The Killers charted with “Mr. Brightside”

Mr. Brightside The Killers

Writer(s): Brandon Flowers, Dave Keuning, Mark Stoermer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (see lyrics here) Released: September 29, 2003 First Charted: June 26, 2004 Peak: 10 US, 10 RR, 11 A40, 3 AR, 10 UK, 5 CN, 29 AU, 6 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 3.0 US, 4.8 UK, 10.54 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 0.5 radio, 467.0 video, 1797.97 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The Killers “crawled out of Vegas armed with glitzy beats and faux Bowie accents.” RS’09 “Merging Duran Duran makeup, New Order hi-hats, and Bruce Springsteen-ian grandiosity, they gave rock fans a non-geriatric arena-ready alternative to the world’s Nickelbacks this decade.” PF The group might have just been another of the pack of the new millennium’s wave of new dance-rock, but “‘Mr. Brightside’ made them famous.” RS’09 “Preening and posturing and fusing high drama, power pop, and rock gravitas into one perfectly transcendent song.” LR “In a stroke of genius they never quite equaled, these Las Vegas rockers married the infectious grooves of the then-trendy dance-rock scene to a surging melody straight out of the U2/ Coldplay handbook.” MX They brought along “a story line that sums up the first two seasons of Gossip Girl.” RS’09 The Killers’ lead singer Brandon Flowers had a girlfriend who cheated on him and the band’s guitarist, Dave Keuning, extracted revenge with this song about her. Flowers told Q magazine about discovering her unfaithfulness. “I was asleep and I knew something was wrong. I have these instincts. I went to the Crown and Anchor [a Vegas pub] and my girlfriend was there with another guy.” PF However, Flowers’ anguish proved to have a “bright side.” The song didn’t just give The Killers their biggest hit, but one thoroughly embraced by fans. UK radio station XFM wrapped the decade with a listener poll to determine the top 1000 songs of all time and “Mr. Brightside” topped the list. While such a lofty position showed the weaknesses of turning an “all time” poll over to voters, it still showed just how much fans cherished the song. Resources: DMDB Music Maker Encyclopedia entry for The Killers MX Atlanta Metromix (11/24/09). “Best songs of the decade” FL FasterLouder.com.au (1/5/2010). “The Killers #1 on ‘Top 1,000 Songs of All Time’” LR LowResolution.blogspot.com (1/4/2010). “Retrospecticus: 100 Favorite Songs of the Decade” PF Pitchfork.com (8/19/09) The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s RS’09 Rolling Stone (12/9/09). “Songs of the Decade.” Related Links: Last updated 7/24/2023.