Brandon Flowers says radio would destroy The Killers if they came out now.
The American singer became a global star as the frontman of the indie band and now also has a successful solo career.
The Killers released debut album Hot Fuss in 2004, garnering a lot of attention and support from radio stations. However, Brandon thinks if the band were just starting out now, their story would be completely different.
“Record deals have changed. The radio now only looks at the charts. They play a song a few times, see how well it’s doing on iTunes and if it’s not doing well, they’ll stop promoting it,” Brandon sighed to British magazine ShortList. “That would have been a disaster for The Killers. Mr Brightside was released twice. It didn’t go down well first time. It wouldn’t have the opportunity in the current climate."
Brandon's second solo album, The Desired Effect, will hit shelves later this month and comes five years after his first effort, Flamingo.
He's still hard at work with the band as well. Although they are on a music-making break, The Killers are set to headline a handful of US festivals this year and have stated they plan to make a fifth album.
"Being ambitious should be a beautiful thing. U2 were ambitious. So were Queen and The Beatles. Somewhere in the 90s ambition was suddenly a dirty word. When you succeed, there’s nothing better. So I’m going to keep shooting for the moon," he said.
"I’ve always gravitated towards more grandiose stuff. There are so many great songs – I have such a long way to go. I’m 33, and I take inspiration from people who were great in their thirties and forties. I’m never content. I always feel like there’s something to prove.”
