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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 Wale ...
band formed in
Mount Juliet, Tennessee Mt. Juliet (also referred to as Mount Juliet) is a city located in western Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. A suburb of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is approximately east of downtown Nashville. Mt. Juliet is located mostly between ...
, in 1999. The band includes 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 and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. History 1950s and 1960s: origin ...
and
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
with
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
influences, but it has evolved throughout the years to include a variety of
music genres A music genre is a conventional category that identifies some pieces of music as belonging to a shared tradition or set of conventions. Genre is to be distinguished from musical form and musical style, although in practice these terms are someti ...
and a more
alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...
-based sound. Kings of Leon achieved initial success in the United Kingdom with nine top 40 singles and two BRIT Awards 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 the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
. Their third album, '' Because of the Times'', reached No. 1. After the release of ''
Only by the Night ''Only by the Night'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in September 2008 through RCA Records. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the release of their third, '' Because of the T ...
'' 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, chart ...
", " Use Somebody", 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 ...
" all peaked at number one on the
Hot Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks between 1988 and 2009, and Alternative Songs between 2009 and 2020) is a music chart published in the American magazine ''Billboard'' since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...
chart. The album was their first
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
-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'', was released on October 18, 2010. Their sixth album, '' Mechanical Bull'', 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 Perry is a township (Canada), ...
'', 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 produced by Markus Dravs. It was preceded by the singles " The Bandit" and " 100,000 Peopl ...
'', was released on March 5, 2021. Their ninth studio album, ''
Can We Please Have Fun ''Can We Please Have Fun'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on May 10, 2024, by LoveTap Records and Capitol Records, marking their first album to not be released on their original label, RCA Records, a ...
'', was released on May 10, 2024. The group has won 4
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
s from 12 nominations, including
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 re ...
for "Use Somebody" in
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
.


History


Early years: 1999–2002

The three Followill brothers (Matthew is their cousin) grew up in
Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
and
Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
with their father, Ivan Leon Followill, a United Pentecostal Church 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 Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
. 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. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' 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 by their mother, or enrolled in small
parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...
s 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, Tennessee, Memphis and 130 Miles Southwest of Nashville, it is a regional center of trade for West Tennessee. Its total population wa ...
, the Followills' childhoods were spent driving through the southern United States in a purple 1988
Oldsmobile Oldsmobile (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 produc ...
, 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 Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...
and originally embraced country music. While there, they met songwriter Angelo Petraglia, who helped the siblings hone their songwriting skills and introduced them to the musical influences of
Thin Lizzy Thin Lizzy are an Irish rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. The band initially consisted of bass guitarist, lead vocalist and principal songwriter Phil Lynott, drummer Brian Downey, guitarist Eric Bell and organist Eric Wrixon although Wr ...
,
the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
and
the Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...
in particular. Jared, who had briefly attended public school, was more influenced by the music of the Pixies and
the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground were an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1964. Its classic lineup consisted of singer and guitarist Lou Reed, Welsh multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and percussionis ...
. 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. The band stated during a concert in Dublin in 2017 that they had done a DNA test and were found to be 25% Irish.


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 owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
, which initially insisted on putting a band together for the two of them. In an interview with ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'', however, Nathan outlined how they told RCA, "We don't want to be Evan and Jaron. 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 U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...
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 Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...
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'', 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 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" on the EP differ from their album versions, however, with the first having a more tense
riff A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
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 film '' Stuck on You'' with
Matt Damon Matthew Paige Damon ( ; born October 8, 1970) is an American actor, film producer, and screenwriter. He was ranked among ''Forbes'' most bankable stars in 2007, and in 2010 was one of the highest-grossing actors of all time. He has received va ...
and
Greg Kinnear Gregory Buck Kinnear (born June 17, 1963) is an American actor and former talk show host. 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, ...
: "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, United States, 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 p ...
in Los Angeles and Shangri-La Studios in Malibu, California. It was produced by Angelo Petraglia and Ethan Johns. 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. Etymology '' Chic'' is a French word, established in English since at least the 1870s. Early references in English dictionaries classified ...
look and blend of Southern boogie and gritty garage rock inspired comparisons to both
Lynyrd Skynyrd Lynyrd Skynyrd (, ) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida in 1964. The group originally formed as My Backyard and comprised Ronnie Van Zant (vocals), Gary Rossington (guitar), Allen Collins (guitar), Larry Junstrom ...
and
The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...
. 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, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' 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 Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' 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 over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
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 ...
'', was released in the UK in October 2004 and in the United States in February 2005. Building on the Southern-infused
garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock music that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The style is ...
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 (film technique), found footage monster movie, monster horror film directed by Matt Reeves and written by Drew Goddard. It stars Lizzy Caplan, Jessica Lucas, T.J. Miller (in his film debut), Mic ...
'' in 2008. The band garnered accolades from several of their rock peers, including
Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...
, and also toured with U2,
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...
and
Pearl Jam Pearl Jam is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1990. One of the key bands in the grunge, grunge movement of the early 1990s, Pearl Jam has outsold and outlasted many of its contemporaries from the early 1990s, ...
during 2005 and 2006.


''Because of the Times'' and ''Only by the Night'': 2006–2010

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'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in September 2008 through RCA Records. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the release of their third, '' Because of the T ...
'', 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 Zach Bryan, Kings of Leon, Tom Waits, James Bay, Kaleo, Modest Mouse, Shania Twain, Buddy Guy, ...
and Angelo Petraglia on September 19, which subsequently entered the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
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. 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, chart ...
" 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 in 2009, where they also performed "Use Somebody" live. Kings of Leon also performed on March 14, 2009, at Sound Relief, 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 Rock Werchter is an annual music festival held in the village of Werchter, near Leuven, Belgium, since 1976 and is a large sized rock music festival. The 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2012 and 2014 festivals received the Arthur award for ''best festiva ...
,
Oxegen Oxegen was a List of music festivals#Ireland, 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 festiva ...
, T in the Park,
Gurtenfestival Gurtenfestival is an annual musical festival in Bern, Switzerland. 1991–2012 Donovan, (June 9) Rufus Quindile Gunbungus III and the Huantalius Gang 1995 (14–16 July): Ben Harper, Incognito (band), Incognito, Jeff Buckley, Public Enemy (band) ...
and Open'er Festival in Poland, Europe, along with
Sasquatch Bigfoot (), also commonly referred to as Sasquatch (), is a large, hairy Mythic humanoids, mythical creature said to inhabit forests in North America, particularly in the Pacific Northwest.Example definitions include: *"A large, hairy, manlike ...
,
Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...
, and
Austin City Limits ''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...
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 Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of ...
on November 24, 2009. The footage was filmed in London's O2 Arena on June 30, 2009, when the band performed a 22-song
set Set, The Set, SET or SETS may refer to: Science, technology, and mathematics Mathematics *Set (mathematics), a collection of elements *Category of sets, the category whose objects and morphisms are sets and total functions, respectively Electro ...
in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 18,000 people. In an interview with Billboard.com, 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 is an American indie rock band from Sparta, Tennessee. The original lineup consisted of Matt Pelham, Roger Dabbs, and Don Sergio. The most recent iteration consists of Pelham, Dabbs, Rollum Haas, and Mark Bond. They have released ...
, 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 and Best Rock Song for " Use Somebody" at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards.


''Come Around Sundown'': 2010–2011

The band's fifth album, called '' Come Around Sundown'', 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 a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, 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, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'' to be released in September. The album title '' Mechanical Bull'' 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 likely 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." 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 Perry is a township (Canada), ...
'' (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'': 2020–2023

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 produced by Markus Dravs. It was preceded by the singles " The Bandit" and " 100,000 Peopl ...
''—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. 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 is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...
, a type of
cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership record ...
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 The blockchain is a distributed ledger with growing lists of Record (computer science), records (''blocks'') that are securely linked together via Cryptographic hash function, cryptographic hashes. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of th ...
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 Crew Dragon Resilience, ''Resilience'' on 16 September 2021 at 00:02: ...
, the all-civilian space exploration, which was auctioned as a charity campaign.


Going independent and ''Can We Please Have Fun'': 2024–present

Kings of Leon announced their ninth studio album ''
Can We Please Have Fun ''Can We Please Have Fun'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on May 10, 2024, by LoveTap Records and Capitol Records, marking their first album to not be released on their original label, RCA Records, a ...
'' on February 22, 2024. It was released on May 10, 2024, by LoveTap Records and
Capitol Records Capitol Records, LLC (known legally as Capitol Records, Inc. until 2007), and simply known as Capitol, is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Capitol Music Group imprint. It was founded as the first West Coast-base ...
, their first for those labels. The lead single, "Mustang", was released the same day as the album's announcement, followed by "Splitscreen" on March 29th and "Nothing To Do" on April 19th. On May 28, 2025, the band cancelled upcoming shows in the UK and Europe, with Caleb sharing a video explaining he had broken his foot in a 'freak accident' and could not tour for eight weeks.


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 – rhythm guitar, keyboards, percussion, backing vocals (2014–2016)


Discography

* '' Youth & Young Manhood'' (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 ...
'' (2004) * '' Because of the Times'' (2007) * ''
Only by the Night ''Only by the Night'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in September 2008 through RCA Records. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the release of their third, '' Because of the T ...
'' (2008) * '' Come Around Sundown'' (2010) * '' Mechanical Bull'' (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 Perry is a township (Canada), ...
'' (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 produced by Markus Dravs. It was preceded by the singles " The Bandit" and " 100,000 Peopl ...
'' (2021) * ''
Can We Please Have Fun ''Can We Please Have Fun'' is the ninth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon. It was released on May 10, 2024, by LoveTap Records and Capitol Records, marking their first album to not be released on their original label, RCA Records, a ...
'' (2024)


Awards and nominations


Brit Awards

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2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
, rowspan="3", Kings of Leon , Best International Breakthrough Act , , - , rowspan="2", Best International Group , , - , rowspan="2" align="center",
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, , - , '' Because of the Times'' , rowspan="2", Best International Album , , - , rowspan="2" align="center",
2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, ''
Only by the Night ''Only by the Night'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in September 2008 through RCA Records. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the release of their third, '' Because of the T ...
'' , , - , rowspan="2", Kings of Leon , rowspan="2", Best International Group , , - , rowspan="2" align="center",
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, , - , '' Come Around Sundown'' , Best International Album , , - ,
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, rowspan="2", Kings of Leon , rowspan="2", Best International Group , , - ,
2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...
,


Grammy Awards

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2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, ''
Only by the Night ''Only by the Night'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released in September 2008 through RCA Records. Writing for the band's fourth album commenced just days after the release of their third, '' Because of the T ...
'' , Best Rock Album , , - , 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, chart ...
" , Best Rock Song , , - , Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal , , - , rowspan="4" align="center",
2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, rowspan="4", " Use Somebody" , 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 re ...
, , - , Best Rock Song , , - , rowspan="2", Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal , , - , rowspan="2" align="center",
2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...
, 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 conside ...
" , , - , Best Rock Song , , - , rowspan="2" align="center",
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, '' Talihina Sky: The Story of Kings of Leon'' , Best Long Form Music Video , , - , '' Come Around Sundown'' , rowspan="2", Best Rock Album , , - , align="center",
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
, '' Mechanical Bull'' , , - , align="center",
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, " The Bandit" , Best Rock Song ,


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'' , 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) *''Can We Please Have Fun World Tour (2024)''


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 Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The festival ...
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 City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
, Oklahoma, on June 8, 2011. The European premiere was hosted at the
Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...
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 owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
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, usually measured under a specified height at maturity. Ponies often have thicker coats, manes and tails, compared to larger horses, and proportionally shorter legs, wider barrels, heavier , thicker necks and s ...
, 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'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...
'' episode "The High School Reunion" (season 7, episode 12). The episode mocks the Fox musical-comedy ''
Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...
'', 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 The Northern Ireland national football team represents Northern Ireland in men's international association football. From 1882 to 1950, all of Ireland was represented by a single side, the Ireland national football team (1882–1950), Ireland ...
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 Metropolis of Lyon. The home of French football club Olympique Lyonnais (OL), it replaced their previous stadium, ...
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. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...
mentions the band in the song "White Dress" from her 2021 album '' Chemtrails over the Country Club''. The cover of the '' Mechanical Bull'' album appears in the 2021 video game '' Life Is Strange: True Colors'' and the characters listen to the song " Don't Matter". The band was selected to play as part of the festivities of the 2021 NFL draft at the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
in
Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...
, Ohio.


See also

*
List of alternative rock artists This is a list of alternative rock artists. Bands are listed alphabetically by the first letter in their name (not including "The"), and individuals are listed by the first name. 0–9 * +44 * 3 Doors Down * 4 Non Blondes * 8stops7 * 10 ...
* List of Brit Awards ceremonies


References


External links

* . {{DEFAULTSORT:Kings Of Leon 1999 establishments in Tennessee Alternative rock groups from Tennessee American musical quartets American southern rock musical groups Brit Award winners Capitol Records artists Family musical groups Garage rock groups from Tennessee 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 RCA Records artists Sibling musical groups Sony Music artists