Neon Trees is an American rock band from

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Utah, fourth-largest city in Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Provo is the largest city and county seat of Utah County, Utah, Utah County and is home to Bri ...

. The band received nationwide exposure in late 2008 when they opened several North American tour dates for the band

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

. 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. In the United States, it ...

. Their first single, "

Animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

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

Alternative Songs Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

chart. Since their formation, Neon Trees has released four studio albums: ''

Habits A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

'' (2010), ''

Picture Show ''Picture Show'' is the second studio album by American rock band Neon Trees. The lead single, "Everybody Talks", was released on December 20, 2011, and the album was released on April 17, 2012. The music video for "Everybody Talks" was released o ...

'' (2012), '' Pop Psychology'' (2014), and '' I Can Feel You Forgetting Me'' (2020). The band has also released three EPs and eighteen singles.

History

Formed initially by childhood friends Tyler Glenn (

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, keyboards) and Chris Allen (

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

) 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 census. Murrieta experienced a 133.7% population increase between 2000 and 2010, making Murrieta one of the ...

, 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, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

, vocals) and

Elaine Bradley Elaine Gabrielle Bradley (born October 19, 1984) is an American musician and songwriter, and the drummer for the American rock band Neon Trees. She has also hosted BYUtv's unscripted series ''Grace Notes'' since 2020. Early life Elaine Gabrie ...

(

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, vocals) to the lineup. David Charles also 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 In-N-Out Burger is an American regional chain of fast food restaurants with locations primarily in California and the Southwest. It was founded in Baldwin Park, California, in 1948 by Harry (1913–1976) and Esther Snyder (1920–2006). The ...

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. Shortly thereafter,

' drummer,

Ronnie Vannucci Jr. Ronald Vannucci Jr. (born February 15, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being the drummer for the rock band the Killers. Vannucci is also involved in a side project called Big Talk, and became the drummer of the Rentals in 2018. ...

, 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 The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

, ''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

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mu ...

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 ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon. About pag ...

'' on January 13, 2011 and another stint on ''

The Tonight Show with Jay Leno ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014. The fourth incarnation of the ...

'' 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 Mark Allan Hoppus (born March 15, 1972) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist for the rock band Blink-182, being the only constant member and the only one to appear on every album ...

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their sound has ...

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. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

's song " Baby" as well as

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...

's " Stand By Me". Throughout early 2010 the band, along with

Mutemath Mutemath (sometimes styled as MuteMath or MUTEMATH) is an American alternative rock project founded by American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer Paul Meany. Originally co-founded as a band with Darren King in 2002, ...

and

Street Drum Corps Street Drum Corps is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 2004 by Bobby Alt, of S.T.U.N. and Faculty X; Adam Alt, of Circus Minor; and Frank Zummo, of TheStart. To date the group have released four albums and have been part of tours s ...

, opened for the

Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, ...

tour Into the Wild. Subsequently, they headlined the Bang the Gong Tour with

Paper Tongues Paper Tongues is an American alternative rock band from Charlotte, North Carolina. The band currently consists of Aswan North (lead vocals) and Daniel Santell ( bass guitar). Their sound is described as fusing rock n' roll melodies with beats, an ...

, MeTalkPretty, and

Civil Twilight Twilight is light produced by sunlight scattering in the upper atmosphere, when the Sun is below the horizon, which illuminates the lower atmosphere and the Earth's surface. The word twilight can also refer to the periods of time when this il ...

in mid-2010, performed a set to 7,000 at

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza (Lolla) is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991 but several years later made Chicago the permanent location for the annual music festival. Musi ...

, 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 Daryl Franklin Hohl (born October 11, 1946), known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock music, rock, rhythm and blues, R&B and soul music, soul singer and musician, best known as the co-founder and principal lead vocalist of Daryl ...

'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 band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epo ...

hit "Dreams" and

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

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 (commonly abbreviated to MCR or My Chem) is an American rock band from Newark, New Jersey. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist Gerard Way, lead guitarist Ray Toro, rhythm guitarist Frank Iero, and bassist ...

during the North American leg of their World Contamination Tour. They opened a show for

Panic! at the Disco Panic! at the Disco is the solo project of American musician Brendon Urie. It was originally a pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 by childhood friends Urie, Ryan Ross, Spencer Smith, and Brent Wilson. They recorded their fi ...

in Central Park in September 2011. In September and October 2011, they opened for

Duran Duran Duran Duran () are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1978 by singer and bassist Stephen Duffy, keyboardist Nick Rhodes and guitarist/bassist John Taylor. With the addition of drummer Roger Taylor the following year the band we ...

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. It was first known for its ...

''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 Buick Verano (Chinese: 威朗) is a compact car manufactured by SAIC-GM for the GM's Buick brand since 2010. It debuted at the North American International Auto Show on January 10, 2011, during a preview of Buick's then upcoming 2012 model. ...

. The single was covered in episode five of season four of ''Glee''. Neon Trees' second studio album ''

'' was released on April 17, 2012. On June 28, 2012, Neon Trees was the opening act for

the Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

concert poolside at the Hard Rock Casino in

Biloxi, Mississippi Biloxi ( ; ) is a city in and one of two county seats of Harrison County, Mississippi, United States (the other being the adjacent city of Gulfport). The 2010 United States Census recorded the population as 44,054 and in 2019 the estimated popu ...

as a part of their

Guinness World Record ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...

for the most concerts in different cities (eight) in a 24-hour period. On August 29, 2012, Neon Trees performed "Everybody Talks" on the ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribu ...

'' live results show. In early fall 2012, the band toured with

The Offspring The Offspring is an American rock band from Garden Grove, California, formed in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Bryan "Dexter" Holland, lead guit ...

and Dead Sara. In 2013 they joined

Maroon 5 Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. It currently consists of lead vocalist Adam Levine, keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Jesse Carmichael, lead guitarist James Valentine (musician), James Valentine, drummer Matt ...

in their world tour alongside Owl City. In November/December 2013 they were a support act for

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

'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) "Lessons in Love (All Day, All Night)" is a song by American rock band Neon Trees from the second studio album, ''Picture Show,'' featuring American DJ and record producer Kaskade. Written by Tyler Glenn, Branden Campbell, Elaine Bradley, Chris ...

" with the collaboration of American record producer and D.J.

Kaskade Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, record producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-first on its 20 ...

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 ''

'' on January 22, 2014. "Sleeping with a Friend" was solicited to U.S.

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

by both Mercury and

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

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, at the House Of Blues Boston. Opening acts included

Alex Winston Alexandra Leigh Winston (born September 28, 1987) is an American indie pop rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Biography Alex Winston grew up just outside Detroit. She is classically trained as an o ...

, 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–present: ''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.

Musical style

Neon Trees' musical style has been described as

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...

, new wave,

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

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produ ...

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commercial ...

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

, and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

. 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 Music ...

wrote "Neon Trees blend new wave,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

, and indie into smart, catchy pop."

Sputnikmusic Sputnikmusic is an American music community website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites. The format of the website is unusual in that it includes both professional and amateur ...

described the band's debut studio album, ''

Habits A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

'' 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 Dance-rock is a dance-infused genre of rock music. It is a post-disco genre connected with pop rock and post-punk with fewer rhythm and blues influences. It originated in the early 1980s, following the decline in popularity of both punk and ...

Band members

Current members * Tyler Glenn – lead vocals, piano, keyboards, synthesizer (2005–present) *Chris Allen – lead guitar, rhythm guitar, vocals (2005–present) *Branden Campbell – bass guitar, vocals (2006–present) *

– drums, percussion, electronic drums, vocals (2006–present) Former members *Mike Liechty – bass guitar (2005–2006) *Jason Gibbons – drums, percussion (2005–2006) *Nathan Evans – keyboards, synthesizer (2005–2006) Touring musicians *David Charles – rhythm guitar Timeline

Discography

*''

Habits A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

'' (2010) *''

'' (2012) *'' Pop Psychology'' (2014) *'' I Can Feel You Forgetting Me'' (2020)

Awards and nominations

APRA Music Awards , - ,

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

, "

" , 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 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...

, 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 , "

(ft.

) , - , 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 Mercury Records artists Island Records artists Musical groups established in 2005 American pop rock music groups Alternative rock groups from Utah Musical quartets Musicians from Provo, Utah 2005 establishments in Utah