts, and The Killers appeared destined to fade into obscurity.
Making The Top 10 On Charts
The Killers were signed to Island Records in America (they remained with Lizard King in the UK) after a second single, Somebody Told Me, snuck into the top 40. Mr Brightside was re-released as a slightly cleaner "radio mix" at the same time.
The song was a hit this time around, reaching the top 10 in both the US and the UK. Singer Morrissey from the Smiths, one of Flowers' biggest heroes, even admitted to being a fan.
“„He's bought our single - that's nuts!- Brandon Flowers
However, there was no indication that Mr. Brightside would emerge as the decade's defining song. After only three weeks, it dropped out of the UK top 40, and Maroon 5's This Love won the Grammy for best rock song.
Final Word
However, there was no indication that Mr. Brightside would emerge as the decade's defining song. After only three weeks, it dropped out of the UK top 40, and Maroon 5's This Love won the Grammy for best rock song.
Rhyley Carney
Author
Paula M. Graham
Reviewer
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