Everyone gets songs stuck in their heads that just won’t go away. They sneak into your subconscious. They are epic earworms that you find yourself humming uncontrollably, singing in the shower, or tapping the beat to with your foot or ballpoint pen when you should be working. Sometimes they even keep you awake at night. Whether they are current hits, one-hit wonders, movie soundtrack gems, holiday favorites, or songs from your youth, their catchy vocals, riffs, hooks, and choruses seem to linger for days.
Here, those songs find a home, no matter the genre. Here, those epic earworms are revisited, explained, and celebrated. Here, you may find the song that haunts you tomorrow. Here is today’s unescapable epic earworm of the day…and the story behind it.
Today’s Epic Earworm: Kings of Leon — “Sex on Fire”
Music video for “Sex of Fire” by Kings of Leon, courtesy of RCA
Tennessee alt-rockers Kings of Leon hit it big with their 2008 album Only by the Night. The release, their fourth full-length studio album, went platinum or multi-platinum in 10 countries and hit Number One in five of those countries. It earned the band seven Grammy nominations and four wins. A large part of the album’s popularity can be attributed to the lead single, “Sex on Fire.” The song was nominated for the Grammy for Best Rock Song and won for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal. The song received platinum certification in the U.S., 16 platinum certifications in Australia, nine in New Zealand, seven in Great Britain, and several more in other countries.
From Filler To Famous
Ironically, the song was not meant to be named “Sex on Fire.” The four Hallowill brothers wrote the music first, and while they played the melody to get it down, they threw in filler lyrics. Drummer Nathan Followill said that they played through the song a few times using “Set Us on Fire.” One of the sound mixers misheard the lyric and thought it was “Sex on Fire.” The band thought it was funny and used that filler lyric while they continued to work on the song. In the end, it stuck. Kings of Leon weren’t really sold on the song, but the label insisted on making it the lead single for the album. Looks like it worked out okay…
