Brandon Flowers (vocals/keyboards), David Keuning (guitar), Mark Stoermer (bass), and Ronnie Vannucci (drums) took the fashionista pop world by storm in summer 2004 with "Somebody Told Me." The perfectly stylish song pulls from the band's influences -- the Smiths, New Order, Oasis, and the Cure -- and it was just enough to get them on MTV. Part new wave and part new-millennium post-punk, this Las Vegas foursome originally got together in 2002. Flowers had left behind his former synth pop band, Blush Response, when he noticed a classified ad in the local newspaper placed by Keuning. Both of them were huge Oasis fans, and within weeks the two composed their soon-to-be cult hit, "Mr. Brightside." Stoermer, a former medical courier, and Vannucci, a classical percussion major at UNLV, soon joined the fray that became the Killers.

The London-based indie imprint Lizard King caught wind of the band's brewing hype and quickly signed them to issue the limited-edition single for "Mr. Brightside" in fall 2003. In October, the Killers' buzz earned them a prime spot at the annual CMJ Music Marathon. A worldwide deal with Island followed shortly thereafter, positioning the Killers to join the ranks of Interpol, the Rapture, and the Strokes. Shared U.K. dates with British Sea Power and stellastarr in summer 2004 also gave the band the opportunity to showcase material from its debut album. Hot Fuss arrived in June and two months later, it was announced that the Killers were among the ten finalists up for the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize. Singles such as "Somebody Told Me," "Mr. Brightside," "Smile Like You Mean It," and "All These Things That I've Done" became worldwide chart hits for the group while Hot Fuss eventually earned five Grammy nominations in 2005 and sold over five million copies.

The Killers ultimately scrapped their plans of taking a break to recover from their relentless touring regime, and instead got right to work on their sophomore album. Writing came together quickly around a common theme of longing for the way things used to be since the demise of old-fashioned American values. Soon the guys were ready to hit the studio and became the first band to record inside the newly built facility at Vegas' Palms Hotel and Casino; helming the controls were legendary producers Flood and Alan Moulder (who had previously worked together with U2 and the Smashing Pumpkins). High praise from press and fans over early music, including the Bruce Springsteen-inspired lead single "When You Were Young," led up to the highly anticipated release of Sam's Town in early October 2006. MacKenzie Wilson, All Music Guide