Hot Fuss

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Hot Fuss
The Killers - Hot Fuss.png
Studio album by
the Killers
ReleasedJune 7, 2004 (2004-06-07)
Recorded2003
Studio
Genre
Length45:39
LabelIsland
Producer
  • Jeff Saltzman
  • the Killers
The Killers chronology
Hot Fuss
(2004) 		Sam's Town
(2006)
Singles from Hot Fuss
  1. "Mr. Brightside"
    Released: September 29, 2003
  2. "Somebody Told Me"
    Released: March 15, 2004
  3. "All These Things That I've Done"
    Released: August 30, 2004
  4. "Smile Like You Mean It"
    Released: May 2, 2005

Hot Fuss is the debut studio album by the 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. The album is mostly influenced by new wave music and post-punk. Hot Fuss spawned four 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 and number one on the UK Albums Chart. As of December 2012, Hot Fuss had sold more than seven million copies worldwide, including more than three million in the United States and more than two million in the United Kingdom. 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.

Background[]

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 by Corlene Byrd in guitarist Dave Keuning's apartment. 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 in Los Angeles and Alan Moulder at Eden Studios in London. In 2012, Brandon Flowers told NME that he felt "depressed" after hearing the Strokes' album Is This It. "That record just sounded so perfect", he said. "We threw away everything [we were working on] and the only song that made the cut and remained was 'Mr. Brightside.'"[5]

The songs "Midnight Show" and "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" are two parts of the so-called "Murder Trilogy", detailing the fictional story of a woman who is murdered by her jealous boyfriend. The first part, "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf", appears on the band's B-sides and rarities compilation, Sawdust.[6]

Production[]

The album heavily features a vocal effect called Echo Farm on Flowers' voice. In 2014, Needham recounted, "There were three of us involved in the production company on that record: Braden Merrick, Jeff Saltzman and myself. Jeff and I had been partners for a few years. He was an entertainment attorney and was shopping stuff, but he actually really wanted to be a producer as well. We set Jeff up with a studio, got him started in recording and since he’s a smart guy, he picked it up really quick. At that time, Echo Farm had just come out, and that was really the only vocal effect he had. If you open up Echo Farm, the first setting that comes up is the default setting, which overdrives the vocal a bit and sets an 84 ms delay. That was basically what he put on everything and it sort of became the default vocal tone on the whole record, plus it worked really great, so we kept it. It changes a little bit on certain things, but it was a fairly consistent effect through the whole record."[7]

Artwork[]

The album cover was photographed by Matthias Clamer in 2000, in the southern region of the suburbs of Beijing, China.[8] The characters on top of each building ("建", "材", "开", and "发") translate to "construction material development".[9]

Release and reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic66/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic4.5/5 stars[4]
Alternative Press4/5[11]
Blender4/5 stars[12]
Entertainment WeeklyC[13]
The Independent5/5 stars[14]
NME7/10[15]
Pitchfork5.2/10[16]
Q3/5 stars[17]
Rolling Stone3.5/5 stars[18]
Spin3.5/5 stars[19]

Hot Fuss was released on June 7, 2004, in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004, in the United States.[2] In 2005, it was reissued as a box of eleven seven-inch vinyl discs, with an album track on each A-side and non-album tracks on the B-sides.[20] The album reached number seven on the US Billboard 200. It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 1, 2005,[21] and as of January 2017, it had sold 3.75 million copies in the United States.[22]

Hot Fuss topped the UK Albums Chart for two consecutive weeks in January 2005.[23] It was the 26th best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom,[24] and is listed among the top 40 longest-charting albums in the history of the UK Albums Chart, with 254 weeks.[23] On July 22, 2013, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the album seven-times platinum;[25] by August 2020, it had sold 2,335,495 copies in the UK.[26] The album has also been certified platinum or multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Hot Fuss had sold over than seven million copies worldwide as of December 2012.[27]

Rolling Stone ranked Hot Fuss 43rd on its list of the "100 Best Albums of the Decade", and it 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.[28] Rolling Stone ranked Hot Fuss the 33rd of its list of "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time".[29]

Accolades[]

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
PBS Kids Sprout 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[28] US Best Debut Album Ever: Readers' Poll 2013 1
NME[30] US 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2013 495
Q[31] UK 250 Best Albums of Q's Lifetime 1986–2010 2011 17
Rolling Stone[32] US Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 2009 43
Rolling Stone[29] US 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time 2013 33
Rolling Stone[33] US 10 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time: Readers' Poll 2013 9
The A.V. Club[34] US Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 2009 41

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

Track listing[]

All tracks are produced by Jeff Saltzman and the Killers, except "Everything Will Be Alright", produced by Brandon Flowers.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Jenny Was a Friend of Mine"
4:04
2."Mr. Brightside"
3:43
3."Smile Like You Mean It"
  • Flowers
  • Stoermer
3:54
4."Somebody Told Me"
3:17
5."All These Things That I've Done"Flowers5:01
6."Andy, You're a Star"Flowers3:14
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"Flowers5:45
Alternate track on UK and Australian editions
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
8."Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll"
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
  • Stoermer
  • Vannucci
4:14
Bonus track on US vinyl edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll"
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
  • Stoermer
  • Vannucci
4:14
Bonus tracks on European edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll"
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
  • Stoermer
  • Vannucci
4:14
13."Somebody Told Me" (music video)  
Bonus tracks on Japanese and US 2005 limited edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
12."Glamorous Indie Rock & Roll"
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
  • Stoermer
  • Vannucci
4:14
13."The Ballad of Michael Valentine"
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
3:49
14."Under the Gun"
  • Flowers
  • Keuning
2:33
iTunes Store deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Somebody Told Me" (Mylo Mix)7:17
13."Smile Like You Mean It" (Fischerspooner Mix)6:24
14."Smile Like You Mean It" (Ruff and Jam Eastside Mix)7:35
7-inch limited edition box set B-sides
No.TitleLength
1."Somebody Told Me" (Josh Harris Remix) 
2."Under the Gun" 
3."Show You How" 
4."The Ballad of Michael Valentine" 
5."Why Don't You Find Out for Yourself?" 
6."Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town" 
7."Mr. Brightside" (Thin White Duke Remix Edit) 
8."Glamorous Indie Rock and Roll" 
9."Smile Like You Mean It" (acoustic version) 
10."Who Let You Go?" 
11."Get Trashed" 
Bonus DVD on Japan limited tour edition
No.TitleLength
1."Somebody Told Me" (music video) 
2."Mr. Brightside" (original music video) 
3."Mr. Brightside" (new music video) 
4."All These Things That I've Done" (music video) 
Bonus DVD on UK special edition
No.TitleLength
1."Smile Like You Mean It" (music video) 
2."All These Things That I've Done" (music video) 
3."Somebody Told Me" (Glastonbury 2005) 
4."Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" (Glastonbury 2005) 
5."Mr. Brightside" (Glastonbury 2005) 

Personnel[]

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Hot Fuss.[35]

Studios[]

  • The Hearse (Berkeley, California) – recording (tracks 1–10)
  • Cornerstone Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California) – recording (tracks 1–10); mixing (tracks 2, 3, 8, 11)
  • Dave Keuning's apartment (Las Vegas, Nevada) – recording (track 11)
  • Eden Studios (London) – mixing (tracks 1, 4–7, 9, 10)
  • The Town House (London) – mixing (tracks 1, 4–7, 9, 10)
  • Bernie Grundman Mastering (Hollywood, California) – mastering

The Killers[]

Additional musicians[]

  • Sweet Inspirations – gospel choir (tracks 5, 6)

Technical[]

  • Jeff Saltzman – production, recording (tracks 1–10)
  • The Killers – production (tracks 1–10)
  • Brandon Flowers – production (track 11)
  • Corlene Byrd – recording (track 11)
  • Dave Stedronsky – engineering assistance
  • Mark Needham – engineering assistance (all tracks); mixing (tracks 2, 3, 8, 11)
  • Will Brierre – engineering assistance
  • Dario Dendi – engineering assistance
  • Alan Moulder – mixing (tracks 1, 4–7, 9, 10)
  • Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering

Artwork[]

  • Louis Marino – art direction
  • Seth Goldfarb – cover photo
  • Matt Hartman – band photography

Charts[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)[81] Gold 20,000^
Australia (ARIA)[82] 4× Platinum 280,000^
Belgium (BEA)[83] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[84] 3× Platinum 300,000^
France (SNEP)[85] Gold 100,000*
Germany (BVMI)[86] Gold 100,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[87] 2× Platinum 30,000^
South Korea — 2,623[88]
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] 7× Platinum 2,335,495[26]
United States (RIAA)[21] 3× Platinum 3,750,000[22]
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[89] Platinum 1,000,000*
Worldwide — 7,000,000[27]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

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

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