Brandon Richard Flowers, a 34-year-old American musician, singer, songwriter, and lyricist, is a principal songwriter and lead singer of the Las Vegas-based rock band The Killers. Outside of the band, Brandon has launched a successful solo career and has released two albums – Flamingo (2010) and The Desired Effect (2015). He has also topped the UK Albums Chart six times, including work by The Killers, and he is a recipient of the Q Idol Award.
Brandon was born in Henderson, Nevada on 21 June 1981 to Jean Yvonne (née Barlow) and Terry Austin Flowers. He has five older siblings, one brother and four sisters – Shane, April, Shelly, Amy, and Stephanie. He and his family lived in Henderson until he was eight, at which time they moved to Payson, Utah for two years, and later to Nephi, Utah when he was in the sixth grade. He lived in Nephi, Utah until his junior year at Juab High School, and then moved to Las Vegas to live with his aunt, and graduated in 1999 from Chaparral High School.
Brandon is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He credits growing up in Las Vegas for helping prepare him for the world of rock and roll. He commented, “Really, being a Mormon in Las Vegas prepared me for the lion’s den. It is sin city. The things that go on, the lights, it’s the ultimate rock and roll stage. Without Las Vegas, I would be a wreck.”
Even so, it is Utah, where he spent his formative years, that will always hold a special place in his heart. KSL.com reports, “He’s played for more than 90,000 people at Wembley Stadium. Brazilian fans welcome him with open arms. His band, The Killers, is wildly popular around the globe. But Utahns get to claim lead singer Brandon Flowers as their own.”
Although success happened rather quickly for the band, Brandon says that it is not the gold records and the chart-topping singles that define success for him. During the KSL.com interview he commented, “It wasn’t so much about the stardom of it. For me, a really big part of the thing was to have Morrissey call and ask for us to open for him. For me, that was a certain type of success that I didn’t know if that would ever happen.” Brandon also admits that he is no longer nervous about performing. He stated, “It took me years and years of doing it to really feel like I belonged up there. And once I cracked that egg, it’s just been really a pleasure for me, and I really look forward to it every night.”
Brandon also talked about his Mormon faith. He recently filmed a Mormon Message video which was well received in both Utah and the LDS community. As for those in the music world, he stated that “Nobody was cruel or anything like that about it, and that was nice. It’s fine. It’s been fine. It’s been nothing but positive, I think.” He was also asked how his religious beliefs have impacted his music to which he responded:
You know, I think we’re going straight into the Word of Wisdom and things like that. Since I’ve been obeying that better, I’ve become a better performer for sure.
I used to smoke cigarettes and drink and things like that, and my voice would give out more, and I didn’t feel as ready to perform. Just that one simple thing in following that has helped me with longevity and all kinds of things.
Brandon is also a devoted family man. He and his wife are the parents of three young sons. He told KSL that it has not been easy balancing a music career with three young boys at home. He further stated that he is never gone from home more than two weeks at a time. He also said that if you were to ask his sons, “What does daddy do for a living?” their response would be, “He’s a rock star.”
