Hot Fuss is the debut studio album by American rock band the Killers, released on June 7, 2004, in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004, in the United States by Island Records. The album's music is mostly influenced by new wave and post-punk. Hot Fuss spawned four critically and commercially successful singles: "Mr. Brightside", "Somebody Told Me", "All These Things That I've Done" and "Smile Like You Mean It".
The album reached number seven on the Billboard 200 and number one on the UK Albums Chart. , Hot Fuss had sold more than seven million copies worldwide, including more than three million in the United States and more than two million in the United Kingdom. It has also been certified platinum or multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. The album and its first three singles went on to garner five Grammy Award nominations at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards in 2005.
Background The album was recorded throughout 2003 with Jeff Saltzman in Berkeley, California, except for "Everything Will Be Alright", which was recorded by Corlene Byrd in guitarist Dave Keuning's apartment. Many of the tracks were originally recorded as demos, which the band decided to keep for their spontaneity. The album was mixed by Mark Needham at Cornerstone Studios in Los Angeles and Alan Moulder at Eden Studios in London. In 2012, Brandon Flowers told NME that he felt "depressed" after hearing the Strokes' album Is This It. "That record just sounded so perfect", he said. "We threw away everything [we were working on] and the only song that made the cut and remained was 'Mr. Brightside.'"
The songs "Midnight Show" and "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" are two parts of the so-called "Murder Trilogy", detailing the fictional story of a woman whom her jealous boyfriend murders. The first part, "Leave the Bourbon on the Shelf", appears on the band's B-sides and rarities compilation, Sawdust.
Production The album heavily features a vocal effect called Echo Farm on Flowers' voice. In 2014, Needham recounted:
Artwork The album cover was photographed by Matthias Clamer in 2000, in the southern region of the suburbs of Beijing, China. The characters on top of each building ("建", "材", "开", and "发") translate to "construction material development".
Release and reception
Hot Fuss received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, the album has a weighted average score of 66 out of 100 based on 20 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
Hot Fuss was released on June 7, 2004, in the United Kingdom and on June 15, 2004, in the United States. In 2005, it was reissued as a box of eleven seven-inch vinyl discs, with an album track on each A-side and non-album tracks on the B-sides."Killers Box Up 'Hot Fuss' Singles" . Billboard. Published October 18, 2005. The album reached number seven on the US Billboard 200. It was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 1, 2005, and as of January 2017, it had sold 3.75 million copies in the United States.
Hot Fuss topped the UK Albums Chart for two consecutive weeks in January 2005. It was the 26th bestselling album of the 2000s decade in the United Kingdom, and is listed among the top 40 longest-charting albums in the history of the UK Albums Chart, with 254 weeks. On July 22, 2013, the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) certified the album septuple platinum; by August 2020, it had sold 2,335,495 copies in the UK. In 2022 the album was named as the 20th most successful debut album in UK chart history. The album has also been certified platinum or multi-platinum in Australia, Canada, Ireland, and New Zealand. Hot Fuss had sold over seven million copies worldwide as of December 2012.
Rolling Stone ranked Hot Fuss 43rd on its list of the "100 Best Albums of the Decade", and it was, at one point, listed among the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Gigwise readers voted it the number-one "Best Debut Album of All Time" in 2013. Rolling Stone ranked Hot Fuss the 33rd of its list of "The 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time".
Accolades YearCeremonyAwardResult2004Shortlist Music PrizeShortlist Music Prize2005BRIT AwardsBest International AlbumGrammy AwardsBest Rock AlbumMeteor Ireland Music AwardsBest International Album
Publication Country Accolade Year Rank Drowned in Sound UK Best Albums of the Year 2004 2 Gigwise US Best Debut Album Ever: Readers' Poll 2013 1 NME US 500 Greatest Albums of All Time 2013 495 Q UK 250 Best Albums of Qs Lifetime 1986–2010 2011 17 Rolling Stone US Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 2009 43 Rolling Stone US 100 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time 2013 33 Rolling Stone US 10 Greatest Debut Albums of All Time: Readers' Poll 2013 9 The A.V. Club US Top 100 Albums of the 2000s 2009 41
Hot Fuss is listed among the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Track listing All tracks are produced by Jeff Saltzman and the Killers, except "Everything Will Be Alright", produced by Brandon Flowers.
Personnel Credits adapted from the liner notes of Hot Fuss.
The Killers Brandon Flowers – vocals, synthesizer Dave Keuning – guitar Mark Stoermer – bass Ronnie Vannucci Jr. – drums
Additional musicians Sweet Inspirations – gospel choir on "All These Things That I've Done" and "Andy, You're a Star"
Technical Jeff Saltzman – production, recording The Killers – production Brandon Flowers – production on "Everything Will Be Alright" Corlene Byrd – recording on "Everything Will Be Alright" Dave Stedronsky – engineering assistance Mark Needham – engineering assistance ; mixing Will Brierre – engineering assistance Dario Dendi – engineering assistance Alan Moulder – mixing Brian "Big Bass" Gardner – mastering
Artwork Louis Marino – art direction Seth Goldfarb – cover photo Matt Hartman – band photography
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2004–2009) Peakposition European Albums (Billboard) 6 Greek International Albums (IFPI) 7 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 101 Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) 88
Year-end charts + 2004 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2004) Position UK Albums (OCC) 41 US Billboard 200 148
+ 2005 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2005) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 19 European Albums (Billboard) 16 French Albums (SNEP) 79 Irish Albums (IRMA) 8 New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 21 UK Albums (OCC) 12 US Billboard 200 17 Worldwide Albums (IFPI) 28
+ 2006 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2006) Position UK Albums (OCC) 72
+ 2007 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2007) Position Belgian Midprice Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 6 Belgian Midprice Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 40 UK Albums (OCC) 93
+ 2008 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2008) Position UK Albums (OCC) 124
+ 2009 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2009) Position UK Albums (OCC) 115
+ 2018 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2018) Position Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA) 32
+ 2019 year-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2019) Position Australian Vinyl Albums (ARIA) 87
Decade-end charts + 2000s decade-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2000–2009) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 97 UK Albums (OCC) 26 US Billboard 200 131
+ 2010s decade-end chart performance for Hot Fuss Chart (2010–2019) Position UK Vinyl Albums (OCC) 49
Certifications
Release history + Release history for Hot Fuss Region Date Label United Kingdom June 7, 2004 Lizard King United States June 15, 2004 Island
Notes
See also List of best-selling albums of the 2000s (decade) in the United Kingdom
References