The Bad Boys of Music

BY: PROVOKR Staff

John Mayer

 The notorious playboy—he’s dated Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, Jennifer Aniston to name just a few of his famous conquests—has been touring with the surviving members of the Grateful Dead in a band called Dead and Company and he’s getting ready to release a new solo album later this year. Describing the songs he’s written for the album as “all killer no filler,” Mayer has said, “I think it’s going to be one of those records that will last for a really long time.”

Pete Doherty

When the Bataclan—the Paris nightclub that was struck by terrorists last November—reopens this fall, Pete Doherty is scheduled to be the headlining act. The rocker, who’s best known for being a frontman for The Libertines, having had a romantic relationship with Kate Moss and a public battle with addiction, has been on a solo tour of late. Doherty happened to be in Paris during the November attack, which inspired him to write the song, “Hell to Pay at the Gates of Heaven.” It’s “about the fucking Bataclan … how we’re under attack,” said Doherty, who was disturbed by how young the attackers were. “At that age, when you’re desperate to fight for something, it can catch you off balance,” he said. “When you’ve got faith and belief, you’ll put as much into it as a lad who’s obsessed with guitars. So the lyrics are, ‘Come on boys, choose your weapons/J-45 or an AK-47?’”

Brandon Flowers

The Killers frontman and solo artist has the kind of cocky attitude that any decent rock star needs. “Whether the people want to accept it or not, [The Killers] might be the best band in the last long time,” Flowers told the UK’s Independent. “I’d go up any night against just about any band that’s come out in the last 15 years. Not that it’s a competition, but I do feel sometimes people don’t have a grasp on what we’ve accomplished.” The group is currently working on a new album due out by the end of the year.

Jason Derulo

The singer let it all hang out—both emotionally and physically—for his surprise 2016 single, “Naked.” Said Derulo: “That’s what I wanted to do throughout the whole mixtape. Just be open and uncut, unedited. Whatever what was on my mind at that specific time. Just be truthful. Just be myself,” he said of his music. On July 29, Derulo will be releasing a compilation album titled Platinum Hits filled with his most successful singles.

Dierks Bentley

“I’m always looking for cool sounds that inspire me,” the country star said about his recently released 8th album titled Black. Asked to describe the overall feeling of the LP, he told EW “the vibe is like—I hate using this word—but the vibe is sexy, in a well-worn, leather-jacket kind of way. It’s not, like, glossy sexy. It’s got this attitude. There’s a realness and sexiness.”

The Kills’ Jamie Hince

The male half of the band The Kills has come back stronger than ever after a hand injury (and subsequent surgeries) threatened his ability to crank out his notorious riffs. “I honestly couldn’t even say that the idea of not playing the guitar or being part of the band ever again was a fear,” said Hince. “I never even considered it because I couldn’t allow it to become an option in my head.” The capper to Hince’s recovery? The June release of the latest Kills album Fire & Ice, which features the duo showing off just how special this musical partnership has become. Summed up Hince: “Her strong points are my weak points and my weak points are her strong points, so it’s always worked really well together.“