Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons

Imagine Dragons are an American pop rock band formed in 2008 in Las Vegas, United States. The group’s membership has changed over time, and the verified lineup includes Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon and Ben McKee, alongside Andrew Beck, Aurora Florence, Dave Lemke, Andrew Tolman, Brittany Tolman, DANiiVORY and Daniel Platzman. They are associated with KIDinaKORNER and their sound sits across alternative pop, alternative rock, electropop, indie pop, indietronica and pop.

Early success

The band’s debut single, “It’s Time”, appears in 2012 and reaches the top 20 in several international charts. Its first album, Night Visions, also arrives in 2012 and includes “Radioactive” and “Demons”. The album reaches number two in the United States and achieves platinum status by 2013. “Radioactive” becomes a major hit and sets a Billboard Hot 100 record for the longest chart run.

Albums and chart performance

Imagine Dragons’ second album, Smoke + Mirrors (2015), reaches number one in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Evolve follows in 2017 and yields the singles “Believer”, “Thunder” and “Whatever It Takes”. Origins appears in 2018 and includes “Natural”, which becomes the band’s fifth number one on the Hot Rock Songs chart. Later releases include the double album Mercury – Acts 1 & 2 (2022), which features the US top-five single “Enemy”, and Loom (2024), the first album the band records without longtime drummer Daniel Platzman.

Recognition

The band receives widespread industry recognition, including three American Music Awards, nine Billboard Music Awards, one Grammy Award, one MTV Video Music Award and one World Music Award. Billboard names them Breakthrough Band of 2013 and Biggest Band of 2017, places them first in its Year in Rock rankings for 2013, 2017 and 2018, and ranks them top in the year-end Top Artists – Duo/Group category in 2018. They also receive 14 Billboard Music Award nominations in 2014 and a further 11 in 2018.

Commercial performance

Imagine Dragons sell more than 74 million albums and 65 million digital songs worldwide, and their recordings pass about 160 billion streams across platforms. They are the most streamed group on Spotify in 2018, become the first rock act to have four songs each pass one billion streams, and are the only group in Recording Industry Association of America history to have four songs certified above diamond level. Billboard identifies “Believer”, “Thunder” and “Radioactive” as the three best-performing rock songs of the 2010s.

Critical reception

Despite their commercial success, the band’s music receives mixed critical responses.