Fun. Inspired by Kanye West’s ‘My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy’

One of alternative rock's breakout bands has a not-so-hidden secret. The guys from fun. state that listening to hip-hop played a big role in the creation of their hit 'Some Nights' release.

In fact, singer Nate Ruess says it was Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' that played a big role in inspiring their album. He tells NME, "Kanye West's 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' changed everything for me. I really only listened to hip-hop when making this album, but I didn't use it as inspiration until 'My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy' came out. It's hip-hop production with a real theatricality."

Ruess says listeners should be able to hear the influence on the disc, but has a few pointers for those that don't. "There was the heartbeat, which was taken from Kanye's 'Runaway.' That's in about half the songs on the album. It was all I was listening to. I was obsessed with it." The singer says the obsession went so far as to employ several people who had worked on Kanye's release.

fun. will take their Kanye-inspired disc on the road this summer. They kick off their next leg of touring at the Sasquatch Festival in George, Wash. on May 28 and will make appearances at the MTV Movie Awards (June 3) and Bonnaroo (June 10) on this run before wrapping up at Milwaukee's Summerfest on June 29. They also have a June 4 late night TV appearance on ABC's 'Jimmy Kimmel Live.'