Neon Trees are an American rock band founded in

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the band the Killers. Not long after, the band was signed by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

. Their first single, "

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

", climbed to No. 13 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 1 on the

Alternative Songs 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-play ...

chart. Since their formation, Neon Trees has released five studio albums: '' Habits'' (2010), '' Picture Show'' (2012), '' Pop Psychology'' (2014), '' I Can Feel You Forgetting Me'' (2020), and ''Sink Your Teeth'' (2024). The band has also released eight EPs (two exclusive to

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

) and fourteen singles.

History

Formed initially by childhood friends Tyler Glenn (

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, keyboards) and Chris Allen (

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

) who both grew up in

Murrieta, California Murrieta is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States. The population of Murrieta was 110,949 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, ma ...

, the band made its first home in Provo after Glenn and Allen moved there from Southern California, eventually adding Branden Campbell (

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, vocals) and Elaine Bradley (

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

, vocals) to the lineup. David Charles plays with the band as touring guitarist. They first started playing under the name Neon Trees in late 2005 with five original members, Tyler Glenn and Chris Allen from California, and three veterans of the Utah music scene, bass player Mike Liechty, drummer Jason Gibbons and keyboardist Nathan Evans. The band's name originates from the lighted trees on the In-N-Out Burger signs, which inspired Tyler Glenn. In a strange coincidence, it was later learned that Branden Campbell's father, Steve Campbell, installed the exact Neon Trees in the In-N-Out that inspired Glenn while working for a sign company out of Las Vegas. They released an EP, ''Becoming Different People'', in 2006 during the time of their first tour through California. The EP featured promising songs like "Phones", "Sister Stereo", "Up Against the Glass". They also recorded other unreleased tracks during the "Treehouse Sessions" in 2006. The band's lineup soon narrowed down to four members with Branden Campbell and Elaine Bradley joining the group on bass and drums, respectively. Touring musician Bruce Rubenson on keyboards and drums joined in. Shortly thereafter, The Killers' drummer, Ronnie Vannucci Jr., went to watch the band play at a small club in Las Vegas as he had been in a Ska band called "Attaboy Skip" with Neon Trees bassist Branden Campbell prior to joining The Killers. Ronnie was impressed, and as a result they were chosen to open for The Killers for a string of dates on their 2008 North American tour. Vannucci later helped the band sign to major label

, which was announced in late 2008. Additionally, the group was voted Band of the Year in 2009 by '' City Weekly'', a popular Salt Lake City publication.

2010–11: ''Habits'' and commercial breakthrough

Although they had several prior independent releases, the band released its debut album on Mercury/ Island Def Jam, ''Habits'', on March 16, 2010. "Animal" was chosen as the lead single and was shortly thereafter featured as the Free Single of the Week on

in March 2010. They performed the song on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' on March 23, 2010, ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on May 14, 2010, ''Lopez Tonight'' on October 18, 2010, ''Live! with Regis & Kelly'' on November 4, 2010, and TBS' ''Conan'' on November 24, 2010. They performed a second single ''1983'' on '' Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' on January 13, 2011 and another stint on '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on Jan 18, 2011. They performed third single "Your Surrender" on ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on May 5, 2011 and a third appearance on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on Jun 10, 2011. Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 selected "Animal" as his ''Spin'' magazine Pick of the Week. The song has also been featured on a commercial for Las Vegas. The group has also released a digital EP of four remixes of the song, one of which by Tyler Glenn. In 2010, the band covered

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

's song "

Baby In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

" as well as Ben E. King's " Stand By Me". Throughout early 2010 the band, along with Mutemath and Street Drum Corps, opened for the Thirty Seconds to Mars tour Into the Wild. Subsequently, they headlined the Bang the Gong Tour with Paper Tongues, MeTalkPretty, and Civil Twilight in mid-2010, performed a set to 7,000 at

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 went on tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars in the last half of the year. In November 2010, the band released a Christmas single called "Wish List". It was available for free on

the first week it was released. In November 2010, Tyler and Elaine appeared as Neon Trees on Daryl Hall's monthly Internet concert series ''Live from Daryl's House''. They performed four songs from ''Habits'', including "Animal" and "1983", as well as the

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1967 by the singer and guitarist Peter Green (musician), Peter Green. Green named the band by combining the surnames of the drummer, Mick Fleetwood, and the bassis ...

hit "Dreams" and Hall & Oates songs "Head Above Water" and "Adult Education." Neon Trees released a live album, ''iTunes Live from SoHo'', in November 2010 featuring eight live tracks: "Calling My Name", "Animal", "Your Surrender", "Never Tear Us Apart", "In the Next Room", "1983", "Love and Affection", and "Sins of My Youth". From March 31, 2011, to April 23, 2011, they also opened for

My Chemical Romance My Chemical Romance is an American Rock music, rock band from New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist Mikey Way. They are considered one of ...

during the North American leg of their World Contamination Tour. They opened a show for Panic! at the Disco in Central Park in September 2011. In September and October 2011, they opened for

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor (bass guitarist), John Taylor. After several early changes, the band's line-up settled ...

on the North American leg of the All You Need Is Now tour. The band's song "Animal" was also performed by the cast of ''Glee'' in the 15th episode of Season 2 entitled "Sexy".

2011–13: ''Picture Show''

On December 7, 2011, an article published by ''

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 ...

''s website streamed the band's new song " Everybody Talks". On February 10, 2012, a video was posted on their official YouTube page, titled Neon Trees – Picture Show Teaser One / The New Album April 17, advertising their new album is to be released on April 17, 2012. In March 2012, Neon Trees and their single "Everybody Talks" were featured in a commercial for the 2012 Buick Verano. The single was covered in episode five of season four of ''Glee''. Neon Trees' second studio album '' Picture Show'' was released on April 17, 2012. On August 29, 2012, Neon Trees performed "Everybody Talks" on the '' America's Got Talent'' live results show. In early fall 2012, the band toured with The Offspring and Dead Sara. In 2013 they joined Maroon 5 in their world tour alongside

Owl City Owl City is an American electronic music project created in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. It is one of several projects by singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young (American musician), Adam Young, who created the project while exp ...

. In November/December 2013 they were a support act for

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Known for her autobiographical songwriting, artistic versatility, and Cultural impact of Taylor Swift, cultural impact, Swift is one of the Best selling artists, w ...

's three concerts in New Zealand and four concerts in Australia. The band was featured on NBC's coverage of the 2012 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They performed an abbreviated version of their single "Everybody Talks". The second single from the album is the track " Lessons in Love (All Day, All Night)" with the collaboration of American record producer and D.J. Kaskade.

2014–2017: ''Pop Psychology''

Neon Trees' third studio album, '' Pop Psychology'', was released on April 22, 2014. The first single from ''Pop Psychology'', titled " Sleeping with a Friend", was released for digital download. The band performed the single on '' The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' on January 22, 2014. "Sleeping with a Friend" was solicited to U.S.

Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...

by both Mercury and

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in Jamaica by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in 1959, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, another ...

on February 25, 2014. Neon Trees later released four more singles following "Sleeping with a Friend". The singles are titled "I Love You (But I Hate Your Friends)", "Voices In the Halls", and "First Things First". "First Things First" is the end credit song for the 2016 Netflix Original series ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency''. In 2015, the group announced the "An Intimate Night With Neon Trees" Tour. The tour ran from June 6, 2015, to July 26, 2015, finishing in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, at the House Of Blues Boston. Opening acts included Alex Winston, Yes You Are, Coin, and Fictionist. On May 5, 2015, the band released a non-album single entitled "Songs I Can't Listen To" and an accompanying music video on June 3, 2015, featuring Dustin Lance Black. On August 4, 2017, the band premiered a new single "Feel Good".

2019–2023: ''I Can Feel You Forgetting Me''

Neon Trees released "Used to Like", the lead single from their fourth album, on November 13, 2019. The second single, "New Best Friend" was released on May 20, 2020. On July 10, 2020, the band released the third single called "Mess Me Up". The fourth and final single, "Nights", was released on July 22, 2020. The album, '' I Can Feel You Forgetting Me'', was released on July 24, 2020. In December 2021, they released a new single and video, "Holiday Rock".

2023-present: ''Sink Your Teeth''

''Sink Your Teeth'', the fifth studio album by Neon Trees, was released on September 20, 2024. There are 12 songs on the album. On June 30, 2023, the first and lead single of the album "Favorite Daze" was released. The second single, "Losing My Head", was released on September 15, 2023. Three more singles were released in early 2024 before the album; "Bad Dreams" (May 31), "El Diablo" (July 19), and "Cruel Intentions" (August 28)

Musical style

Neon Trees' musical style has been described as

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

, new wave,

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

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 ...

, pop, and

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

. When describing the band's sound, Heather Phares of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote "Neon Trees blend new wave,

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, and indie into smart, catchy pop." Sputnikmusic described the band's debut studio album '' Habits'' as a "refreshing blast of timeless rock energy and spirit that wouldn’t sound out of place at any point from ‘60s garage-rock to 2010 dance rock."

Band members

Current members *Chris Allen – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2005–present) * Tyler Glenn – lead vocals (2005–present); keyboards, piano, synthesizer, occasional rhythm guitar (2006–present) * Elaine Bradley – drums, percussion, backing vocals, occasional lead vocals and rhythm guitar (2007–present) *Branden Campbell – bass guitar, backing vocals (2007–present) Former members *Mike Liechty – bass guitar (2005–2006) *Jason Gibbons – drums, percussion (2005–2006) *Nathan Evans – keyboards, piano, synthesizer (2005–2006) Touring musicians *David Charles – rhythm guitar (2005–present) *Bruce Rubenson – drums, percussion, keyboards, piano, synthesizer (2006–present)

Timeline

Discography

*'' Habits'' (2010) *'' Picture Show'' (2012) *'' Pop Psychology'' (2014) *'' I Can Feel You Forgetting Me'' (2020) *'' Sink Your Teeth'' (2024)

Awards and nominations

APRA Music Awards , - ,

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 ...

, "

" , International Work of the Year , BMI Pop Awards , - , 2012 , "

" , rowspan=2, Award-Winning Songs , , - , 2015 , " Sleeping with a Friend" , Billboard Music Awards , - , rowspan="2" ,

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" , "

" , Top Alternative Song , , - , Top Rock Song , , - , rowspan=2,

, Neon Trees , Top Adult Pop Songs Artist , , - , " Everybody Talks" , Top Adult Pop Song , International Dance Music Awards , - , 2011 , "

" , rowspan="3" , Best Alternative/Rock Dance Track , rowspan="3" , - , 2013 , " Lessons in Love (All Day, All Night) (ft. Kaskade) , - , 2015 , " Sleeping with a Friend" MTV Europe Music Awards , - ,

, Neon Trees , Best Push Act , World Music Awards , - , 2012 , Themselves , World's Best Group ,

References

External links

*
Neon Trees at Island/Def Jam
{{Authority control American pop rock music groups American musical quartets Alternative rock groups from Utah Mercury Records artists Island Records artists Geffen Records artists Musical groups established in 2005 Musicians from Provo, Utah 2005 establishments in Utah