Crossfire (Brandon Flowers song)

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"Crossfire"
Single by Brandon Flowers
from the album Flamingo
B-side "On the Floor 2.0"
Released June 21, 2010 (USA)
August 23, 2010 (UK)
Format Download, 10", CD
Recorded 2010
Genre Pop rock
Length 4:17 (album version)
3:59 (radio edit)
Label Island
Writer(s) Brandon Flowers
Producer Brendan O'Brien
Brandon Flowers singles chronology
"Crossfire"
(2010)		 "Only the Young"
(2010)

"Crossfire" is the debut solo single from singer-songwriter and frontman of The Killers, Brandon Flowers. Written by Flowers himself, and produced by Brendan O'Brien,[1] it is the first single from his debut solo album, Flamingo. A video for the single was released on July 8, 2010, and features actress Charlize Theron.

Contents

Release and promotion[edit]

"Crossfire" first appeared when it was leaked online on June 11, 2010.[2] On June 14, it was premiered in the UK on the Zane Lowe Show on BBC Radio 1, where Flowers also gave an interview.[3] A 10" picture disc vinyl was released in the US on August 3, 2010, featuring an acoustic version of "On the Floor" titled "On the Floor 2.0" on the B-side. On the week of the August 23 Brandon Flowers was officially the most played artist on the BBC, despite only having one song available for airplay. Crossfire was on both the A playlist for BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 2. On September 6 "Crossfire" was #1 on the NME chart and remained so through September 27 for several weeks.[4][5]

Track listing[edit]

iTunes download
  1. "Crossfire" – 4:17
Promo CD
  1. "Crossfire" (radio version) – 3:59
  2. "Crossfire" (album version) – 4:17
  3. "Crossfire" (instrumental) – 4:17
10" picture disc
  1. "Crossfire" – 4:17
  2. "On the Floor 2.0" – 3:10

Music video[edit]

The music video premiered on July 8, 2010 on VEVO. It was directed by Australian film director Nash Edgerton and stars actress Charlize Theron.[6] The video features various scenes involving Flowers being tied up as a hostage. Theron kills several ninjas before rescuing him each time. The final scene shows Theron putting her arm around Flowers, while driving away with him in a pick-up truck.

In an interview with Fuse, Flowers revealed that Theron was a fan of The Killers, and that she was interested in being a part of the video. She also led him to Edgerton, who was ultimately chosen to direct the video.

Reception[edit]

Critical[edit]

The song received mixed reviews from critics. Rolling Stone gave the song two-and-a-half stars, saying it "sounds like a Killers B side — standard-issue Boss-meets-Bono dance rock, with Flowers serving up so much meteorological-metaphor fury, you'll want to call FEMA."[7] Of the track, Billboard said "Flowers simply follows the pop direction that his band has taken of late," and that "Flowers may sound a little too eager to assign an epic quality to his first effort as a solo artist, but 'Crossfire' still hints at a promising direction for Flamingo."[8] USA Today said of the song that "The Killers' frontman kicks off solo debut Flamingo with a soaring pop/rock anthem in the band's comfort zone."[9] Flowers said that it is his son Ammon's favorite song on the album.[1]

Chart performance[edit]

Chart (2010) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[10] 46
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 52
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12] 3
Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[13] 49
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14] 70
Denmark (Tracklisten)[15] 40
European Hot 100 Singles[16] 23
Germany (Media Control AG)[17] 34
Ireland (IRMA)[18] 4
Israel (Media Forest)[19] 8
Japan (Japan Hot 100)[20] 64
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 19
New Zealand (RIANZ)[22] 22
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[23] 5
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[24] 35
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[25] 8
US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[26] 22
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[26] 6
US Hot Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[27] 5
US Rock Songs (Billboard)[26] 11

Covers[edit]

Fran Healy covered the song at The Sun's "Biz Sessions" in October 2010.[28][citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Scaggs, Austin (June 25, 2010). "The Killers' Brandon Flowers: Why I'm Going Solo". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 30, 2010. 
  2. ^ Lee, Ann (15 June 2010). "Brandon Flowers debuts solo single Crossfire". Metro. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  3. ^ Murray, Robin (15 June 2010). "The Killers Singer Talks Solo Album". Clash. Retrieved 1 July 2010. 
  4. ^ "Brandon Flowers tops NME Chart with 'Crossfire' | News". Nme.Com. 2010-09-06. Retrieved 2012-02-10. 
  5. ^ "Brandon Flowers beats Mark Ronson to the top of the NME Chart | News". Nme.Com. 2010-09-27. Retrieved 2012-02-10. 
  6. ^ "Charlize Theron Saves Brandon Flowers in 'Crossfire' - Viral Videos". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2012-02-10. 
  7. ^ J.D.. (August 5, 2010), "Brandon's Big Heartache". Rolling Stone. (1110):79
  8. ^ Clendaniel, Erin (July 24, 2010), "Crossfire". Billboard. 122 (29):49
  9. ^ Edna Gundersen (June 29, 2010) "Tracks". USA Today.
  10. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Brandon Flowers – Crossfire". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
  11. ^ "Brandon Flowers – Crossfire – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
  12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Brandon Flowers – Crossfire" (in Dutch). Ultratip. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Brandon Flowers – Crossfire" (in French). Ultratip. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
  14. ^ "Brandon Flowers Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Brandon Flowers. Prometheus Global Media.
  15. ^ "Danishcharts.com – Brandon Flowers – Crossfire". Tracklisten. Hung Medien.
  16. ^ "Brandon Flowers Album & Song Chart History" European Hot 100 for Brandon Flowers. Prometheus Global Media.
  17. ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche – musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
  18. ^ "Chart Track". Irish Singles Chart. Irish Recorded Music Association.
  19. ^ "Brandon Flowers – Crossfire Media Forest". Israeli Airplay Chart. Media Forest.
  20. ^ "Brandon Flowers Album & Song Chart History" Japan Hot 100 for Brandon Flowers. Prometheus Global Media.
  21. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Brandon Flowers search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Stichting Nederlandse Top 40.
  22. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Brandon Flowers – Crossfire". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
  23. ^ "Archive Chart". Scottish Singles Top 40. Official Charts Company.
  24. ^ "Brandon Flowers – Crossfire – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
  25. ^ "Archive Chart" UK Singles Chart. Official Charts Company.
  26. ^ a b c "Brandon Flowers Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Brandon Flowers. Prometheus Global Media.
  27. ^ "Brandon Flowers Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Dance/Club Play for Brandon Flowers. Prometheus Global Media.
  28. ^ The Sun (London) http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/video/article307898.ece?channel=Biz+Sessions&clipID=1347_SUN48872 |url= missing title (help). 

External links[edit]

Brandon Flowers
Studio albums
Singles
Related
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