The Killers - Hot Fuss

Hot Fuss

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Hot Fuss
Studio album by The Killers
Released	June 7, 2004
Recorded	2003
Studio	Cornerstone Recording Studios  (Los Angeles, California) Dave Keuning's apartment  (Las Vegas, Nevada) The Hearse  (Berkeley, California)
Genre	Alternative rock post-punk revival indie rock[1] new wave[2]
Length	45:39
Label	Island
Producer	The Killers Jeff Saltzman
The Killers chronology
Hot Fuss (2004) Sam's Town (2006)
Singles from Hot Fuss
"Mr. Brightside" Released: September 29, 2003 "Somebody Told Me" Released: March 15, 2004 "All These Things That I've Done" Released: August 30, 2004 "Smile Like You Mean It" Released: May 2, 2005

Hot Fuss is the debut studio album by American rock band The Killers. It was released on June 7, 2004 in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004 in the United States.^[1] The album is mostly influenced by new wave music and post-punk. Hot Fuss produced several commercially and critically successful singles: "Mr. Brightside", "Somebody Told Me", "All These Things That I've Done" and "Smile Like You Mean It".

The album reached number seven on the Billboard 200 chart and number one on the UK Albums Chart. As of December 2012, Hot Fuss had sold more than seven million copies worldwide,^[3] including more than three million in the United States and more than two million in the UK, where it has been certified seven-times platinum. It has also been certified platinum or multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. The album and its first three singles went on to garner five Grammy Award nominations.

Contents

Background[edit]

The album was recorded at various points throughout 2003 with Jeff Saltzman in Berkeley, California, with the exception of "Everything Will Be Alright" which was recorded in guitarist Dave Keuning's apartment and engineered by Corlene Byrd. Many of the tracks were originally recorded as demos, which the band decided to keep for their spontaneity. The album was mixed by Mark Needham at Cornerstone Studios, Los Angeles and Alan Moulder at Eden Studios in London.

Hot Fuss is mainly influenced by new wave and post-punk artists such as Joy Division, New Order, The Cure, The Smiths, Morrissey, Duran Duran, and The Cars. Other influences include David Bowie, U2, Oasis, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Lou Reed.^{[citation needed]}

The album includes the second and third parts of the so-called Murder Trilogy, "Midnight Show" and "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine". The first part, "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf", appears on The Killers' B-sides and rarities compilation, Sawdust.

Release and reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	66/100[4]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
Alternative Press	4/5[6]
Blender	[7]
Entertainment Weekly	C[8]
NME	7/10[9]
Pitchfork	5.2/10[10]
Q	[11]
Rolling Stone	[12]
Slant Magazine	[13]
Spin	[14]

Hot Fuss was released on June 7, 2004 in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004 in the United States.^[1] In 2005, it was reissued as a box of eleven 7" vinyl discs, with an album track on each A-side and non-album tracks on the B-sides.^[15] The album reached number seven on the US Billboard 200 chart. It is estimated to have sold more than seven million copies worldwide, including more than three million in the United States and more than two million in the UK, where it has been certified seven-times platinum and sold over 2.2 million copies.^[16] It has also been certified platinum or multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Hot Fuss produced several commercially and critically successful singles, including "Mr. Brightside". Hot Fuss was The Killers' first number-one album in the UK. It was the 26th best-selling album of the decade in the United Kingdom. It is among the top 25 longest charting albums in the history of the UK Albums Chart, with 249 weeks, more than four-and-a-half years. It is also the longest-charting post-2000 release on the same chart.

Rolling Stone ranked Hot Fuss the 43rd of its "100 Best Albums of the Decade", and was, at one point, listed among the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Gigwise readers voted it the number-one "Best Debut Album of All Time" in 2013.^[17] Rolling Stone ranked Hot Fuss the 33rd of its list of "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time".^[18]

Track listing[edit]

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Jenny Was a Friend of Mine"	Brandon Flowers Mark Stoermer	4:04
2.	"Mr. Brightside"	Flowers Dave Keuning	3:43
3.	"Smile Like You Mean It"	Flowers Stoermer	3:54
4.	"Somebody Told Me"	Flowers Keuning Stoermer Ronnie Vannucci, Jr.	3:17
5.	"All These Things That I've Done"	Flowers	5:01
6.	"Andy, You're a Star"	Flowers	3:14
7.	"On Top"	Flowers Keuning Stoermer Vannucci	4:18
8.	"Change Your Mind"	Flowers Keuning	3:11
9.	"Believe Me Natalie"	Flowers Vannucci	5:05
10.	"Midnight Show"	Flowers Stoermer	4:02
11.	"Everything Will Be Alright"	Flowers	5:45

showAlternate track on the UK and Australian editions

showBonus track on US vinyl edition

showBonus tracks on European edition

showBonus tracks on Japanese and US 2005 limited edition

showiTunes Store deluxe edition bonus tracks

show7" limited edition box set B-sides

showBonus DVD on Japan limited tour edition

showBonus DVD on UK special edition

Personnel[edit]

The Killers

• Brandon Flowers – lead vocals, keyboards, piano, production
• Dave Keuning – guitars, backing vocals, production
• Mark Stoermer – bass, backing vocals, production
• Ronnie Vannucci – drums, percussion, backing vocals (on Andy You're a Star), production

Technical

• Sweet Inspirations – gospel choir (tracks 5 and 6)
• Jeff Saltzman – production, engineering (tracks 1–10)
• Corlene Byrd – engineering (track 11)
• Jake – additional instrumentation (track 1-10)
• Alan Moulder – mixing (tracks 1, 4–7 and 10)
• Mark Needham – mixing (tracks 2, 3, 8, 9 and 11)

Charts[edit]

Weekly charts[edit] Chart (2004–09) Peak position Australian Albums (ARIA)[19] 1 Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[20] 60 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[21] 95 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[22] 66 Canadian Albums (Billboard)[23] 4 Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[24] 46 European Albums (Billboard)[25] 6 Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[26] 15 French Albums (SNEP)[27] 8 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[28] 75 Greek Foreign Albums (IFPI)[29] 7 Irish Albums (IRMA)[30] 1 Italian Albums (FIMI)[31] 36 Japanese Albums (Oricon)[32] 101 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico)[33] 88 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[34] 5 Scottish Albums (OCC)[35] 1 Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[36] 35 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[37] 48 UK Albums (OCC)[38] 1 UK Independent Albums (OCC)[39] 1 UK R&B Albums (OCC)[40] 12 US Billboard 200[41] 7

Year-end charts[edit] Chart (2004) Position US Billboard 200[42] 148 UK Albums (OCC)[43] 41 Chart (2005) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[44] 19 French Albums (SNEP)[45] 79 Irish Albums (IRMA)[46] 8 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[47] 21 UK Albums (OCC)[48] 12 US Billboard 200[49] 17 Worldwide[50] 28 Chart (2006) Position UK Albums (OCC)[51] 72 Chart (2007) Position UK Albums (OCC)[52] 93 Chart (2008) Position UK Albums (OCC)[53] 124 Chart (2009) Position UK Albums (OCC)[54] 115 Decade-end charts[edit] Chart (2000–09) Position Australian Albums (ARIA)[55] 97 UK Albums (OCC)[56] 26

Certifications[edit]

Region	Certification	Certified units/Sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[57]	Gold	20,000^
Australia (ARIA)[58]	4× Platinum	280,000^
Belgium (BEA)[59]	Gold	25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[60]	3× Platinum	300,000^
France (SNEP)[61]	Gold	75,000*
Germany (BVMI)[62]	Gold	100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[63]	2× Platinum	30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[64]	7× Platinum	2,244,150[16]
United States (RIAA)[65]	3× Platinum	3,750,000[66]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[67]	Platinum	1,000,000*
*sales figures based on certification alone ^shipments figures based on certification alone

Accolades[edit]

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
2004	Shortlist Music Prize	Shortlist Music Prize	Nominated
2005	BRIT Awards	Best International Album	Nominated
	Grammy Awards	Best Rock Album	Nominated
	Meteor Ireland Music Awards	Best International Album	Nominated

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Drowned in Sound	UK	Best Albums of the Year	2004	2
Gigwise[68]	US	Best Debut Album Ever: Readers' Poll	2013	1
NME[69]	US	500 Greatest Albums of All Time	2013	495
Q[70]	UK	250 Best Albums of Q's Lifetime 1986–2010	2011	17
Rolling Stone[71]	US	Top 100 Albums of the 2000s	2009	43
Rolling Stone[72]	US	100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time	2013	33
Rolling Stone[73]	US	10 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time: Readers' Poll	2013	9
The A.V. Club[74]	US	Top 100 Albums of the 2000s	2009	41
The Daily Mail[75]	UK	Top 50 Best Albums of the Noughties	2009	3

Hot Fuss is listed among the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Release history[edit]

Region	Date	Label
United Kingdom	June 7, 2004	Lizard King
United States	June 15, 2004	Island