"Mr. Brightside" is the first single released by American rock band the Killers. It was released as the band's debut single and is featured on their debut studio album Hot Fuss (2004). Written by band members Brandon Flowers and Dave Keuning, this was one of the first songs the Killers ever wrote. Two music videos were made for the song: the first, which is in black-and-white, features the band performing in an empty room. The second, filmed for the re-release, is based on the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!.

The song was originally released on September 29, 2003 and achieved minor success. It became more popular upon its re-release in 2004, peaking at number 10 in both the United States and the United Kingdom. It is The Killers' best-selling song in the US, where it has sold over 3 million copies. In the United Kingdom it is one of the top fifteen most downloaded rock tracks ever.

"Mr. Brightside" was named "Song of the Decade" by UK radio stations Absolute Radio and XFM, and in April 2010 Last.fm revealed that it was the most listened to track since the launch of the online music service, with over 12.2 million plays. In October 2010, it was voted ninth in the Greatest Guitar Riffs of the 21st Century so far by Total Guitar magazine. Additionally, in 2010 Rolling Stone listed Mr. Brightside as the forty-eighth best song of the twenty-first century.

Lyrically, "Mr. Brightside" depicts the jealousy and paranoia of a man who suspects his significant other is cheating on him. Guitarist Dave Keuning composed the song's verses before meeting Flowers. Flowers then wrote lyrics and composed the chorus after hearing Keuning's ideas. Flowers credits the speed of the song's creation for the fact that the song only has one verse. He says "We went in and made demos pretty quickly after that, and it took a ton of time. That’s also why there’s not a second verse... I just didn’t have any other lines and it ended up sticking." Drummer Ronnie Vannucci is credited with creating the fast paced drum beat in the first twenty-two seconds. The "calling a cab" section of the song has both a musical and textual similarity to the middle section of the song "Queen Bitch" from 'David Bowie's Hunky Dory album.

...
Wikipedia