"Pyro"
Single by Kings of Leon
from the album Come Around Sundown
ReleasedDecember 9, 2010
Recorded2010
Genre
Length4:10
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
  • Caleb Followill
  • Nathan Followill
  • Jared Followill
  • Matthew Followill
Producer(s)
Kings of Leon singles chronology
"Radioactive"
(2010) 		"Pyro"
(2010) 		"Back Down South"
(2011)

"Pyro" is a song by American rock band Kings of Leon, released on December 9, 2010 as the second single from their fifth studio album Come Around Sundown (2010).[1]

The song, along with its accompanying music video, premiered on December 9 on the Kings' website and on their YouTube channel.

Inspiration

According to songfacts.com, Caleb Followill explained about the original inspiration for this song: "I had actually written some verses because I was watching this piece on these radical Christians that live up in the mountains and somehow the FBI got involved and pretty much went and killed them [presumably a reference to Ruby Ridge]. And so I started writing kind of about that and about a guy that was kind of fed up with it all and he thought that the world that he was living in wasn't the perfect world to him so he kind of goes and burns it down. It's just one of those songs where it's like it starts out with someone thinking they know how it's supposed to be and at the end it's like, 'I can't even be that way.'"[2]

Music video

The music video for the song premiered on 9 December 2010. It depicts a bar fight scene and was performed by actors. The video is in slow motion. At the end of the video, everyone floats into the ceiling except for the band, who are playing as a concert band and they are playing their instruments beside the tables while sitting on chairs. Their 2004 song "Four Kicks" was set in the same studio with the same director.[3]

Live performances

Kings of Leon performed the song on Saturday Night Live on October 23, 2010.[4]

Track listings

Digital download

  1. "Pyro" - 4:11

Personnel

Charts

Chart (2011) Peak
position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[5] 43
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 42
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[7] 14
Germany (Media Control AG)[8] 48
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[9] 58
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 74
UK Singles (OCC)[11] 69
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[12] 13
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[13] 16
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[14] 30

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[15] Gold 35,000‡
Mexico (AMPROFON)[16] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[17] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "KINGS_OF_LEON_OFFICIAL_SITE | radioactive". Archived from the original on October 21, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2010.
  2. ^ "Pyro by Kings of Leon". Songfacts.com. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  3. ^ Kings Of Leon - Pyro (Official Music Video). YouTube. Archived from the original on December 11, 2021.
  4. ^ McGee, Ryan (October 24, 2010). "Recap: 'Saturday Night Live' - Emma Stone and Kings of Leon". HitFix. Retrieved February 9, 2012.
  5. ^ "Kings Of Leon – Pyro" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  6. ^ "Kings Of Leon – Pyro" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  7. ^ "Kings Of Leon – Pyro" (in French). Ultratip.
  8. ^ "Home - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  9. ^ "Kings Of Leon – Pyro" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  10. ^ "Kings Of Leon – Pyro". Swiss Singles Chart.
  11. ^ "Kings Of Leon: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  12. ^ "Kings of Leon Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  13. ^ "Kings of Leon Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  14. ^ "Kings of Leon Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
  15. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2020 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved March 19, 2020.
  16. ^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved March 2, 2022. Type Kings of Leon in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and Pyro in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
  17. ^ "British single certifications – Kings of Leon – Pyro". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
Categories