The album reached #1 in both the UK and Australia, and was certified 3x Platinum in Canada (300,000 units) by the CRIA on October 17, 2005. It stayed in the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 chart for over fifty weeks.
It sold more than 2,500,000 copies in the first year of its release. After being nominated for five Grammys, it has since sold more than 5,000,000 copies worldwide.
Singles from the album include, in order released, Somebody Told Me, Mr. Brightside, All These Things That I've Done, and Smile Like You Mean It.
Initial critical response to Hot Fuss was generally positive.
At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 66, based on 20 reviews.
Rolling Stone gave the album three-and-a-half stars out of five.
Reviewer Jenny Eliscu compared the band's music to contemporaries The Rapture and Franz Ferdinand, stating that in comparison to those groups The Killers "have actual pop songs — in spades". Eliscu concluded, "This album is all Killers, no filler."
In a mixed review, Entertainment Weekly wildly praised the song Somebody Told Me while asking "As for the rest, isn't it a little too early for a Strokes tribute band?", and ultimately gave the album a 'C'.
Towards the end of 2005, The Killers also released the album on 7" vinyl in a boxset of 11 discs. On side A of each of the discs is the album track, and on the B-side are non-album tracks.
It is also one of the last five albums, in order of chronology, to be placed in the 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Murder Trilogy:
Two of the songs on the album (Jenny Was a Friend of Mine and Midnight Show) are a continuing story along with Leave the Bourbon On The Shelf from Sawdust, which is known as the Murder Trilogy. The band have also said they may expand this in the future.
The order of the songs is the reverse of how they appeared on the albums, with Leave the Bourbon On The Shelf being first, followed by Midnight Show and finally Jenny Was a Friend of Mine.
In their official biography the Killers explained a few of the theories behind the Murder Trilogy. For example Brandon Flowers said: "There was water involved, although he didn’t drown her."
Jenny Was a Friend of Mine
The Killers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go
Tell me what you wanna know
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
There ain't no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
So come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
Oh, oh, oh
I know my rights, I've been here all day and it's time
For me to go, so let me know if it's alright
I just can't take this, I swear I told you the truth
She couldn't scream while I held her close
I swore I'd never let her go
Tell me what you wanna know
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
And then you whisper in my ear
"I know what you're doing here"
So come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
There ain't no motive for this crime
Jenny was a friend of mine
Oh, come on, oh, come on, oh, come on
Oh, oh, oh
The lyrics to The Killers' song "Jenny Was a Friend of Mine" are chilling and mysterious, but also hauntingly beautiful. The song is about a man who is being questioned by the police in relation to the murder of his friend, Jenny. The chorus repeats, "There ain't no motive for this crime, Jenny was a friend of mine." The verses are like pieces of a puzzle that the listener must put together to understand what really happened.
The first verse sets the scene of a walk on the promenade in the rain that ends in a fight. Jenny tells the singer that she loves him, but then reveals that she has somewhere to go. When he tries to hold her close, she can't scream. The second verse begins with the singer saying he knows his rights and suggesting he's been questioned by the police all day. He tells the police he can't take the pressure, but he won't lie, saying he swore he'd never let Jenny go. But then in the next line, the lyrics shift to the police whispering something in his ear, hinting that the singer might not be telling the whole truth.
The overall ambiguity of the lyrics leaves much up to interpretation. Is the singer truly innocent, or did he have a motive to kill Jenny that he's not revealing to the police? Or is the singer himself unsure of what happened, and the experience of being questioned by the police is causing him to doubt himself and his recollection of events?
Line by Line Meaning
We took a walk that night, but it wasn't the same
We went for a walk that night, but it just wasn't the same as before.
We had a fight on the promenade out in the rain
We had an argument on the promenade in the rain.
She said she loved me, but she had somewhere to go
She claimed to love me, but said she had to leave.
She couldn't scream while I held her close
She was unable to scream while I held her tightly.
I swore I'd never let her go
I made a promise to never let her go.
Tell me what you want to know
Please tell me what you want to know.
Oh come on, oh come on, oh come on
Please come on, come on, come on.
There ain't no motive for this crime
There is no clear reason for this wrongdoing.
Jenny was a friend of mine
Jenny and I were friends.
I know my rights, I've been here all day and it's time
I am aware of my rights, and I've been here all day, it's time for me to go.
For me to go, so let me know if it's alright
I need to leave, please tell me if it's okay for me to leave.
I just can't take this, I swear I told you the truth
I can't handle this, I promise I told you the truth.
And then you whisper in my ear
And then you whispered into my ear.
I know what you're doing here
I am aware of what you're doing here.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Brandon Flowers, Dave Brent Keuning, Mark August Stoermer, Ronnie Jr. Vannucci
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Patty Theiss
on Mr. Brightside
Ed sharron