50 Fun Facts About Imagine Dragons

Which member of Imagine Dragons plays guitar?

Wayne Sermon is the band's lead guitarist; he joined Dan Reynolds in 2009 and recruited bassist Ben McKee, his former classmate.

In which city are Imagine Dragons based?

Imagine Dragons are based in Las Vegas, Dan Reynolds's hometown, where the band relocated from Utah in 2009 and built its early following.

Where did Dan Reynolds meet the band's original drummer in 2008?

Reynolds met the band's first drummer while both were students at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, in 2008, and the band formed there.

What is the band's name, according to Reynolds?

Reynolds has said 'Imagine Dragons' is an anagram of a phrase known only to the members, who have kept the original words secret.

Whose illness gave the band its first big break at the 2009 Bite of Las Vegas Festival?

Train frontman Pat Monahan fell ill before the 2009 festival, and the then-unsigned Imagine Dragons were asked to fill Train's headline slot in front of a huge crowd.

Which label signed Imagine Dragons in November 2011?

Imagine Dragons signed with Interscope Records in November 2011, after releasing three EPs independently between 2009 and 2011.

Which English producer did the band start working with after signing?

Alex da Kid, the London-born producer of Eminem's 'Love the Way You Lie', recorded the band's first major-label release with them at Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood.

What was Imagine Dragons' debut single, released in February 2012?

'It's Time' was released as the band's debut single in February 2012 and peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100.

What was the band's debut album?

Night Visions, released in September 2012, was finished at Studio X inside the Palms Casino Resort and peaked at number two on the Billboard 200.

The band's debut was the highest-charting debut rock album since which year?

The album opened at number two on the Billboard 200 with over 83,000 first-week sales, the highest chart debut by a rock act's first album since 2006.

How many weeks did 'Radioactive' spend on the Billboard Hot 100, a record at the time?

'Radioactive' logged 87 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, a longevity record that stood until The Weeknd's 'Blinding Lights' passed it in 2021.

Which Grammy did 'Radioactive' win at the 2014 ceremony?

'Radioactive' won Best Rock Performance at the January 2014 Grammys, where it was also nominated for Record of the Year.

Which rapper joined the band for a 'Radioactive' / 'M.A.A.D City' medley at the 2014 Grammys?

Kendrick Lamar performed a mash-up of 'Radioactive' and his own 'm.A.A.d city' with the band at the January 2014 Grammys.

What peak did 'Demons' reach on the Billboard Hot 100?

'Demons' peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 2014 and spent 61 weeks on the chart.

Which 2014 film got the Imagine Dragons song 'Battle Cry'?

'Battle Cry' was written for Michael Bay's Transformers: Age of Extinction and released in June 2014, the month the film opened.

What was the lead single from Smoke + Mirrors?

'I Bet My Life' was released in October 2014 as the lead single from Smoke + Mirrors, followed by 'Gold' and 'Shots'.

Which retailer aired a live commercial of the band performing 'Shots' during the 2015 Grammys?

Target bought a four-minute block of the 2015 Grammys broadcast for a live commercial of the band playing 'Shots', nine days before Smoke + Mirrors came out.

Whose 'I Love You All the Time' did the band cover in December 2015 for Paris attack victims?

Eagles of Death Metal were on stage at the Bataclan during the November 2015 attacks; Imagine Dragons covered their song for the Play It Forward relief campaign.

'Sucker for Pain', with Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa and others, came from which film's soundtrack?

'Sucker for Pain' appeared on the Suicide Squad soundtrack in June 2016, teaming Imagine Dragons with Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Logic, Ty Dolla Sign and X Ambassadors.

Which 2016 sci-fi film featured the song 'Levitate'?

'Levitate' was released in December 2016 from the soundtrack of Passengers, the sci-fi film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt.

What was hidden in Morse code in the teaser videos for 'Believer'?

The time-lapse videos showed the singer drawing surreal images.

Which product's Super Bowl ad used 'Believer' in 2017?

Nintendo's Super Bowl LI commercial for the Nintendo Switch in February 2017 was soundtracked by 'Believer', days after the single's release.

What was the band's third studio album, released in June 2017?

It earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album despite mixed reviews.

Which of the band's 2017 singles won the 2018 MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock Video?

'Whatever It Takes' won Best Rock Video at the 2018 MTV Video Music Awards; the song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Which esports team did Imagine Dragons become co-owners of in 2018?

In 2018 Imagine Dragons joined Steve Aoki as investors in ReKTGlobal, the parent company of the esports team Rogue.

'Natural' served as the 2018 anthem for what?

'Natural' was the official anthem of the 2018 ESPN College Football season, and the band played the championship game's halftime show in January 2019.

Which Disney animated film used 'Zero' over its end credits?

'Zero' was written for Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018) and plays over its end credits; it was the second single from Origins.

Which 2017 Imagine Dragons single opens with 'Just a young gun with a quick fuse'?

'Thunder', released in April 2017, opens with the line 'Just a young gun with a quick fuse' and topped Billboard's Hot Rock Songs chart.

Which Italian singer features on the final Origins single, 'Birds'?

'Birds' was reissued in June 2019 as a duet with the Italian singer Elisa, becoming the fifth and final single from Origins.

Which Netflix series' soundtrack featured 'Enemy' with rapper JID?

'Enemy', with the Atlanta rapper JID, was written for Arcane, Netflix's 2021 animated series set in the League of Legends universe, and serves as its opening theme.

What was the lead single from Mercury - Act 2?

'Bones', released in March 2022, led Mercury – Act 2, which followed in July 2022 and was also packaged with Act 1 as a double album.

Which former member returned as touring drummer when Daniel Platzman stepped away in 2023?

Andrew Tolman, the band's founding drummer, rejoined as touring drummer in 2023 after Daniel Platzman stepped back from the road.

Where was the concert filmed for Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas, released on Hulu in 2023?

Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas was filmed at Allegiant Stadium, the Raiders' home, during the band's Mercury World Tour stop in September 2022.

Which video game did the band promote with 'Children of the Sky' in 2023?

'Children of the Sky (a Starfield Song)' was released in September 2023 to mark the launch of Starfield, Bethesda's space role-playing game.

What was the lead single from the 2024 album Loom?

'Eyes Closed', released in March 2024, was the lead single from Loom, which followed on 28 June 2024.

Imagine Dragons were the first rock act to have how many songs pass one billion streams each?

Radioactive, Demons, Believer and Thunder; the same four are certified above Diamond by the RIAA.

Which frontman said Nickelback were handing Imagine Dragons the scapegoat baton?

Slipknot's Corey Taylor said in an interview that Nickelback had passed the 'scapegoat baton' to Imagine Dragons, the band that had inherited the flak once aimed at Nickelback.

What is the name of the charity the band founded in 2013 to help young people with cancer?

The Tyler Robinson Foundation, named for a teenage fan who died of cancer in 2013, supports families of young cancer patients and holds an annual gala.

Which festival did the band help organise in 2017 to raise awareness of LGBTQ youth?

Dan Reynolds founded the LoveLoud Festival, first held in Orem, Utah, in August 2017 to support LGBTQ youth in the Latter-day Saint community.

Which composer collaborated with the band's singer on the 2018 single 'Skipping Stones'?

'Skipping Stones' was a 2018 collaboration between Dan Reynolds and the film composer Hans Zimmer, released alongside Reynolds's documentary Believer.

What did the band's United24 ambassadorship raise money for in 2022?

Imagine Dragons became ambassadors of UNITED24, the fundraising platform launched by President Zelensky in May 2022, raising money for ambulances for Ukrainian medics.

Which two bands did the singer credit with taking alternative pop to new heights before Imagine Dragons?

His stated influences include Arcade Fire, Nirvana, Muse, the Beatles, Paul Simon and Harry Nilsson.

Which Imagine Dragons song was written for the 2014 League of Legends World Championship?

'Warriors' was written for Riot Games' 2014 League of Legends World Championship and became the band's first tie-in with the game franchise.

Which DJ collaborated with Imagine Dragons on 'Born to Be Yours' and later 'Stars Will Align'?

Norwegian DJ Kygo released 'Born to Be Yours' with the band in June 2018, a track later added to the international deluxe edition of Origins.

Which producer executive-produced the band's Mercury albums?

Rick Rubin executive-produced both Mercury – Act 1 (September 2021) and Mercury – Act 2 (July 2022), working with the band at his Shangri-La studio in Malibu.

Which VR rhythm game released a paid Imagine Dragons music pack of ten songs in June 2019?

Beat Saber, the VR rhythm game from Czech developer Beat Games, released its Imagine Dragons Music Pack of ten songs in June 2019.

Which Latin star featured on the May 2024 remix of 'Eyes Closed'?

Colombian reggaeton star J Balvin featured on the May 2024 remix of the single, released ahead of the album Loom's arrival that June.

Where did the band record its first two EPs, including Hell and Silence?

The self-titled 2009 EP and Hell and Silence (2010) were both recorded at Battle Born Studios, Las Vegas, before the band signed to a major label.

Roughly how big was the crowd Imagine Dragons played to when they filled in for Train in 2009?

Stepping in for Train at a 2009 festival, the unsigned band played to a crowd of more than 26,000, by far its biggest audience at the time.

Which Imagine Dragons song's video was released in support of World Mental Health Day in 2022?

The video for 'I Don't Like Myself', a Mercury – Act 2 track about self-acceptance, was released on 10 October 2022 to mark World Mental Health Day.