Kings of Leon

Aha Shake Heartbreak (2004) and Because of the Times (2007) built their reputation as one of the most creatively ambitious rock bands of their generation, developing a more expansive and atmospheric sound that retained the raw energy of their debut while incorporating wider sonic territory. Only by the Night (2008) was their commercial breakthrough on a massive scale — debuting at number one in multiple countries and producing the massive hits Use Somebody and Sex on Fire, both of which became ubiquitous on rock and pop radio worldwide. Use Somebody in particular became one of the defining rock anthems of the late 2000s, earning the Grammy Award for Record of the Year and Song of the Year in 2010 and introducing the band to an audience of tens of millions who had never encountered their earlier work.

Come Around Sundown (2010), Mechanical Bull (2013), WALLS (2016), and When You See Yourself (2021) have continued their creative evolution, with the band maintaining their status as one of the most respected rock acts of their generation despite the commercial pressures that came with their mainstream breakthrough. Their ability to balance critical credibility with arena-level popularity is a genuinely rare achievement, and their catalog represents one of the more substantial bodies of work produced by any rock band of the 2000s.