Brandon Flowers is the lead singer for the popular pop rock band “The Killers” and surprising to many, he is also a Mormon.
In an interview with Spin Magazine, he explained:
I am actually a Mormon, not an ex-Mormon. I occasionally drink and smoke, but I’m trying-I’m human.
He describes religion as being a very important part of his life and says he gained a new perspective when his wife Tana became pregnant. The couple named their first born son “Ammon” after a prophet in The Book of Mormon. He says his decrease in partying has helped him feel more healthy and less guilty. He is a proud dad and hates to be away from his family for long, confessing during an interview that he “cried like a baby” when leaving the airport. He also has a fear of flying (even turning down the chance to ride in U2’s Vertigo jet).
In a November 2008 interview, he expressed his frustration in being mocked for his beliefs:
I feel more and more alone as a person of faith.
It’s not just rock stars who aren’t cool if they’re religious—it’s like it’s a taboo for any young person to be religious now.
If you love someone, and you know that love is real—that’s how I feel about God. I’ve had feelings I can’t describe that are unexplainable to me, unless there is a God.
But if I say that, people look at me like I’m crazy.
Brandon receives criticism both for his beliefs and for his failure to live up to them, seemingly caught between what he believes is right and his admitted desire to be a cool rockstar (he laughs that it’s not possible to be cool and Mormon). In his line of work, temptation is a difficult thing to escape. During an interview in September of 2006, he expressed his displeasure as he prepared to perform on a stage in Las Vegas, commenting that the girls wore “little more than underwear”. According to the report, he was visibly troubled by it.
Mormon listeners may find some hints of our beliefs in Brandon’s lyrics such as the line found in the song “Somebody Told Me“:
Heaven ain’t close in a place like this
One wonders if it’s a possible reference to the teaching to avoid places where the Holy Ghost can’t dwell, but that’s anyone’s guess.
Brandon was born the youngest of 6 children on June 21, 1981 and was a surprise according to his oldest brother of 12 years, Shane. Due to his influence, he listened to music that his peers didn’t and quite a large variety - The Cars, Morrissey, David Bowie, The Beatles, Pet Shop Boys, U2 and many others. He was raised in the church by his parents. His dad converted when Brandon was quite young. His parents were completely supportive of his dreams and attended many of his performances from the beginning.
Brandon’s other passion is golf and he strongly considered going professional (like his cousin Craig Barlow who is a pro golfer), but music is what he was led to, even throughout his small town upbringing. He was born in Henderson, Nevada, moved to Payson, Utah, after which he spent years in Nephi, Utah, then back to the Las Vegas area where the band was formed in 2002. His role in The Killers isn’t limited to his tenor vocals. He is also plays the keyboard and bass guitar.
You may think Brandon Flowers is a walking contradiction or not the “typical Mormon”, or maybe you think he is not a cool enough rockstar, but a Mormon rockstar he is, trying to live by an Abraham Lincoln quote he has hanging in his kitchen:
Whatever you are, be a good one.
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