Imagine Dragons is a rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada. They gained exposure after the release of their debut studio album, Night Visions, in September 2012. Since then, they have gone on a world tour, and gained exposure on major late night shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon. Billboard magazine named them "The Breakthrough Band of 2013", and Rolling Stone magazine called their single Radioactive "the biggest rock hit of the year."
History
Early Years (2008-2010)
In 2008, lead singer Dan Reynolds met drummer Andrew Tolman at Brigham Young University, where they were both students. They recruited Aurora Florence, Dave Lemke, and Andrew Beck for their band (Dan Reynolds acted as lead vocalist, Andrew Tolman was the drummer, Aurora Florence acted as the violinist and vocalist, Dave Lemke was the guitarist, and Andrew Beck acted the keyboardist and volcalist). The original band recorded an unofficial album, Speak To Me, and 7 demos (which were given to a fan by Aurora and later recovered in July 2017). Aurora Florence and Andrew Beck left after less than a year. In 2009, Tolman recruited longtime high school friend Daniel Wayne Sermon, who had recently returned to his hometown of American Fork, Utah from the Berklee College of Music. Tolman later recruited his wife, Brittany Tolman, to sing backup and play keys. Sermon then recruited another Berklee music student, Ben McKee, to join the band after recording their first EP from this lineup, Imagine Dragons (EP). With Reynolds singing lead, Imagine Dragons won BYU’s "Battle of the Bands" and other local competitions. The band released another EP titled Hell and Silence in 2010, recorded at Battle Born Studios, in Las Vegas, NV.
They got their first big break when Train's frontman fell sick just prior to the Bite of Las Vegas Festival 2010. Imagine Dragons were called to fill in and performed to a crowd of more than 26,000 people. Local accolades including "Best Local Indie Band 2010" (Las Vegas Weekly), "Las Vegas' Newest Must See Live Act" (Las Vegas CityLife),Vegas Music Summit Headliner 2010, and more sent the band on a positive trajectory.
International success (2011-2012)
They returned to the studio in 2011 to make another EP, It's Time, before they signed a record deal. It's Time was named the "Best CD of 2011" by Las Vegas SEVEN Magazine. Early members Andrew Tolman and Brittany Tolman left the band in July 2011 and were replaced by current drummer Daniel Platzman and Theresa Flaminio, who left the band in January 2012. In November 2011 they signed with Interscope Records and began working with Grammy winning producer Alex da Kid. They worked closely with producer Alex Da Kid with whom they recorded their first major label release at Westlake Recording Studios in West Hollywood, California. Their first major-label EP entitled Continued Silence was released on Valentine's Day (February 14, 2012) digitally and peaked at #40 on the Billboard 200.
Shortly after, It's Time was released as a single and peaked at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. It holds the record for the longest run on the 2012 Alternative Top 10 charts. The music video debuted on April 17, 2012 on all MTV affiliates and subsequently nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the "Best Rock Video" category. It's Time was certified a double platinum single by the RIAA.
The band finished recording its debut album Night Visions in the summer of 2012 at Studio X inside Palms Casino Resort and released the album in the United States on the day after Labor Day (September 4, 2012). It peaked at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales in excess of 83,000 copies, the highest charting for a debut rock album since 2006. The album also reached #1 on the Billboard Alternative and Rock Album charts as well as the top ten on the Australian, Austrian, Canadian, Dutch, German, Irish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Scottish, Spanish, and United Kingdom Albums charts. Night Visions is certified platinum by the RIAA as well as in Canada, Portugal, and the UK. It is certified gold in Australia, Austria, New Zealand, Norway, Philippines, Sweden, and Switzerland. To date, the album has produced three tracks charting in the Billboard Hot 100, four tracks charting in the UK Top 40, and three tracks in the ARIA Top 50.
Their second single, Radioactive, reached #1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs, Billboard Rock Songs, and Swedish Singles charts and has sold more than five million singles in the United States, spending more than 1 year consecutively on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at #3 becoming their first top ten single in the United States and broke the record for the longest run into the top five. It is the seventh best-selling rock song on the Nielsen SoundScan running list of best-selling rock songs in digital history. Rolling Stone called it "the biggest rock hit of the year." The music video was also nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the "Best Rock Video" category. The album's third single, Demons, reached #2 on the "Billboard Alternative Songs" and has sold more than 1 million copies in the United States.
Billboard listed them as one of "2012's Brightest New Stars" and later "The Breakout Band of 2013". Amazon.com called the band their "Favorite Rock Artist of 2012".
Imagine Dragons has performed "It's Time" live on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2012) and Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2012) and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2012), and Conan (2013). They performed "Radioactive" live on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (2012), The Late Show with David Letterman (2013), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (2013), and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2013). They also performed on Good Morning America (2013). Imagine Dragons took a tour around the United States, Canada, and many countries in Europe, featuring their album, Night Visions in 2012. The tour sold out with the exception of two nearly sold out shows. In 2013, Imagine Dragons returned to Europe and North America with the Night Visions Tour. The band announced 13 additional U.S. summer tour dates which also sold out.
Charitable contributions
The group along with the family started The Tyler Robinson Foundation named after Tyler Robinson who died of cancer and was a fan of Imagine Dragons. The foundation helps people battling with cancer.
Influences
Dan Reynolds cites Arcade Fire, Muse, The Beatles, Paul Simon, and Harry Nilsson as some of his and the band's artistic influences. In terms of success, Reynolds credits the groundbreaking work of bands like Mumford & Sons for bringing indie rock to a new levels of commercial success in recent years.
Band Members
Current Members
- Dan Reynolds - Vocals, Percussion, Guitar (2008–present)
- Ben McKee - Bass, Backing Vocals, Keyboards (2009–present)
- Wayne "Wing" Sermon - Guitar, Cello, Backing Vocals (2009–present)
- Daniel Platzman - Drums, Viola, Backing Vocals (2011–present)
Former Members
- Andrew Tolman - Drums, Backing Vocals (2008–2011)
- Aurora Florence - Piano, Vocals, Violin (2008)
- Andrew Beck - Guitar, Vocals (2008)
- Dave Lemke - Bass (2008-2009)
- Brittany Tolman - Piano, Backing Vocals (2009–2011)
- Theresa Flaminio - Piano, Backing Vocals (2011–2012)
Touring Members
- Ryan Walker - Piano, Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals, Tambourine (2012–2015)
- Will Wells - Piano, Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals (2015–2017)
- Elliot Schwartzman - Piano, Keyboards, Rhythm Guitar, Mandolin, Backing Vocals (2017–Present)
Discography
Studio Albums
- Night Visions (2012)
- Smoke + Mirrors (2015)
- Evolve (2017)
- Origins (2018)
Extended Plays
- Speak To Me (2008)
- Imagine Dragons (2009)
- Hell and Silence (2010)
- It's Time (2011)
- Continued Silence (2012)
- Hear Me (2012)
- The Archive (2013)
- iTunes Session (2013)
- Live At AllSaints Studios (2017)