''Mechanical Bull'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, 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 roc ...

, released in Ireland, Germany, Sweden and Australia on September 20, 2013, in the United Kingdom on September 23, 2013, and in North America on September 24, 2013 by

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 ...

. In late 2013 the album received a nomination at the 56th Grammy Awards for Best Rock Album.

Reception

''Mechanical Bull'' received generally positive reviews from critics. At

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, the album has a

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score of 70 out of 100 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". The album debuted at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200, based on 110,000 copies sold in its first week. It has sold 347,000 copies in the United States as of August 2016. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Official Albums Chart, selling 71,000 copies in the first week. The album has sold 323,240 copies in the UK as of October 2016. ''Mechanical Bull'' is the first Kings of Leon album that sold more copies in the United States than in the UK.

Promotion

The first single to promote the album, " Supersoaker", was released on July 17, 2013. This single was followed by the release of the second single titled " Wait for Me" on August 6, 2013. During the Heineken

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2013, Kings of Leon performed "Don't Matter", another song from this album. The third single "

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" impacted US

active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock stations play a balance of new hard rock songs with valued classic rock favorites, normally with an emphasis on the harder edge o ...

and

adult album alternative Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format. See pages 9 and 10Mills, Joshua. "A New Radio Music Format: Rock for Prosperous Adults" New York Times, Feb 28 1994, p. 2. ProQuest. Web. Accessed September 4, ...

(triple A) radio on October 14, 2013 and

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college and commercial rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. ...

radio on October 15, 2013. The band released the Official Video for " Beautiful War" on November 22, 2013. The song has been described by the Guardian as "a slow-grower about love and fighting," and a "distant cousin of U2's With or Without You". " Beautiful War" and " Don't Matter" were released as singles exclusively in the United Kingdom on December 9, 2013 and June 16, 2014 respectively. "

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" was sent to US modern rock radio as the album's sixth overall single on June 17, 2014. An adult album alternative release followed on July 1, 2014. To promote the album, on September 24, 2013, the band appeared on ''

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'' and performed "Supersoaker". They have also performed "Temple" on ''

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'', ''

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon ''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of the '' Late Night'' franchise. Hosted by Jimmy Fallon,

'' and ''

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''.

Singles

"Supersoaker" reached to number 2 on the US Adult Alternative Songs chart and number 9 on the US

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chart. The song also peaked at number 1 on the Canada Rock chart. "Wait for Me" reached to number 14 on the US

Hot Rock Songs Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...

chart and number 10 on the US Adult Alternative Songs chart. Five days after being released in the UK, it debut at number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. "Temple" peaked at number 1 on the Canada Rock chart.

Track listing

Personnel

;Kings of Leon * Caleb Followill – lead vocals, rhythm guitar * Matthew Followill – lead guitar, piano,

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sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in 19th-century India. Khusrau K ...

, vocals * Jared Followill – bass guitar, synthesizer, vocals * Nathan Followill – drums, percussion, vocals ;Technical personnel *

Angelo Petraglia Angelo Petraglia (born May 5, 1954) is an American record producer and songwriter. He was a member of the new wave band Face to Face and is best known for his work with Kings of Leon. Early life He was born in the Bronx and grew up in Pelham, N ...

– producer *

Ted Jensen Ted Jensen (born September 19, 1954) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered many recordings, including the Eagles' '' Hotel California'', Green Day's '' American Idiot'' and Norah Jones' ''Come Away with Me''. Early life ...

– Mastering engineer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechanical Bull 2013 albums Kings of Leon albums RCA Records albums