Kings of Leon Debut ‘Cold Blue Dawn’ With Innovative NASA Satellite Imagery Music Video
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New coverage describes Kings of Leon’s “Cold Blue Dawn” video, made with The Weather Channel using NASA Landsat satellite images to form the song’s lyrics. The band’s Caleb Followill said the collaboration felt like a natural fit because his family already followed the channel; the company’s CEO said the project connects weather, music and people’s experiences of the world.
The bluesy single is the second preview of the band’s tenth album, *O My Beloved*, due on 6 November through Love Tap Records. The 13-track record is described as intimate and reflective, with songs drawing on family, childhood and the band’s past; it follows 2024’s *Can We Please Have Fun*.
- The new video spells out lyrics with NASA Landsat imagery.
- Kings of Leon partnered with The Weather Channel.
- “Cold Blue Dawn” previews their November album.
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Kings of Leon, an American rock band, have released a music video for their new song "Cold Blue Dawn" that uses satellite imagery from NASA in a novel way. The video, created in collaboration with The Weather Channel, incorporates images from NASA's Landsat satellite to form the lyrics of the song, blending music with earth observation technology.
The collaboration brought together three entities with different expertise: Kings of Leon, known for their rock music; The Weather Channel, which provides weather and climate information; and NASA, the American space agency. Caleb Followill, the band's lead singer, said the partnership felt natural because his family was already familiar with The Weather Channel, whilst the channel's chief executive positioned the project as connecting weather, music and people's experiences of the world.
The song is the second single from Kings of Leon's tenth studio album, titled "O My Beloved", which will be released on 6 November. The album is described as intimate and reflective, drawing on themes of family, childhood and the band's history, marking their latest work following their 2024 release "Can We Please Have Fun".
Full account
Kings of Leon have released “Cold Blue Dawn”, the second preview of their forthcoming album, *O My Beloved*, alongside a lyric video made with The Weather Channel. The song is a reflective, mid-tempo ballad in which Caleb Followill looks back on the promises and more difficult realities of a life in rock music. The new album is due on 6 November and will be the Tennessee band’s tenth studio record, following 2024’s *Can We Please Have Fun*.
The video uses images collected by NASA’s Landsat satellite programme to form the song’s lyrics. Mountains, rivers, coastlines, farmland and other landscapes appear as letters, inviting viewers to take in the details before the imagery pulls back to show wider views of Earth. Archival footage of the band outdoors also appears briefly. Landsat has gathered images of the planet since 1972, with applications including agriculture, geology, forestry and education.
The partnership followed a Weather Channel clip that set weather patterns to Kings of Leon’s 2010 song “Pyro”. The band shared that video on social media, and the exchange led to the new project. Followill said his family were regular Weather Channel viewers and that the earlier clip prompted the group to reach out. Weather Company chief executive Rohit Agarwal described the project as a meeting of music and science, arguing that weather helps shape people’s experiences and memories.
The track is the second song released from *O My Beloved*, after “My Whole World”. The album is expected to contain 13 songs and to look back on family, childhood and the band’s past. The reports describe it as the group’s first self-produced full-length album; the earlier record, *Can We Please Have Fun*, reached number 35 on the Billboard 200. Kings of Leon are also scheduled to appear at Austin City Limits Festival on 9 October.
Where outlets differ
The first report calls the song a gentle ballad about the dreams and realities of rock life, while the second characterises it as bluesy and emphasises its reflective appreciation of the natural world.
The first report gives more attention to the video’s visual sequence and the history and uses of Landsat. The second focuses more on the album’s nostalgic themes and Caleb Followill’s comments about looking back on the band’s life.
The first report identifies *O My Beloved* as the band’s first full-length self-produced album and gives the previous album’s chart position. The second instead highlights the new album’s expected 13-song track list and its focus on nostalgia and self-reflection.
Coverage
- Billboard — Kings of Leon Team Up With The Weather Channel For Groundbreaking ‘Cold Blue Dawn’ Lyric Video Using NASA Satellite Imagery
- NME — Kings Of Leon share serene new single ‘Cold Blue Dawn’ with groundbreaking Weather Channel video