Caleb Followill is "completely fulfilled" by Kings Of Leon's Can We Please Have Fun album

28 February 2024, 19:45 | Updated: 29 February 2024, 12:57

Caleb Followill talks "fulfilling" new Kings Of Leon album

By Jenny Mensah

The Kings Of Leon frontman has explained to Radio X's Dan O'Connell how the band genuinely did have fun making their new album and that he can be proud of it "forever".

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Caleb Followill has revealed that making the band's new album is the "most fulfilled" he's ever been.

Kings of Leon shared their new single Mustang alongside details of their forthcoming ninth studio album last week. Can We Please Have Fun, is set for release on 10th May and their frontman revealed why he believes he can be proud of the record "forever".

Asked if it feels as if there is a new lightness about the band, he told Radio X's Dan O'Connell on the Radio X Evening Show: "Well this is the most fulfilled I've ever been, I would say.

"When we finished the record and people started to hear little bits and pieces of it and we saw excitement and the things that come along with that... I told the guys and I told my wife and everyone: if this album has no success, or it's massively successful, I said it doesn't make a difference. And I meant it and I still mean it."

"I am already completely fulfilled; I set a mark for myself and I hit it," the Nashville rocker added. "And anything that comes along with this is just adding to something that already feels like I've completed something."

He went on: "It's something I can stand behind and be proud of forever."

Kings of Leon's Caleb Followill in 2023
Kings of Leon's Caleb Followill in 2023. Picture: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty Images
Kings of Leon press 2024
Kings of Leon are back with new material. Picture: Press

Much of the band's new 'lightness' comes from the band's title which Caleb says was more of a "frustrated request" to enjoy the process of making a record rather than worrying about making hits.

Quizzed if the title is a question or a statement, he revealed: "Whenever the title went about there was a conversation between the people that work with us and people at the label and stuff...

"For me I didn’t really know. It was really kind of a frustrated request. 'Like, can we please have fun?' And I meant that as in: can we enjoy this process and not over think it and just get back to going in there and trying to make music that makes us happy and never consider the outcome?

"Let's not think about what we've done in the past that's been successful or what we've done in the past that wasn't successful. Let's just think about right here right now. What makes you excited?

"And that's what we did. We went in there, to the point of, at the end of the album we were just like, 'Man, we still have more.' We just wanted to keep going because we kept beating out the stuff and every song just kept getting better... and in the process we really did have fun..."

Watch the official video for their lead single, Mustang, below:

Kings Of Leon - Mustang (Official Music Video)

The song serves as the band's first new material since their 2021 album When You See Yourself, which included the singles The Bandit and 100,000 people.

Pre-order Kings Of Leon's Can We Please Have Fun album here.

Kings of Leon's Can We Please Have Fun album artwork
Kings of Leon's Can We Please Have Fun album artwork. Picture: Press

Kings of Leon's Can We Please Have Fun tracklist:

  1. Ballerina Radio
  2. Rainbow Ball
  3. Nowhere To Run
  4. Mustang
  5. Actual Daydream
  6. Split Screen
  7. Don’t Stop The Bleeding
  8. Nothing To Do
  9. Television
  10. Hesitation Generation
  11. Ease Me On
  12. Seen

Last week also saw Kings of Leon announce their return to the UK with a headline date at BST Hyde Park on Sunday 30 June, alongside special guest Paolo Nutini and The Vaccines, with the full line-up still to be announced and tickets on sale now.

The band also treated their fans to even bigger news, announcing UK & Ireland dates as part of their Can We Please Have Fun World Tour.

Tickets for the new dates go on general sale from 9am GMT on Friday 1st March. Fans can pre-order the album from the band’s store at https://uk.kingsofleonshop.com before 5pm on Tuesday 27th February to get early access to the selected dates.

Kings of Leon's 2024 UK & Ireland dates:

  • 20th June 2024 –Leeds, First Direct Arena
  • 22nd June 2024 – Birmingham, Utilita Arena
  • 23rd June 2024 – Bristol, Ashton Gate Stadium
  • 30th June 2024 – London,  Hyde Park BST JULY - PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
  • 2nd July – Glasgow, OVO Hydro Arena
  • 4th July 2024 – Silverstone, British F1 Grand Prix - PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED
  • 6th July 2024 – Dublin Marley Park
  • 8th July 2024 – Nottingham Motorpoint Arena
  • 10th July 2024 – Manchester Co-op Live Arena

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