Kings Of Leon Video Analysis

Kings Of Leon – Use Somebody


Kings Of Leon, a rock band originally from Tennessee, formed in 1999 and the band consists of three brothers and their cousin. Caleb Followill, lead vocals on the band, wrote this song about longing for somebody to have a cuddle with while feeling lonely on the road. He said on his band’s website: “It’s about being far from home.”


The single seems to try to retract a stereotypical viewpoint on popstars and people in the industry whom are all forsaken to be above themselves and believe they are better than everyone else. It is in some ways a plead to let all the fans out there know that deep down they are lonely at times...just like everyone else. This tells us they are down to earth which is a factor which can relate one to want to listen to their music as ‘they can relate to it’.
The first shot is an " inside out shot" showing a man in the frame, most probably a key person as he is the first person to be shown in the first shot. Through the windows you see the New York skyline which has several connotations such as night life, fun, excitement etc. This could signify the kind of life styles the band hand or in turn the kind of lifestyles we the viewers believe the band to have...
There is a combination of ELS, Aerial shots tracking and swooping into and over the action of the busy illuminated city at night, something which relates to their lifestyle as they are always busy and on the go...on the road as it seems very lonely.


The low-key lighting acts as a tool for enigma, the band are wearing sunglasses at night and get out the car, which likens them to 'stars'. They appear as exciting as the New York views with their placement central in the frame. Lighting is very important in this video and is predominant in the first 33 seconds of where the camera goes in and out of differently coloured lights from different sources, such as buildings etc.
Fast paced editing suggests their fast pace lifestyle, along with the sped up footage of road and cars, suggesting movement and that they’re constantly on the go. Intercut between that and them playing live performances with live audiences etc... complements the other locations where we see their 'rock star' lifestyle.
The montage sequence of editing is achieved mainly by cuts but the first time we hear words being sung, is when we see an overlap, which introduces the singer as the main singer, slowly with an overlap connecting two places together. he is the light, stars are sources of light, and he is a star, this is where editing and visuals and lyrics are all intertwined.


The shot of the airplane along with the sped up footage of the cars on the motorway seems to suggest a journey which they are on, maybe a journey to another performance as this is what we constantly see throughout. Along with this the desperate plead is made obvious when he sings “you know that I could use somebody” and looks up into the sky as if looking for God to help him, putting the audience in a position to feel sorry for him.
After these words the key man in the video sings the video cuts to a flash image of him on top of a girl in bed and cuts straight back to him on his chair. This is reality showing us his past thoughts which is why this affect has been done fast so we don’t get it mixed up with reality. He then goes on to sing the same line, only this time he is looking at the camera putting us the audience in a position to be sincere and open our hearts out to this clever gesture.
The video goes black and white for about 20 seconds as we see shots of the band rehearsing and hugging each other before a performance and just laughing with one another. This signifies that they are just as normal as the next guy, only they have a lot of money. This makes them as a band seem very down to earth and can help people relate to them, this is the boys, not the pop stars. The music at this point is very slow but the tension along with the beat begins to pick up until we see them actually performing live and the colour comes back, this is the return of the pop stars.


This video attracts its key audience by capturing live footage of the band playing whilst on tour and of them back stage socialising and being ‘themselves’. This gives the audience a chance to connect with the band, or at least create that impression, because they are shown doing everyday, normal activities which removes anything intimidating about the band and frames them as ‘real people’. The use of dimly lit rooms, rock star life-style images and various means of transport all contribute to form a video which would appeal to the genre of music’s (indie/rock) target audience.