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19th July, 2016
Imagine Dragons - A Profile

Fusing musical influences like Arcade Fire, Nirvana, The Beatles and Paul Simon into their music, Imagine Dragons have brought their rock of their gurus to new heights.

The band was formed in 2008 when lead singer Dan Reynolds met drummer Andrew Tolman at University where both were students. Tolman recruited longtime high school friend and later lead guitarist Daniel Wayne Sermon who had just graduated from Berklee College of Music. At the same time Tolman also recruited his wife, Brittany Tolman to sing backup. Sermon then recruited another Berklee music student, Ben McKee who had practically grown up in a recording studio. He joined the band and completed the lineup that now consisted of five members. Ben played bass in the band.

Playing in their township of Utah in the US, the band garnered a large following. After some time the band members moved to Las Vegas, where they eventually dropped their first three mini albums. The first EP, a self-titled one, arrived in 2010, followed by the second Hell and Silence in the same year. They didn't waste time and dropped another EP Its Time, a year later before they finally scored a recording deal for their full-length release. All these were recorded and released in Dan’s own studio.

The band got their big break when they were called to step in for rock band Train at the ‘Bite of Las Vegas Festival’ because lead singer and songwriter Pat Monahan of Train fell sick. Since his band could not perform, Imagine Dragons grabbed the opportunity. This sudden spurt of luck proved beneficial for them and raised their popularity to new heights among concertgoers.

Their collaboration with top-notch Grammy winning producer Alexander Grant who is known by his moniker Alex da Kid (Eminem, Rihanna) paved their way for the future. Alex who felt the band had that little extra to go a long way and make a name took them under his care. Alex and Dan began collaborating on projects, and soon the band had developed a relationship with Alex and his team. Alex’s hip hop sensibilities and Imagine Dragons’ anthemic rock fused together to bring about an explosive new sound that made its way to audiences who were looking for something new.

Working on their fourth EP “Continued Silence,” was the stepping stone to where Imagine Dragons were heading, success, after a struggle. While the first three EPs did not strike, it was the band's fourth try that hit it big. Radioactive and Demons were the tunesmiths from Imagine Dragons. Both these tracks were originally taken from EP ‘Continued Silence’ that reached top 3 on Hot 100 and continued to become one of the top 10 multiple times. It broke the record for the longest run into the top five and became the best-selling rock song on the Nielsen SoundScan running list of best-selling rock songs in digital history.

Great songwriting is bound to be noticed eventually. As proof that the harder you work, the luckier you get, Imagine Dragons were lucky they found Alex. Before the band could set foot on recording their debut album, the Tolmans left the group and Daniel Platzman recruited by invitation from Ben McKee joined in his place. Brittany too left the band being the odd one out and the only woman in the male dominated music space. The band was now a complete set of four members, with Platzman being the latest addition to the outfit.

The last EP was released with the help of Kid and the rest was music history. Their debut album ‘Night Visions’ was released in September 2012. The album peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 200, but it was singles like Radioactive and Demons that really propelled them to mainstream stardom. It took the band almost three years to make the album and the result was a set of music that immediately clocked with new found fans. It peaked at No. 6 on Billboard chart and became an instant hit in various countries. In India many took to the song especially the song Demons what with its haunting melody and vocals. The band dedicated its music video to their fan who died of cancer in 2013.

The album also reached No. 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. It won a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Album and was nominated for the Juno Award for International Album of the Year. Night Visions was certified platinum by the RIAA as well as in Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

The Grammy win they got for the single Radioactive put icing on the cake for their commercial success. They were nominated for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance at the 56th Annual Grammy awards, and won in the latter category. The band released four EPs - “Imagine Dragons” (2009), “Hell and Silence” (2010), “It’s Time” (2011) and “Continued Silence” (2012) - before releasing their debut full length album.

By the end of 2013, Radioactive had already sold over 3 million copies. Rolling Stone magazine called it "the biggest rock hit of the year". It was also the most streamed song of 2013 on Spotify in the United States.

Imagine Dragons won the 2014 Billboard Music Awards for Top Duo/Group, Top Hot 100 Artist, and Top Rock Artist. Amazon.com called the band their "Favorite Rock artist of 2012".

In April 2013 the band released a live album, Live at Independent Records.

The idea behind the second studio album began soon after in May 2013 and also after their highly successful Night Visions Tour. While on tour of the United States the band was also working on demos for their next album. By the time that they entered the studio to work on the album, they had amassed 50 demos to work from.

Inspired greatly by the band's travels on both their previous tours and the Night Visions Tour, the band released their second studio album ‘Smoke + Mirrors’ in January 2014. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200, Canadian Albums Chart and UK Albums Chart. The album was recorded at the band's home studio in Las Vegas, Nevada and self-produced by members of the band along with English hip-hop producer Alex da Kid.

The album received generally mixed reviews from music critics upon release and went on to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 in the United States, moving more than 172,000 units. Three official singles have been released from the album namely I Bet My Life, Gold and Shots.

Prior to the album’s release, Imagine Dragons released a number of singles for other projects including a song for the film ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’ called Battle Cry (June 2014) and song Warriors for the 2014 League of Legends World Championship (September 2014).

In 2013, along with the family of Tyler Robinson, Imagine Dragons started a charity named Tyler Robinson Foundation helping young people battling cancer. In 2014, the first Tyler Robinson Foundation Gala was held in Las Vegas.

In India the band is on the Universal Music label and both albums are available. The members as of now consist of Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon.

By Verus Ferreira

 


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