Mr. Brightside

It’s about The Killers’ lead singer’s ex-girlfriend who cheated on him. Guitarist Dave In an interview with Q magazine, lead singer Brandon Flowers told the story of he found out about the cheating, he said: “I was asleep and I knew something was wrong. I have these instincts. I went to the Crown and Anchor (pub) and my girlfriend was there with another guy.” the song was “born” at the Crown and Anchor.” In another interview with NME, Brandon told the story of the song, he said: “We must’ve written it around the end of 2001. Dave and I were writing a ton of songs at the time, trying to figure out what it was that made us tick. I remember us going into the Virgin Megastore to buy (The Strokes’) Is This It on the day it came out and, when we put it on in the car, that record just sounded so perfect. I got so depressed after that, we threw away everything and the only song that made the cut and remained was ‘Mr. Brightside.’
It came from this cassette of ideas that Dave gave me, and one of them was the ‘Mr. Brightside’ riff. I was able to slap a chorus and some lyrics onto it, and I knew I liked it. But it wasn’t until we first tried it out with a drummer that I knew it was special. We went to the guy’s house and showed him the song, and I got the Goosebumps after that. Lyrically, it’s about an odd girlfriend of mine. All the emotions in the song are real. When I was writing the lyrics, my wounds from it were still fresh. I am Mr. Brightside! But I think that’s the reason the song has persisted because it’s real. People pick up on those things. And that goes all the way down to the production; we recorded it in a couple of hours, but it just sounds right, you know?”

Release Date: September 29, 2003

Songwriter/s: Brandon Flowers – Dave Keuning – Mark Stoermer – Ronnis Vannucci, Jr.

Label: Island – Lizard King

Chart Rankings: In the US, the song peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, at number 3 on the Adult Top 40 and Alternative Songs. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified Triple Platinum for sales over 3.6 million copies. In the UK, it topped the Indie charts and reached number 10 on the Official Charts Company. The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified it Triple Platinum for sales over 1.8 million copies. Around the world, it reached number 29 in Australia, number 60 in Germany, number 40 in Italy, number 66 in Netherlands and number 15 in New Zealand. ‘Mr. Brightside’ was certified gold in Brazil, Italy and New Zealand.

Artist’s age on Release Date: The alternative rock band had been active for 2 years when they released this song.

Cover Versions: Jacques Lu Cont – Stuart Price – Paul Anka – Elew –Playradioplay! – Abi Sampa (The Voice UK) – Fall Out Boy – Isa Raja – Amy Macdonald – Vitamin Strin Quartet – Boyce Avenue – Tommy Reilly – Brandon Flowers – The Wanted – The Vamps – Kiahna San – Other Youtubers covered this song.