The Killers Biography

The Killers are a rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. The band was formed in 2002. It is made up of Brandon Flowers (vocals, bass, synthesizer), Dave Keuning (guitar, vocals), Mark Stoermer (bass, vocals), and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion). The Killers released their debut album Hot Fuss in 2004. Their second album, Sam's Town, was released to mixed reviews in the United Kingdom on October 2, 2006 and in North America on October 3, 2006.

Since going platinum, the band (and principally Flowers) has managed to incite a few rivalries - most notably with The Bravery and Fall Out Boy, who are both labelmates (Island Records). Flowers has said that these bands, especially The Bravery, are riding on the coattails of the success of The Killers. However, it has been speculated that it was a publicity stunt to create momentum for The Bravery's self-titled debut album. Additionally, in an article of NME, Flowers claimed Fall Out Boy was hogging the A&R man both bands share, setting off Fall Out Boy's bassist Pete Wentz. However, after Wentz made a couple of rants on his blog in September of 2005, he offered a virtual cease-fire. The attempts at starting feuds with Fall Out Boy occurred shortly before the release of Sam's Town, which leads many to believe that it was just a publicity stunt on Flowers' side.

Also in NME, Keuning went on record as saying "They're (Fall Out Boy and Panic! At The Disco) only influenced by each other. Each other, and Blink 182. How can that be a good thing?"

Brandon Flowers, in interviews with several music magazines, claimed that the song "Where Is She?" was based on Jodi Jones, a Scottish girl whose boyfriend, Luke Mitchell, was found guilty of her murder. Many, especially in Scotland, saw this as an insult to her memory, and Flowers (speaking for the band) gave a formal apology, telling the Sunday Herald, "I came across kind of badly. I'd hate to cause offense or further hurt because of it... there's no way on earth I could ever possibly pretend to know what it must actually feel like to suffer such a thing, and I wouldn't presume to appropriate any other individual's feelings for a song."

In February 2006 The Killers' former manager, Braden Merrick, filed a lawsuit alleging breach of contract when he was fired in May of 2005. Merrick's contract was to have run through 2007 and the two sides had been negotiating a settlement before the lawsuit was filed.

Flowers has recently gone on record claiming that Green Day's politically driven concept album American Idiot displays "calculated Anti-Americanism." He explained that he has problems with the album content itself and also the fact that the band's recent live DVD, Bullet in a Bible, was filmed overseas. Stating that he feels Green Day's DVD is a bit of a stunt, he went on to say that he feels The Killers' most recent release, Sam's Town, is a much more accurate representation of American culture.

He has also publicly expressed his disdain for Christina Aguilera's critically acclaimed single, "Hurt."