I have come to the conclusion that Mr Brightside by The Killers might just be the best song of the past ten years

I guess it was, but several months after release ...

The premise of this song becoming a "Don't Stop Believin'" or "Sweet Caroline" for a younger generation is interesting enough ... you really don't need that lead to make it work.

i remember hearing "somebody told me" first and then "mr. brightside" coming along in its wake. didn't realize that "brightside" was actually released first.

but yeah, as the article points out, it became a massive hot 100 hit and was an alt rock radio hit for some time beforehand

Of course it was huge in 2005. I karaoked it then and my version went top ten in 14 countries

I also heard Somebody Told Me first. It was definitely an omnipresent single for a while before I first heard Mr. Brightside.

Now officially the biggest UK single of all time that hasn't got to #1 in the charts

https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-killers-mr-brightside-overtakes-oasis-wonderwall-for-uk-singles-record-3754740