The 9 greatest Kings of Leon songs ever, according to Absolute Radio presenters

After they cherry-picked their favourite Foo Fighters songs last month, nine of our esteemed Absolute Radio presenters have chosen their favourite Kings of Leon tracks from the Nashville band’s 18-year recording history.

Celebrating the release of Kings of Leon’s fervently awaited eighth studio album ‘When You See Yourself’ on Friday (5th March 2021), we thought it was the perfect time to look back at their distinguished back catalogue and ask our presenters - "what are the band's best songs?"

Sarah Champion, Skin, Leona Graham, Danielle Perry, Claire Sturgess, Ben Burrell, Sophie K, Dan Noble and Jay Lawrence have all had their say and their choices range from the first track on Kings of Leon’s first record, to chart-smashing stadia-consuming anthems to raw and raucous rock gems.

Watch - Absolute Radio presenters chose their favourite Kings of Leon songs:

You can also check out the videos for the 9 greatest Kings of Leon songs below and read what our presenters had to say.

Sarah Champion’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Fans’ (2007)

Sarah Champion: “Oooh, this is a tricky one. ‘The Bucket’ is definitely the song that first got me into Kings of Leon and so it's tempting to go with that. There are others that I just have really lovely memories of, like ‘Back Down South.’ As soon as I hear that song, I’m back in Hyde Park dancing with all my friends in the crowd, while Kings of Leon headline the British Summer Time festival and that was a really lovely moment.

“But I have to pick just one don’t I?! I'm going to say ‘Fans.’ The second single from ‘Because of the Times.’ I love Caleb's voice on that track. I love the bassline. I love the fact that it's written in tribute to their fans here in the UK. With lines like “Those rainy days they ain't so bad when you're the king.” They've said that we were the first to kind of really get them, and it's a lovely thing that it was a year after ‘Fans’ was released that the band went on to headline Glastonbury."

Skin’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Use Somebody’ (2008)

Skin: “My favourite song is really, really obvious, but I don't care because I just love it. My pick is ‘Use Somebody.’

“I'm a sucker for that big heavy, trashy, splashy intro, and then it just drops down to one of the greatest vocal performances in modern rock. You’ve got Kings of Leon, a band that are hugely successful at the time, at the time being original, really weird and against the grain of a lot of things at a time. Songs like that don't come along all the time. It's emotional, it's a wonderful performance, a great band. Highly original. I love it.”

Leona Graham’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Molly’s Chambers’ (2003)

Leona Graham: “My favourite song from Kings of Leon is ‘Molly's Chambers’ because it comes straight in with that heavy dirty riff. It reminds me of early ZZ Top, even a bit of The Strokes. Then the lyrics come in. They're almost spoken. Quite dry. Then it takes it up a notch for the chorus and you can't help but groove along to this. Yes, I think I can safely say that song makes me smile.

“Now it's actually a cheeky song about a girl who's got power over you. They got the title from Thin Lizzy’s version of ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ because they say the words “Being drunk and weary, I went to Molly's chamber”, which at that time meant a brothel. So it's kind of got this dark and moody meaning to it as well.”

Danielle Perry’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Waste A Moment’ (2016)

Danielle Perry: “If we're talking Kings of Leon, I think I'd have to go ‘Waste A Moment.’ It just pulls together all their signature sounds in one go. And it sounds really, really exciting. So, when it starts off it's got that signature sound of the guitar of Kings of Leon and then it’s fall to the floor drums and this whole kind of world and this rich moment when the backing vocals comes in. There's nothing cheesy about it as well. You can hear all the elements of country and early rock and roll and blues in their music. This one is just the complete package of all that they've done to that point, up until this record ‘Walls’ in 2016. Their ability to write an incredible melody has seen them just soar these dizzy heights of top of the mainstream for such a long time.”

Claire Sturgess’ favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Red Morning Light’ (2003)

Claire Sturgess: “My favourite Kings of Leon song is the first track on that debut album ‘Youth and Young Manhood’ - ‘Red Morning Light.’ That opening guitar riff, that sleazy guitar is just (makes kissing noise) perfection. I loved it the first second I heard it.

“I think we must have had a run of very clean-cut rock stars at the time, because I found the long hair and hairy beards a real tonic at the time. They came in to do a session where I was working, and they were still quite shy and awkward and incredibly polite. They kept saying “thank you ma'am” to me. They brought in of their parents as well so it was a real family affair. Now, of course, they're selling out festivals and massive arenas and stadiums, but back in the day I was lucky enough to see them live at The 100 Club in London's Oxford Street. It doesn't matter what the size of the crowd is, you're there for some good old fashioned rock and roll, and they still deliver it to this day. But that opening track, ‘Red Morning Light’, and Caleb's sort of growling his way through the song with that southern drawl. I had no idea what he was thinking about the time and, to be quite honest, I'm not sure I do now but it was just spot on. So Kings of Leon, ‘Red Morning Light’, one of their finest.”

Ben Burrell’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Charmer’ (2007)

Ben Burrell: “I did want to pick ‘Red Morning Light’ but the Queen of Absolute Radio Claire Sturgess has already bagsied that. So instead, let's talk about ‘Charmer.’ It’s a brilliant tune taken from the wonderful album ‘Because of the Times.’ I like this because it's got a really heavy riff on it, the drums are rough and raw. In fact, at the start the drums almost sound like a punk tune. I love the early verses as well with that bass guitar and Caleb's voice and that's it. And then also, around about that time, we get the first of many squeals.

“Let's call it a scream. Scream is better, isn't it? But it sounds so great. It gives the song such an identity, such a character and Caleb's voice really again sounds raw but he's pushing it to the limits in this part of the song. It's so great to hear. But this is not just a kind of pseudo punk tune from Kings of Leon. It's a little bit more than that. Later they give it some depth and some atmosphere with that kind of pinged, shocked guitar sounds. And then in the final third, you get this instrumental section that does lots of different things, there’s lots of different styles in there. In the smallest, smallest way some of the bass notes sound quite reggae. I mean I love songs like ‘The Bucket’ and ‘Slow Night, So Long’ and ‘Happy Alone’ and I could go on. But they all sound like Kings of Leon songs. And so does this, but it's a little bit of an anomaly in terms of it sound. It’s just a little bit more raw and a little bit more punchy. I think, an album of 10 songs in this kind of medium would be so, so great.”

Sophie K’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Sex on Fire’ (2008)

“So, the Kings of Leon track that I wanted to go for was ‘Sex on Fire.’ That was the first single from their fourth studio album, which was called ‘Only By The Night.’ I have chosen this song because I remember my friend was massively into Kings of Leon and he was from Yorkshire he was always saying (puts on Yorkshire accent) ‘Sophie, you've got to get into this band, you've got to get into them.’ And I was like, ‘they’re good.’ But it wasn't until this single came out, I was like ‘this is absolutely mind blowing!’

“They kind of have always been this hairy rock band and I was like ‘yeah cool.’ And I remember when they released this song, it was like an awakening. They'd cut their hair, they look dapper, and it was such a sexy song that I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of people got into rock from that track because of how sexy and how attractive the band were at that time.”

Dan Noble’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Beautiful War’ (2013)

“My favourite Kings of Leon track is probably not a conventional choice. Of course, they're known for the big hitters like ‘Use Somebody,’ Sex on Fire,’ ‘Supersoaker.’ They're also really good at writing more chilled out and mellow songs at times. They’ve done this quite often through the years. My favourite song is ‘Beautiful War.’ It's taken from brilliant album ‘Mechanical Bull.’

“Musically, it's pretty simple. It's just a consistent bassline, drums following that. A little bit of understated guitar every now and then and, of course, some really cool harmonies as well. Lyrically, it’s a love song I guess with the signature kind of country southern rock vibes we get from Kings of Leon. It’s just got a great video as well. It features a cowboy, a bar brawl and rodeo just in case we couldn't tell quite how southern Kings of Leon are.”

Jay Lawrence’s favourite Kings of Leon song: ‘Knocked Up’ (2007)

“I think that my favourite song from Kings of Leon is actually from a really interesting point in their history. It's what I think is the beginning of a totally new era for the band, the beginning of ‘Because of the Times’ – ‘Knocked Up’, that's my favourite track from Kings of Leon.

“It’s subdued it's catchy within its own right. It's not necessarily you know ‘Sex on Fire.’ It's not even ‘On Call’ from the same record. No, it's seven-and-a-half minutes long. It's a ‘Hello, we're Kings of Leon. This is us. This is the new us.’

“You're waiting for there to be a massive chorus but we're not going to give it to you. We're going to give you a seven-and-a-half… almost epic song that is a reintroduction to Kings of Leon: a reintroduction to the band. And let's face it as well, an introduction to an album era from the band that really just put them on the way to stardom.”

Kings of Leon through the years:

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