Reconvened to record Out of Time

R.E.M. reconvened in mid-1990 to record Out of Time . In a departure from Green , the band members often wrote the music on non-traditional rock instrumentation including mandolin , organ , and acoustic guitar instead of adding them later in the process. Released in March 1991, Out of Time was the band’s first album to top both the US and UK charts. The record eventually sold 4.2 million copies in the US alone, and about 12 million copies worldwide by 1996. The album’s lead single, ” Losing My Religion “, was a worldwide hit that received heavy rotation on radio, MTV , and VH1 . “Losing My Religion” was also R.E.M.’s highest-charting single in the US, reaching number four on the Billboard charts. “There’ve been very few life-changing events in our career because our career has been so gradual,” Mills said years later. In 2024, he added: “If we’d sold ten million of our first record, I doubt any of us would be alive right now.” Regarding a pivotal moment, he said: “If you want to talk about life changing, I think ‘Losing My Religion’ is the closest it gets”. The album’s second single, ” Shiny Happy People “—one of three songs on the record to feature vocals from Kate Pierson of fellow Athens band the B-52s , was also a major hit, reaching number 10 in the US and number six in the UK. Out of Time garnered R.E.M. seven nominations at the 1992 Grammy Awards , the most nominations of any artist that year. The band won three awards: one for Best Alternative Music Album and two for “Losing My Religion”, Best Short Form Music Video and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal . R.E.M. did not tour to promote Out of Time ; instead, the band played a series of shows, including an appearance taped for an episode of MTV Unplugged and released music videos for each song on the video album This Film Is On . The band also performed “Losing My Religion” with members of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Madison–Morgan Cultural Center, in Madison, Georgia , as part of MTV’s 10th-anniversary special.