Kings of Leon is an American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band formed in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill.
The band's early music was a blend of
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar specula ...
and
garage rock with
blues influences, but it has evolved throughout the years to include a variety of genres and a more
alternative
Alternative or alternate may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki''
* ''The Alternative'' (film), a 1978 Australian television film
* ''The Alternative ...
,
arena rock
Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine
Top 40 singles, two
BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
in 2008, and all three of the band's albums at the time peaked in the top five of the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. Their third album, ''
Because of the Times'', reached No. 1.
After the release of ''
Only by the Night
''Only by the Night'' (stylized as ''>ONLY_BY_THE_NIGHT>'') is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the rele ...
'' in September 2008, the band achieved chart success in the United States. The singles "
Sex on Fire
"Sex on Fire" is the first single released from American rock band Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, ''Only by the Night''. The song gave Kings of Leon their first number-one single in Australia, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, char ...
", "
Use Somebody
"Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album '' Only by the Night'' (2008), released on December 8, 2008.
The single received heavy airplay in Scandinavi ...
", and "
Notion
Notion or Notions may refer to:
Software
* Notion (music software), a music composition and performance program
* Notion (productivity software), a note-taking and project-management program from Notion Labs Inc.
* Notion (window manager), the s ...
" all peaked at number one on the
Hot Modern Rock Tracks
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart. The album was their first
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
-selling album in the United States, and the best-selling album of 2008 in
Australia, being certified platinum nine times. The band's fifth album, ''
Come Around Sundown
''Come Around Sundown'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the United Kingdom on October 18 and North America on October 19. The o ...
'', was released on October 18, 2010. Their sixth album, ''
Mechanical Bull
A mechanical bull, also known as a bucking machine, is a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse popularized by Sherwood Cryer. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor. P ...
'', was released on September 24, 2013. The seventh studio album, ''
Walls
Walls may refer to:
*The plural of wall, a structure
*Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname
Places
* Walls, Louisiana, United States
* Walls, Mississippi, United States
* Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...
'', was released on October 14, 2016. Their eighth studio album, ''
When You See Yourself
''When You See Yourself'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on March 5, 2021, by RCA Records. The album was again produced by Markus Dravs. It was preceded by the singles "The Bandit" and " 100,000 Pe ...
'', was released on March 5, 2021. The group has 12
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...
nominations, including 4 wins.
History
Early years: before 2002
The three Followill brothers (Matthew is their cousin) grew up in
Oklahoma and
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
with their father, Ivan Leon Followill, a
United Pentecostal Church
The United Pentecostal Church International (UPCI) is a Oneness Pentecostal denomination headquartered in Weldon Spring, Missouri, United States. The United Pentecostal Church International was formed in 1945 by a merger of the former Pentecostal ...
preacher, and their mother, Betty-Ann. Nathan was born in Oklahoma, and Jared and Caleb were born in and around
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. Jared attended
Mount Juliet High School, while Matthew was born and raised in Mississippi. According to ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' magazine, "While Ivan preached at churches and tent revivals throughout Oklahoma and the Deep South, his boys attended services and were occasionally enlisted to "bang on some drums". They were either
home-schooled
Homeschooling or home schooling, also known as home education or elective home education (EHE), is the education of school-aged children at home or a variety of places other than a school. Usually conducted by a parent, tutor, or an onlin ...
by their mother, or enrolled in small
parochial schools at this time. Except for a five-year period when they settled in
Jackson, Tennessee
Jackson is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Tennessee, United States. Located east of Memphis, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population was 68,205 as of the 2020 United States census.
Jackson ...
, the Followills' childhoods were spent driving through the southern United States in a purple 1988
Oldsmobile
Oldsmobile or formally the Oldsmobile Division of General Motors was a brand of American automobiles, produced for most of its existence by General Motors. Originally established as "Olds Motor Vehicle Company" by Ransom E. Olds in 1897, it pro ...
, camping for a week or two wherever Ivan was scheduled to preach.
When the boys' father resigned from preaching and their parents divorced in 1997, Nathan and Caleb relocated to outside
Nashville and originally embraced country music. While there, they met songwriter
Angelo Petraglia
Angelo Petraglia (born May 5, 1954) is an American record producer and songwriter. He was a member of the new wave band Face to Face and is best known for his work with Kings of Leon.
Early life
He was born in the Bronx and grew up in Pelham, N ...
, who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills and introduced them to the musical influences of
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Their music reflects a wide range of influences, including blues, soul music, psychedelic rock and traditional Irish folk music, but is generally classified as hard rock or som ...
,
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
and
the Clash
The Clash were an English rock band formed in London in 1976 who were key players in the original wave of British punk rock. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they also contributed to the and new wave movements that emerged in the w ...
in particular. Jared, who had briefly attended public school, was more influenced by the music of the
Pixies
A pixie (also pisky, pixy, pixi, pizkie, and piskie in Cornwall and Devon, and pigsie or puggsy in the New Forest) is a mythical creature of British folklore. Pixies are considered to be particularly concentrated in the high moorland areas aro ...
and
the Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise ...
. When he and their cousin Matthew also moved to Nashville in 1999, Kings of Leon was formed. They named the band after their grandfather Leon, who died in January 2014.
Signing and first EP: 2002–2003
By 2002, Nathan and Caleb had received interest from a number of music labels and eventually signed with
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
, which initially insisted on putting a band together for the two of them. In an interview with ''
Billboard'', however, Nathan outlined how they told RCA, "We don't want to be
Evan and Jaron
Evan Mitchell Lowenstein and Jaron David Lowenstein (born March 18, 1974) are American musicians and identical twin brothers who performed as Evan and Jaron. Evan and Jaron have recorded three studio albums. The duo's most successful single is ...
. We're going to buy our little brother a bass, he's a freshman in high school. Caleb will teach himself the guitar, Matthew played guitar when he was 10 and I'll play the drums. They said, 'All right, we'll come down in one month and see you guys.'" Later in the interview Caleb admitted to the brothers "kidnapping" their cousin Matthew from his hometown in
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
for him to join the band. They told his mother that he was only going to be staying for a week but never allowed him to return home. "We locked ourselves in the basement with an ounce of
marijuana and literally spent a month down there. My mom would bring us food down," added Nathan. "And at the end of that month the label people came and we had 'Molly's Chambers,' 'California Waiting,' 'Wicker Chair,' and 'Holy Roller Novocaine.'"
The band's first record, an
EP entitled ''
Holy Roller Novocaine
''Holy Roller Novocaine'' is the debut EP by American rock band Kings of Leon, released on February 18, 2003. It was re-released as a 10" red vinyl single in April 2013 to celebrate Record Store Day.
Background
The EP was released a few months ...
'', was released on February 18, 2003. At this stage, Jared was only 16 years old and had not yet learned to play the bass. The release of ''Holy Roller Novocaine'' gave the Kings of Leon a significant amount of exposure, receiving a 4/5 star rating from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. All of the songs released on the EP were co-written by Angelo Petraglia, who also produced the record, and four of the five songs would later be released on ''
Youth and Young Manhood''. The versions of "
Wasted Time" and "
California Waiting
"California Waiting" is the fourth single taken from the '' Youth & Young Manhood'' album by the American rock band Kings of Leon. An alternate version of the song appears on their debut release, the EP ''Holy Roller Novocaine
''Holy Roller N ...
" on the EP differ from their album versions, however, with the first having a more tense
riff
A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...
and different vocal style than the same track off ''Youth and Young Manhood'', the second being recorded in a rush to finish the EP. The EP also contains the song "Wicker Chair", while a track called "Andrea" was discarded before its release. In addition, three songs from ''Holy Roller Novocaine'' were used in the
Farrelly brothers
Peter Farrelly and Bobby Farrelly, collectively referred to as the Farrelly brothers, are American screenwriters and directors. They have made eleven films together, including ''Dumb and Dumber'', '' Outside Providence'', and '' There's Somethin ...
film ''
Stuck on You'' with
Matt Damon
Matthew Paige Damon (; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. Ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars, the films in which he has appeared have collectively earned over $3.88 billion at the North Ameri ...
and
Greg Kinnear
Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in ''As Good as It Gets'' (1997).
Kinnear has appeared in many popular films, including '' Sabrina'' (1 ...
: "California Waiting," "Molly's Chambers" and "Holy Roller Novocaine."
First albums and critical recognition: 2003–2006
The Followills' debut album, ''
Youth and Young Manhood'', was released in the UK in July 2003 and in the United States that August. The album was recorded between
Sound City Studios
Sound City Studios is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California, known as one of the most successful in popular music. The complex opened in 1969 in the Van Nuys neighborhood of Los Angeles. The facility had previously been a production facto ...
in Los Angeles and
Shangri-La Studios in
Malibu, California. It was produced by Angelo Petraglia and
Ethan Johns
Ethan Thomas Robert Johns (born 1969 in Merton, London, England) is an English record producer, engineer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. Johns has worked with artists including Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon, Paul McCartney, Ray LaMo ...
. According to ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, the band's retro-
chic
Chic (; ), meaning "stylish" or "smart", is an element of fashion. It was originally a French word. Pronounced Chick.
Etymology
'' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English diction ...
look and blend of Southern boogie and gritty garage rock inspired comparisons to both
Lynyrd Skynyrd and
the Strokes
The Strokes are an American rock band from New York City. Formed in 1998, the band is composed of lead singer and songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikolai Fraiture, and drummer Fabrizio Mor ...
. The album became a sensation in the UK and Ireland, where ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' declared it "one of the best debut albums of the last 10 years" and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described the band as "the kind of authentic, hairy rebels
the Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...
longed to be". The album still failed to make any significant impact in the US, where reviews were generally lukewarm and the modern rock audience was generally uninterested. In the United States, ''Youth and Young Manhood'' sold only 100,000 copies, compared with the 750,000 copies it moved abroad.
The band's second album, ''
Aha Shake Heartbreak
''Aha Shake Heartbreak'' is the second studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was first released in Europe on November 1, 2004, then in the United States on February 22, 2005, with alternate cover artwork. It is the only album by Ki ...
'', was released in the UK in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the Southern-infused
garage rock of their first album, the album broadened the band's domestic and international audience. The album was again produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. "
The Bucket", "
Four Kicks", and "
King of the Rodeo" were all released as singles, with "The Bucket" rising into the Top 20 in Britain. "
Taper Jean Girl" was also used in the 2007 film ''
Disturbia'' and the film ''
Cloverfield
''Cloverfield'' is a 2008 American found footage monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams, and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller, Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel and Odette Yus ...
'' in 2008. The band garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including
Elvis Costello, and also toured with
U2,
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
and
Pearl Jam during 2005 and 2006.
''Because of the Times'' and ''Only by the Night'': 2006–2010
![Kings of leon](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/Kings_of_leon.JPG)
The band's third album was titled ''
Because of the Times'' and was released on April 2, 2007 in the UK, and a day later in the United States. The album release was preceded by the single "
On Call", which became a hit in both the UK and Ireland. The album debuted at number one in both UK and Ireland album charts and entered the European charts at number 25, selling approximately 70,000 copies in its first week of release. Although it was lauded by some critics, others found the album inferior to their previous efforts.
In 2008, Kings of Leon released its fourth studio album, ''
Only by the Night
''Only by the Night'' (stylized as ''>ONLY_BY_THE_NIGHT>'') is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the rele ...
'', produced by
Jacquire King
Jacquire King (born January 11, 1967) is an American record producer, recording engineer and mixer. King has worked with such notable artists as Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Shania Twain, Buddy Guy, Norah Jones, ...
and Angelo Petraglia on September 19, which subsequently entered the
UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
at number one and remained there for one more week. ''Only by the Night'' also had two single-week stints as the UK number one album in 2009, one directly after the
BRIT Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
. In the United States, the album reached number four on the
''Billboard'' 200. Reception to the album was the most polarized yet, with the British press granting the album glowing reviews, while in the United States, reactions to the album were more mixed. The album was officially named as the UK's third-biggest-selling album of 2008
and the biggest-selling album of 2008 in Australia. "
Sex on Fire
"Sex on Fire" is the first single released from American rock band Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, ''Only by the Night''. The song gave Kings of Leon their first number-one single in Australia, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, char ...
" was the first single released for download in the UK on September 8. The song became the band's most successful as it peaked at number one in the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. They won Best International Band and Best International Album at the
Brit Awards
The BRIT Awards (often simply called the BRITs) are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain", or "Britannia" (in the early days the awards were sponsored ...
in 2009, where they also performed "Use Somebody" live. Kings of Leon also performed on March 14, 2009, at
Sound Relief
Sound Relief was a multi-venue rock music concert held on 14 March 2009, which was announced by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby on 24 February 2009. The event was organised by Michael Gudinski, Michael Chugg, Amanda Pelman, Joe Segreto & To ...
, a benefit concert, for the
Victorian Bushfire Crisis.
The song "Crawl" from this album was released as a free download on the band's website on July 28. The third and fourth singles were "Revelry", which peaked at number 19 in New Zealand, and "Notion", which peaked at number 24 in Belgium. ''Only by the Night'' was certified Platinum in the United States by the RIAA for selling one million copies in less than a year after its release. In 2008, Kings of Leon headlined the Glastonbury Music Festival, and in 2009, the band headlined a number of music festivals, including
Reading & Leeds,
Rock Werchter,
Oxegen
Oxegen was a music festival in Ireland, first held from 2004–2011 as a rock and pop festival and again in 2013 with dance and chart acts only. The event was regularly cited as Ireland's biggest music festival, and, by 2009, it was being ci ...
,
T in the Park
T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused B ...
,
Gurtenfestival and
Open'er Festival
The Open'er Festival is a music festival which takes place on the north coast of Poland, in Gdynia. It is one of the biggest annual music festivals in Poland. The first edition of the festival was organized in Warsaw in 2002 as ''Open Air Festi ...
in Poland, Europe, along with
Sasquatch
Bigfoot, also commonly referred to as Sasquatch, is a purported ape-like creature said to inhabit the forest of North America. Many dubious articles have been offered in attempts to prove the existence of Bigfoot, including anecdotal claims of ...
,
Lollapalooza, and
Austin City Limits
''Austin City Limits'' is an American live music television program recorded and produced by Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", and is the only television show to ...
in the United States.
The band released its first DVD, ''
Live at the O2 London, England'', on November 10, 2009. It was released on
Blu-ray Disc on November 24, 2009. The footage was filmed in London's
O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to:
*The O2 Arena (London)
*O2 Arena (Prague)
*The 3Arena
The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...
on June 30, 2009, when the band performed a 22-song
set in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 18,000 people. In an interview with
Billboard.com
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...
, drummer Nathan stated, "England is really the first place we broke (...) We figured what better place to make a live DVD than where the fans have been the craziest for the longest."
The show featured songs from the four first of the band's albums, and Nathan continued by saying, "We just put the cameras in the back of our minds and acted like they weren't even there."
In 2009 Kings of Leon founded Serpents and Snakes Records, a record label including such bands as
the Features
The Features are an American indie rock band from Sparta, Tennessee, United States of America. The original lineup consisted of Matt Pelham, Roger Dabbs, and Don Sergio. The most recent iteration consists of Pelham, Dabbs, Rollum Haas, and Mark ...
,
Snowden,
Turbo Fruits, and
the Weeks.
On January 31, 2010, Kings of Leon took home the Grammy Award for Record of the Year,
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.
The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...
and Best Rock Song for "
Use Somebody
"Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album '' Only by the Night'' (2008), released on December 8, 2008.
The single received heavy airplay in Scandinavi ...
" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.
''Come Around Sundown'': 2010–2011
The band's fifth album, called ''
Come Around Sundown
''Come Around Sundown'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the United Kingdom on October 18 and North America on October 19. The o ...
'', was released on October 18, 2010 in the UK, and October 19, 2010 in the US. It was recorded in Nashville and New York between February and June 2010 with Jacquire King and Angelo Petraglia once more at the helm. Following the release of ''Come Around Sundown'' in Australia, the band released all the tracks from the new album on their website.
In June 2010, the band embarked on a tour visiting more than 50 cities in North America and Europe. The tour dates ran from June 5 to September 23. In June they headlined the Slane Castle festival in Ireland, while they were informed of the death of their uncle Cleo. On July 27, 2011, during a concert in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, singer Caleb Followill appeared to be heavily intoxicated and slurred incomprehensibly between songs, often rambling about nothing. He left the stage, claiming he was going to vomit, drink a beer and return to play three more songs. He never returned, causing the rest of the band to apologize to the crowd and end the concert abruptly. On August 1, 2011, the band announced through their website that the remainder of their US tour would be canceled with no reschedules due to dates they already had scheduled.
Hiatus and ''Mechanical Bull'': 2011–2014
On October 31, 2011, the band announced that after the conclusion of their Australian tour in November that they would be going on hiatus. Nathan stated that the band's hiatus should not take any longer than six months.
On August 22, 2012, Jared and Nick Brown from
Mona released their song "No Tell" under the name
Smoke & Jackal. On August 23, 2012, when asked if it was the end of Kings of Leon with Smoke & Jackal announced, Jared said "Not even close. Working on album six very soon". Kings of Leon bassist Jared Followill confirmed that the band had finished recording their sixth LP, which was reported by ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' to be released in September. The album title ''
Mechanical Bull
A mechanical bull, also known as a bucking machine, is a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse popularized by Sherwood Cryer. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor. P ...
'' was revealed on June 7, and the album was released on September 24. The album's first single, entitled "Supersoaker", was released on July 17, 2013. The second single "
Wait for Me" was released in the United Kingdom in August 2013 and debuted at number 31 in the UK Singles Chart. "Last Mile Home", a song originally from the deluxe version of ''Mechanical Bull'', had a stripped-down version written for the soundtrack of the film ''
August: Osage County''.
''Walls'': 2016–2019
Following their New Year's Eve show in Nashville, Nathan Followill said that the band was aiming to release its seventh album in 2016: "We've already started pre-production in our studio for the next record, but the main thing on the calendar for 2016 is getting the record finished. And then the whole press machine kicks up and doing press for the record." Caleb added: "We enjoy this part of the process. Obviously there's a lot of work that goes into it and it can get stressful at times, but we're all in a good place and we're having fun with it and we're all excited to do something new." The album was stated to be likely to be recorded in Los Angeles, with Caleb saying the band were looking for inspiration: "We might just try to get a little change of scenery. Our first two albums we recorded in L.A., so we're going to try to go back and see if it inspires us," he said. "If it doesn't, we always have a studio at home, so we can always come back."
![KoLHydePark060717-12 (35023518513)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/KoLHydePark060717-12_%2835023518513%29.jpg)
In August, the band announced that the album title would be ''
Walls
Walls may refer to:
*The plural of wall, a structure
*Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname
Places
* Walls, Louisiana, United States
* Walls, Mississippi, United States
* Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...
'' (acronym for ''We Are Like Love Songs''), and that it would be released October 14, 2016. The first single from the album, "
Waste a Moment", was released on September 9, 2016. The album went on to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. ''Walls'' moved 77,000 album units by the end of the week ending October 20.
To celebrate the tenth anniversary of ''Only by the Night'', the band released a never-before-seen video containing behind the scenes footage of the recording of the album, serving as a video for "Frontier City", which was originally a B-side to the album. Later that year, marking the 15th anniversary of ''Aha Shake Heartbreak'', the song "Where Nobody Knows", another B-Side, was made available digitally for the first time.
''When You See Yourself'': 2020–present
On March 31, 2020, the band released a live acoustic recording of its first new song in more than three years, "Going Nowhere"—later renamed "Supermarket" and be included on their eighth studio album ''
When You See Yourself
''When You See Yourself'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on March 5, 2021, by RCA Records. The album was again produced by Markus Dravs. It was preceded by the singles "The Bandit" and " 100,000 Pe ...
''—through YouTube and various social media platforms. On January 1, 2021, the band teased the song "
The Bandit" on Instagram, and subsequently posted five more teasers of new songs. The name of the album was announced on January 7, 2021, and the album was released on March 5, 2021. On the same day, the band released the album's two lead singles; "The Bandit" and "
100,000 People". Like its predecessor the album was produced by
Markus Dravs
Markus Dravs is a British music producer, songwriter, programmer, engineer and mixer. His credits include Arcade Fire, Coldplay, Wolf Alice, Björk, Brian Eno, Sheep on Drugs, Mumford & Sons, Florence + the Machine, The Maccabees and Kings o ...
.
The band became the first to sell a newly-released album in the form of a
non-fungible token
A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided, that is recorded in a blockchain, and that is used to certify authenticity and ownership. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the b ...
, a type of
cryptocurrency that contains unique assets such as music and art. The release came in the form of three different types of tokens for three separate packages in a series called "NFT Yourself". They contained a special album package, a live show package, and an audiovisual package. The tokens were developed and hosted by YellowHeart, a ticketing platform employing
blockchain technology. The album was the first NFT to be displayed at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. The band's NFT also became the first to be launched to outer space on
Inspiration4
Inspiration4 (stylized as Inspirati④n) was a 2021 human spaceflight operated by SpaceX on behalf of Shift4 Payments CEO Jared Isaacman. The mission launched the Crew Dragon ''Resilience'' on 16 September 2021 at 00:02:56 UTC from Kennedy S ...
, the all-civilian space exploration, which was auctioned as a charity campaign.
Band members
Current members
* Caleb Followill – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
(1999–present)
* Jared Followill – bass, keyboards, backing vocals
(1999–present)
* Matthew Followill – lead guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
(1999–present)
* Nathan Followill – drums, percussion, backing vocals
(1999–present)
Touring musicians
*
Liam O'Neil – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
(2015–present)
*
Timothy Deaux – rhythm guitar, percussion, backing vocals
(2016–present), lead guitar
(2021–2022)
Former touring musicians
* Christopher Coleman – rhythm guitar, keyboards, trumpet, percussion, backing vocals
(2010–2014)
*
Ethan Luck
Ethan John Luck is an American musician, producer, multi-instrumentalist and photographer who has played in several bands, most prominently, the ska band The O.C. Supertones, Demon Hunter, Kings of Leon, Morgan Wade, and pop punk band Relient ...
– rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
(2014–2016)
Discography
* ''
Youth & Young Manhood
''Youth & Young Manhood'' is the debut album from American rock band Kings of Leon, released on July 7, 2003, in the United Kingdom and on August 19, 2003, in the United States.
Recording and release
The album was recorded at Shangri-La Studios ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Aha Shake Heartbreak
''Aha Shake Heartbreak'' is the second studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was first released in Europe on November 1, 2004, then in the United States on February 22, 2005, with alternate cover artwork. It is the only album by Ki ...
'' (2004)
* ''
Because of the Times'' (2007)
* ''
Only by the Night
''Only by the Night'' (stylized as ''>ONLY_BY_THE_NIGHT>'') is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the rele ...
'' (2008)
* ''
Come Around Sundown
''Come Around Sundown'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the United Kingdom on October 18 and North America on October 19. The o ...
'' (2010)
* ''
Mechanical Bull
A mechanical bull, also known as a bucking machine, is a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse popularized by Sherwood Cryer. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor. P ...
'' (2013)
* ''
Walls
Walls may refer to:
*The plural of wall, a structure
*Walls (surname), a list of notable people with the surname
Places
* Walls, Louisiana, United States
* Walls, Mississippi, United States
* Walls, Ontario, neighborhood in Perry, Ontario, C ...
'' (2016)
* ''
When You See Yourself
''When You See Yourself'' is the eighth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on March 5, 2021, by RCA Records. The album was again produced by Markus Dravs. It was preceded by the singles "The Bandit" and " 100,000 Pe ...
'' (2021)
Awards and nominations
Brit Awards
, -
, rowspan="2" align="center",
2004
, rowspan="3", Kings of Leon
,
Best International Breakthrough Act
,
, -
, rowspan="2",
Best International Group
,
, -
, rowspan="2" align="center",
2008
File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...
,
, -
, ''
Because of the Times''
, rowspan="2",
Best International Album
,
, -
, rowspan="2" align="center",
2009
, ''
Only by the Night
''Only by the Night'' (stylized as ''>ONLY_BY_THE_NIGHT>'') is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the rele ...
''
,
, -
, rowspan="2", Kings of Leon
, rowspan="2",
Best International Group
,
, -
, rowspan="2" align="center",
2011
,
, -
, ''
Come Around Sundown
''Come Around Sundown'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the United Kingdom on October 18 and North America on October 19. The o ...
''
,
Best International Album
,
, -
,
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, rowspan="2", Kings of Leon
, rowspan="2",
Best International Group
,
, -
,
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a s ...
,
Grammy Awards
, -
, rowspan="3" align="center",
2009
, ''
Only by the Night
''Only by the Night'' (stylized as ''>ONLY_BY_THE_NIGHT>'') is the fourth studio album by American alternative rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the rele ...
''
,
Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sev ...
,
, -
, rowspan="2", "
Sex on Fire
"Sex on Fire" is the first single released from American rock band Kings of Leon's fourth studio album, ''Only by the Night''. The song gave Kings of Leon their first number-one single in Australia, Finland, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, char ...
"
,
Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
,
, -
,
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.
The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...
,
, -
, rowspan="4" align="center",
2010
, rowspan="4", "
Use Somebody
"Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album '' Only by the Night'' (2008), released on December 8, 2008.
The single received heavy airplay in Scandinavi ...
"
,
Song of the Year
,
, -
,
Record of the Year
The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...
,
, -
,
Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
,
, -
, rowspan="2",
Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal was awarded between 1980 and 2011.
The award was discontinued after the 2011 award season in a major overhaul of Grammy categories. Beginning in 2012, all solo or duo/group ...
,
, -
, rowspan="2" align="center",
2011
, rowspan="2", "
Radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...
"
,
, -
,
Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
,
, -
, rowspan="2" align="center",
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
, ''
Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon''
,
Best Long Form Music Video
,
, -
, ''
Come Around Sundown
''Come Around Sundown'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the United Kingdom on October 18 and North America on October 19. The o ...
''
, rowspan="2",
Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre. Honors in sev ...
,
, -
, align="center",
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, ''
Mechanical Bull
A mechanical bull, also known as a bucking machine, is a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse popularized by Sherwood Cryer. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor. P ...
''
,
, -
, align="center",
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...
, "
The Bandit"
,
Best Rock Song
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Song is an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality songs in the rock music genre. Honors in several ...
,
MTV Europe Music Awards
2009 - Best Rock, Best Group, Best Live, Best World Stage, Best Song ("Use Somebody")
2010 - Best Rock, Best Live
2011 - Best Rock, Best World Stage
2013 - Best Rock
2014 - Best World Stage
2016 - Best Alternative
Sweden GAFFA Awards
Delivered since 2010, the GAFFA Awards (Swedish: GAFFA Priset) are a Swedish award that rewards popular music awarded by the magazine of the same name.
!
, -
, rowspan="2", 2010
, Kings of Leon
, Best Foreign Band
,
, style="text-align:center;" rowspan="2",
, -
, ''
Come Around Sundown
''Come Around Sundown'' is the fifth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in Ireland, Australia and Germany on October 15, 2010, followed by releases in the United Kingdom on October 18 and North America on October 19. The o ...
''
, Best Foreign Album
,
, -
Tours
*''
Come Around Sundown World Tour'' (2010-2011)
*''
Mechanical Bull Tour'' (2014-2015)
*''WALLS World Tour'' (2017)
*''When You See Yourself Tour'' (2021)
In other media
In early April 2011, an 87-minute film directed by Stephen C. Mitchell documenting the band members' lives was shown at the 2011
Tribeca Film Festival
The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Productions. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. Tribeca was f ...
in New York, called ''
Talihina Sky'', the name of an early Kings of Leon track. The Tribeca premiere was followed by scheduling a hometown premiere at the
deadCENTER Film Festival in
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...
, on June 8, 2011.
The European premiere was hosted at the
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...
on June 25 and was followed by an interview session with the band. UK distributor Revolver Entertainment streamed the movie and interview session to 150 UK cinemas for a "One Night Only" live screening event.
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
later announced that the film would be released on Blu-ray Disc and DVD on November 1, 2011.
Kings of Leon are mentioned in
the Bedroom Philosopher's song "Northcote (So Hungover)" as inspirational icons: "Riding around on the
86, so hungover / Gonna go down to
Pony
A pony is a type of small horse ('' Equus ferus caballus''). Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under an approximate or exact height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared ...
, pretend I'm in Kings of Leon", and depicted in the music video.
Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill made a guest appearance in the ''
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and developed by McElhenney and Glenn Howerton that premiered on August 4, 2005 on FX and later FXX beginning with the ninth season in 2013. It stars Char ...
'' episode "The High School Reunion" (season 7, episode 12). The episode mocks the Fox musical-comedy ''
Glee'', which itself is set in a high school. The members of Kings of Leon dislike ''Glee'' and refused to let them use their music, and as fans of ''Sunny'', asked to make a guest appearance.
In 2016 the
Northern Ireland national football team made a historic run into the finals of the UEFA European Championships - branded as
EURO 16 and held in France. The country’s first-ever goal and victory at the tournament came against Ukraine on 16 June in a 0-2 victory held at
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
Parc Olympique Lyonnais, known for sponsorship reasons as Groupama Stadium, is a 59,186-seat stadium in Décines-Charpieu, in the Lyon Metropolis. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais, it replaced their previous stadium, Stade de ...
in Lyon. The group of players that competed at the tournament have since been referred to in Northern Irish media as ‘The Kings of Lyon’.
Lana Del Rey
Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Her music is noted for its cinematic quality and exploration of tragic romance, glamour, and melancholia, with frequent r ...
mentions the band in the song ''White Dress'' from her 2021 album ''
Chemtrails over the Country Club''.
The cover of the ''
Mechanical Bull
A mechanical bull, also known as a bucking machine, is a device that replicates the sensation of riding a bucking animal, such as a rodeo bull or horse popularized by Sherwood Cryer. It is usually powered by a variable-speed electric motor. P ...
'' album appears in the 2021 video game ''
Life Is Strange: True Colors'' and the characters listen to the song "
Don't Matter
"Don't Matter" is a reggae fusion– R&B song by American singer Akon from his second studio album, ''Konvicted'' (2006). The song was released as the album's third single in January 2007. In April of that year, it became Akon's first solo U.S. ...
".
The band was also selected to play as part of the festivities of the
2021 NFL Draft
The 2021 NFL Draft was the 86th National Football League Draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland from April 29 to May 1, 202 ...
at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
Cleveland, Ohio.
See also
*
List of alternative rock artists
References
External links
*
.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kings Of Leon
1999 establishments in Tennessee
Brit Award winners
Family musical groups
Grammy Award winners
Juno Award for International Album of the Year winners
Musical groups established in 1999
Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee
NME Awards winners
Sibling musical groups
Musical quartets
Garage rock groups from Tennessee
American southern rock musical groups
Alternative rock groups from Tennessee
Sony Music artists
RCA Records artists
Columbia Records artists