The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bassists and drummers, Mark Stoermer (bass, rhythm guitar, backing vocals) and Ronnie Vannucci Jr. (drums, percussion) joined in 2002.

The Killers have released seven studio albums, each of which topped the UK Albums Chart: Hot Fuss (2004), Sam's Town (2006), Day & Age (2008), Battle Born (2012), Wonderful Wonderful (2017), Imploding the Mirage (2020), and Pressure Machine (2021). They have also released a B-sides and rarities compilation, Sawdust (2007); a live album, Live from the Royal Albert Hall (2009); two greatest-hits albums, Direct Hits (2013) and Rebel Diamonds (2023); and a Christmas compilation, Don't Waste Your Wishes (2016).

Since 2016 and 2017, respectively, Stoermer and Keuning have had extended hiatuses from the band. Stoermer mostly retired from touring, citing both exhaustion and lingering effects from a pyrotechnics accident, while Keuning released a solo album. Despite his hiatus from touring, Stoermer participated in recording sessions for Wonderful Wonderful and Imploding the Mirage, and it was announced that Keuning was participating in recording Pressure Machine, which was released in 2021. Ted Sablay, who had served as a touring keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for the band since 2006, assumed lead guitar duties for live shows in Keuning's absence, while touring rhythm guitarist and keyboardist Jake Blanton assumed the role of bassist in live shows. With Sablay moving to lead guitar, the band hired Taylor Milne and Robbie Connolly to play rhythm guitar and keyboards, respectively, live.

The Killers are considered one of the biggest rock bands of the 21st century, selling more than 28 million records worldwide, including 10.8 million in the U.S. They have performed in over 50 countries and on six continents, headlining venues such as Madison Square Garden, Wembley Stadium, Glastonbury Festival in 2007 and 2019, and Electric Picnic in Ireland in 2023.

In 2001, Brandon Flowers was fired by his first band, a synth-pop trio called Blush Response. After attending an Oasis concert at the Hard Rock Hotel during The Tour of Brotherly Love, Flowers realized his calling was to be in a rock band and began searching for like-minded musicians. He eventually came across an ad posted in a Las Vegas newspaper by Dave Keuning, a 25-year-old guitarist who had moved to Las Vegas from Iowa a year earlier. When the pair met, they bonded over similar musical influences and began writing songs together in Keuning's apartment. They named their band the Killers because that was the name of a fictional band in the video for the New Order song "Crystal". In November 2001, they headed to Kill the Messenger Studio in Henderson, Nevada, along with recently recruited drummer Matt Norcross, to record a demo. They recorded two tracks: "Mr. Brightside", the first song Flowers and Keuning wrote together, and "Desperate". A month later, they recorded two more, "Under the Gun" and "Replaceable", with Keuning's roommate Dell Neal on bass.

Keuning and Flowers played their first live show together at an open mic night at the Cafe Espresso Roma in Las Vegas in January 2002. The pair, joined by Neal and Norcross, began playing venues around the city where they handed out free copies of their demo. The Killers brought a unique style to the small Vegas music scene, which was dominated by punk, nu metal, and rap bands; one local reviewer wrote, "The Killers, thankfully, don't come across like any other band in town", and described their sound as a mix between the "pop styles of British music and the lo-fi fuzz of modern indie rock". By the summer of 2002, the Killers, whose early live sound was also described as erratic, had fired Norcross and briefly replaced him with Brian Havens, who was also eventually fired. Neal later left the band for personal reasons.

Ronnie Vannucci Jr. joined the Killers shortly before Neal's departure. Vannucci was well known in the Las Vegas music scene, having played in bands since he was young. He met the Killers in 2002 while he playing in other bands, including Daphne Major and Romance Fantasy. Vannucci's first show with the band was on August 30, 2002, at a club called The Junkyard. Playing bass that night was Mark Stoermer, who was at this point the lead guitarist for local progressive rock band the Negative Ponies. The band wanted Stoermer to join them permanently, but he was initially reluctant. They had first approached him to be the second guitarist when they were considering turning the band into a five-piece, "possibly more like the Strokes, with a keyboard". Stoermer later said he could also play bass. The band had continued as a three-piece, trying out other bassists until November 2002, when Stoermer accepted the invitation to join. According to Ryan Pardey, who booked many of the band's early shows, "They became a great band when Ronnie and Mark joined. That's when they finally became a cohesive unit. What Ronnie did — he was the discipline — and Mark was just a solid musician."

While walking through a Virgin Megastore in Las Vegas in 2002, Flowers noticed the album artwork on the then-new Elvis Presley compilation album ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits. This inspired him to use a marquee sign motif as the band's logo. The band hired Vannucci's roommate's girlfriend to design it, and the logo has been used in the band's branding, releases, promotional materials, and merchandise ever since.