Dan Reynolds | |
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![]() Reynolds in 2017 | |
Born | Daniel Coulter Reynolds July 14, 1987 |
Occupations |
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Years active | 2008–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 4 |
Musical career | |
Genres | |
Instruments |
|
Labels | Interscope |
Member of | Imagine Dragons |
Formerly of | Egyptian |
Website | imaginedragonsmusic |
Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) [3] is an American singer. He is the lead vocalist and a founding member of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons, which formed in 2008. He is a recipient of the Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award. [4] [5]
Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled Egyptian, [6] as a duo with his then wife Aja Volkman under the moniker Egyptian. [7]
Reynolds was born in Las Vegas, the seventh of nine children (eight boys and one girl) of Christene M. (née Callister) and Ronald Reynolds, a lawyer and author. [8] Both are natives of Nevada, and Reynolds is a 4th generation Nevadan. [9] As a Boy Scout he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2005. [10] [11] Reynolds was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). When he was 19 years old he volunteered full-time as a missionary in Nebraska for two years. [12] [13] [14] [15] As of 2024, Reynolds was no longer a practicing member of the LDS Church. [16]
Reynolds wrote the song "I Bet My Life" celebrating and reflecting on his enduring relationship with his parents. [17] Following his graduation from Bonanza High School, he attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas (after losing his ecclesiastical endorsement for Brigham Young University (BYU)) and then transferred to BYU after serving an LDS mission, where he studied communications, marketing, and music and excelled academically. [18] [19] While at BYU, he formed Imagine Dragons and won the school's Battle of the Bands competition before leaving to pursue music full-time. [20] [lower-alpha 1]
Reynolds was initially reluctant to become a professional musician, partially because future bandmate Wayne Sermon had once told him: "Don't do music because you want to do music - do music if you have to do music". [22] After he began attending Brigham Young University, Reynolds found that he could not "do anything else" and committed fully to a professional music career. In Utah, Reynolds met and recruited drummer Andrew Tolman to form Imagine Dragons. [23] With Reynolds as lead vocalist, Imagine Dragons won BYU's "Battle of the Bands" and other local competitions. [24] Bassist Ben McKee joined the band in Las Vegas and after Tolman's departure 2011 invited Daniel Platzman, also a friend of Wayne's from Berklee College of Music, to play drums, thus completing the group's current lineup. The band relocated to Las Vegas, where they began performing almost nightly as a lounge act. [12] [25] [26] It was there in 2009 that they caught their first big break when Train's frontman, Pat Monahan, fell sick just prior to the Bite of Las Vegas Festival. Imagine Dragons were called to fill in for them and performed in front of a crowd of more than 26,000 people. [27] In November 2011, they signed with Interscope Records and began working with Grammy award-winning producer Alex da Kid. [28]
Imagine Dragons released their debut studio album Night Visions on September 4, 2012. The album was preceded by their first single "It's Time", released on August 18, 2012. Night Visions charted in the top ten albums in the U.S. in 2012, 2013, and 2014. [29] It won a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Album and was nominated for a Juno Award for International Album of the Year. [30] The album's second single, "Radioactive", reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Radioactive" set the all-time record for the longest reign at the top of the Billboard Rock Songs chart, with 23 consecutive weeks. It also broke the all-time record for longest run on the Billboard Hot 100, with 87 weeks, a record that would remain unbroken until The Weeknd's smash single "Blinding Lights" charted for an 88th week on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 2021. [31] [32] Rolling Stone called it "the biggest rock hit of the year". [33] [34] It is the best-selling rock song in digital history, with sales of more than 7.5 million copies in the United States, and was certified diamond by the RIAA. [35] [36] The third single, "Demons", reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the eighth best-selling rock song in digital history with sales in excess of 5 million copies in the United States. Imagine Dragons were nominated for two Grammy Awards, Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance; they won the latter. They also won two AMAs for Favorite Alternative Artist, a Teen Choice Award for Choice Rock Group, a World Music Award for World's Best Rock Act, and a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Artist. The band made their major festival headlining debut at the Made In America Music Festival in 2014 and also drew large crowds and positive reviews at festivals such as Lollapalooza Brazil in 2014. [37] [38]
Imagine Dragons released their second album, Smoke + Mirrors, in February 2015. Smoke + Mirrors debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, UK Albums Chart, and Canadian Albums Chart. [39] [40] Two of the album's four singles, "I Bet My Life" and "Shots", charted on the Billboard Hot 100. [41] [42]
Imagine Dragons released their third album Evolve on June 23, 2017. Evolve debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. Singles "Believer", "Thunder", and "Whatever It Takes", each of which have charted at number 4, number 4, and number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. [43] Believer topped the Billboard Hot Rock Songs (29 weeks), Alternative Songs (13 weeks), and Adult Top 40 charts. Thunder also topped the Billboard Hot Rock Songs (22 weeks so far) and Alternative Songs chart (3 weeks so far), as well as the Mainstream Top 40 chart. Whatever It Takes topped the Billboard Rock Songs chart (17 weeks so far) and Alternative Songs chart (3 weeks). [44] [45] [46] In 2018, the band was nominated for two more Grammy Awards and received the iHeartRadio Music Award for Alternative Rock Artists of the Year. [47]
Imagine Dragons released their fourth studio album Origins on November 9, 2018. The album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200. The singles "Natural" and "Bad Liar" peaked at number #13 and #56 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Imagine Dragons released their fifth studio album Mercury - Act 1 on September 3, 2021. The album debuted at number nine on the Billboard 200. The singles "Follow You" and "Enemy" peaked at number #68 and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Mercury - Act 2 , the second part of the album, was released on July 1, 2022. The single "Bones" peaked at number #47 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Imagine Dragons plan on releasing their sixth studio album Loom on June 28, 2024. The lead single "Eyes Closed" peaked at 7 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles on April 20, 2024. [48]
Reynolds was invited to perform an opening set for Nico Vega in 2010; this was when he met Aja Volkman, the group's lead singer. He asked her to help him finish some demos he was developing. [49] [7] [50] [51] The two began collaborating, and formed Egyptian. [7] They recorded, produced, and independently released a four track eponymous EP digitally. They have only performed this material once live. [52]
In 2013, Reynolds discovered the unsigned alternative band X Ambassadors. After connecting with the band, he brokered a record deal for them with KidinaKorner/Interscope Records. [53] Dan co-wrote a few songs on their debut album VHS , which has gone on to achieve Platinum certification by the RIAA. [54]
In 2016, Reynolds formed Night Street Records, an imprint label under Interscope Records. His first signing was alternative hip-hop artist K.Flay. [55]
He organized the charity festival Loveloud, held August 26, 2017, in Orem, to "fight against teen suicide and to bring communities [...] and encourage acceptance" of LGBTQ youth. [56] The concert donated the profits to LGBT organizations The Trevor Project, GLAAD, and others. Performing acts included Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, Krewella, Joshua James, and Nicholas Petricca (of Walk the Moon). [57] [58] [59] The film Believer , centering on LGBTQ youth suicides in Utah, and the Loveloud concert, premiered at Sundance on January 20, 2018, and on HBO on June 25, 2018.
A second Loveloud festival was held on July 28, 2018, at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City. [60] Acts included Imagine Dragons, Zedd, Mike Shinoda (of Linkin Park), Grace VanderWaal, Tyler Glenn (of Neon Trees), Vagabon, A.W., and Cameron Esposito. [61] [62] [63] An estimated 35,000 people attended the 2018 event and raised approximately a million dollars for the various charities. [64] The event was live streamed for free on YouTube, sponsored by AT&T. [65] [66] During his appearance at the 2018 festival, Utah's Lieutenant Governor Spencer Cox announced Governor Gary Herbert's declaration [67] of July 28, 2018, as "Loveloud Day in Utah". [68]
The third Loveloud festival occurred on June 29, 2019, at USANA Amphitheater in West Valley City. In addition to Reynolds, featured performers included Kesha, Daya, Tegan & Sara, Pvris, and K. Flay. [69] Martin Garrix was also originally booked to perform; however, due to an injury, he was unable to attend the festival. [70] In his absence, indie pop band AJR made an appearance. Former BYU mascot and dancer, Charlie Bird, also performed a choreographed number along with some dancers from the BYU Cougarettes. Other notable speakers included Reynolds' ex-wife Aja Volkman, Shannon Beveridge and X González.
Reynolds cites Arcade Fire, Nirvana, Muse, The Beatles, Paul Simon, Coldplay, Linkin Park, [71] Harry Nilsson, and U2 as some of his and the band's artistic influences. He credits bands like Foster the People and Mumford & Sons for bringing alternative pop music to a new level of commercial success in recent years. [72]
On March 5, 2011, Reynolds married Aja Volkman. The two have three daughters and a son. Their first daughter was born on August 18, 2012. Their fraternal twin daughters were born on March 28, 2017. Their son was born on October 1, 2019. [73] [74]
On April 26, 2018, Reynolds announced that after just over seven years of being married, he and Volkman would divorce. [75] On November 7, 2018, Reynolds announced, along with the release of the Imagine Dragons song "Bad Liar", that he and Volkman never went through with the divorce, that she helped co-write the song with him earlier in the year, and they were together once again. [76] On September 16, 2022, Reynolds announced that he and Volkman were again separating. [77] Volkman officially filed for divorce on April 18, 2023. The filing arrived months after the couple announced their separation. [78] The divorce was finalized on March 26, 2024. [79]
Reynolds suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, which he announced during a concert at the First Direct Arena in Leeds in 2015 during the band's Smoke + Mirrors tour. [80] In 2016 he partnered with Novartis's ThisASLife to raise awareness about the severe inflammatory disease. [80] During the same year, Reynolds said in an interview that he had been heavily depressed for the past two years and often sees a therapist. [81] He has also suffered from ulcerative colitis since the age of 21. [80] Many songs on Night Visions were inspired by his depression. He aims to destigmatize and change how society sees depression and the act of seeking professional help. [82] In April 2018, he began to talk about his physical and mental health struggles on his social media accounts and continues to offer encouraging messages of support to his fans and others struggling as well. [83]
Reynolds and his mother Christene appear in the Paramount+ series From Cradle to Stage, hosted by Dave Grohl and his mother Virginia Hanlon Grohl. The Reynolds episode aired on May 6, 2021. [84]
Reynolds grew up in the LDS Church but has stated he has doctrinal disagreements with the church's stance on homosexuality. [85] During a 2021 interview with Attitude he described himself as "non-Mormon"; [86] the following month, he stated "I'm not raising my kids in any religiousness if that means anything. I'm more spiritual based and religion hasn't really been my cup of tea." [87] Reynolds has since left the church. [88]
Reynolds is a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu and he competed in the white belt division of a Jiu-Jitsu World League tournament at UCLA on July 2, 2023, winning a bronze medal. [89]
Studio albums
Music | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Song(s) | Artist | Album | Role |
2011 | All tracks | Egyptian | Egyptian - EP | Co-writer, producer, performer [90] |
2013 | "Stranger" | X Ambassadors | Love Songs Drug Songs | Co-writer, producer [91] |
2014 | "Tessa" | Various Artists for Transformers: Age of Extinction – The Score | Transformers: Age of Extinction – The Score | Vocals |
"Nothing Quite Like Home" | G. Love & Special Sauce featuring Ben Harper | Sugar | Co-writer [92] [93] | |
"I Believe (Get Over Yourself)" "I'm On Fire" | Nico Vega | Lead to Light | Co-writer, producer [94] [95] | |
2015 | "Fear" | X Ambassadors | VHS | Vocals, co-writer, producer [91] |
2016 | "Someone Else" | Steve Angello | Wild Youth | Vocals |
"Hands" | Various Artists for Orlando | Non-album single | Vocals [96] | |
2017 | "Last Day Alive" | The Chainsmokers featuring Florida Georgia Line | Memories...Do Not Open | Co-writer [97] |
2018 | "Lyin'" | Bishop Briggs | Church of Scars | Vocals, co-writer [98] |
"Skipping Stones" | Dan Reynolds and Hans Zimmer | Non-album single | Vocals, co-writer [99] | |
2019 | "Hustle" | Pink | Hurts 2B Human | Guitar, co-writer, backing vocals |
"This Baby Don't Cry" | K.Flay | Solutions | Co-writer | |
"Original Me" | Yungblud | The Underrated Youth - EP | Vocals, co-writer [100] | |
"My Own Dance" | Kesha | High Road | Co-writer | |
2020 | "Stand Up" | Tom Morello | Non-album single | Vocals, co-writer |
2021 | "Good Girl" | K.Flay | Inside Voices / Outside Voices | Co-writer |
2023 | "Life is Beautiful" | Thirty Seconds to Mars | It's the End of the World but It's a Beautiful Day | Co-writer, composer |
2024 | "Abyss" | Yungblud | Non-album single | Co-writer |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Impractical Jokers | Himself | Season 2, Episode 23: "Enter the Dragons" |
2015 | A History of Rock | Older Jack | Narrator [101] |
2016 | Kung Fu Panda 3 | Song credit; score includes portions of I'm So Sorry | |
Me Before You | Song credit; score includes "Not Today" | ||
2018 | Believer | Himself [102] [103] | |
Ralph Breaks the Internet | Himself (voice role) | Sings Zero during end credits | |
2020 | Hell's Kitchen | Himself | Guest diner; Season 19, Episode 3: "Hell Caesar!" |
2021 | From Cradle to Stage | Himself | Season 1, Episode 1: "Dan and Christene Reynolds" |
Arcane | Himself (voice role) | Season 1, Episode 5: "Everybody Wants to Be My Enemy" | |
2023 | Imagine Dragons: Live in Vegas | Himself | |
Since 2013, Imagine Dragons along with the family of Tyler Robinson formed and support The Tyler Robinson Foundation, helping young people battling cancer. [105] [106] During the foundation's 2018 annual gala, it raised $2.1 million to support young people battling cancer. [107]
Imagine Dragons have also partnered with Do The Write Thing: National Campaign to Stop Violence (presided over by Reynolds' uncle), [108] Amnesty International's "Bringing Human Rights Home", [109] OneOrlando Fund's "All Is One Orlando Unity Concert", [110] and Crackle's "Playing It Forward" (S1 E2). [111]
In 2015, Imagine Dragons released the track "I Was Me" with all proceeds going to the One4 project to help fleeing refugees, particularly in the Middle East. [112] He also helped organize the Loveloud Fest to benefit LGBTQ organizations. [113]
Nico Vega is an American indie rock band formed in 2005 in Los Angeles, California, United States. They consist of lead vocalist Aja Volkman, lead guitarist Rich Koehler, and drummer Dan Epand.
Imagine Dragons are an American pop rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada, and currently consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, and bassist Ben McKee. The band first gained exposure with the release of their single "It's Time", followed by their debut album Night Visions (2012), which resulted in the chart-topping singles "Radioactive" and "Demons". Rolling Stone named "Radioactive", which held the record for most weeks charted on the Billboard Hot 100, the "biggest rock hit of the year". MTV called them "the year's biggest breakout band", and Billboard named them their "Breakthrough Band of 2013" and "Biggest Band of 2017", and placed them at the top of their "Year in Rock" rankings for 2013, 2017, and 2018. Imagine Dragons topped the Billboard Year-End "Top Artists – Duo/Group" category in 2018.
"It's Time" is the debut single by American rock band Imagine Dragons, released on February 6, 2012, as the lead single from the band's first major label EP, Continued Silence. Later that year the song was included on the band's first full album Night Visions. The song had already been included on the band's independently released EP It's Time (2011), and it had been available on YouTube since 2010.
"Radioactive" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons from their major-label debut EP Continued Silence and later on their debut studio album, Night Visions (2012), as the opening track. It was first sent to modern rock radio on October 29, 2012, and then released to contemporary hit radio on April 9, 2013. Musically, "Radioactive" is an electronic rock and alternative rock song with elements of dubstep. In a 2021 interview, Dan Reynolds revealed that after almost a decade, he had realized that the lyrics were actually about him not giving up hope after losing faith in Mormonism.
Egyptian was an American indie rock duo band and the side project of formerly married singers Dan Reynolds and Aja Volkman.
"On Top of the World" is a song by the American rock band Imagine Dragons first appearing on their major-label debut extended play Continued Silence (2012). The song also appears on their first full-length album Night Visions (2012). "On Top of the World" was released digitally as a single on March 18, 2013.
Benjamin Arthur McKee is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the bassist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
Aja Volkman is an American singer and songwriter, best known as the frontwoman of the indie rock band Nico Vega. She has also released an EP titled Egyptian as a duo with her then husband Dan Reynolds under the moniker Egyptian.
Daniel Wayne Sermon is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead guitarist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
Lead To Light is the second full-length album by American indie rock band Nico Vega. It was released on July 22, 2014 on iTunes. The album was produced by Dan Reynolds, Tony Hoffer, and Tim Edgar.
Daniel James Platzman is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and composer. He is best known as the former drummer for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons.
Smoke + Mirrors is the second studio album by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The album was recorded during 2014 at the band's home studio in Las Vegas, Nevada. Self-produced by members of the band along with English hip-hop producer Alex da Kid, the album was released by Interscope Records and Grant's Kidinakorner label on February 17, 2015, in the United States.
"Shots" is a song by American rock band Imagine Dragons. It was written by band members Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon and released as the third and final single from their second studio album Smoke + Mirrors (2015).
"Next to Me" is a song recorded by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Written by all four members of the band and producer Alex da Kid, it was released through Kidinakorner and Interscope Records on February 21, 2018, as the fourth single from the band's third studio album Evolve, appearing as the first track on a re-issue of the album.
Believer is a 2018 American documentary that examines the intersection between LGBT people and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints through the eyes of Dan Reynolds, lead singer of pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It focuses on his efforts to organize the LOVELOUD Festival in Orem, Utah in support of Utah LGBTQ youth.
"Machine" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons, who co-wrote it with their producer Alex da Kid. It is the third single from the band's fourth studio album Origins.
"Bad Liar" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released through Interscope and Kidinakorner records on November 6, 2018, as the fourth single from their fourth studio album, Origins (2018). It was written by Imagine Dragons, Aja Volkman and Jorgen Odegard, and produced by Odegard.
"Follow You" is a song by American band Imagine Dragons. The song was released through Michelle Imagine Dragons, Imagine Dragons, and Kidinakorner on March 12, 2021, as one of the double lead singles from their fifth studio album Mercury – Act 1 alongside its B-side "Cutthroat". It was written by band members Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, and Daniel Platzman, alongside Joel Little, Elley Duhé, and produced by Joel Little.
Mercury – Act 1 is the first half of the fifth studio album by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons, released on September 3, 2021, by Kidinakorner and Interscope Records in the United States. Imagine Dragons recorded the album in 2018 after their previous album, Origins. It was later modified in early 2022 to include "Enemy", from the Arcane League of Legends soundtrack. The album was executive produced by Rick Rubin, who also executive produced its successor Mercury – Acts 1 & 2, released on July 1, 2022, which Act 1 was included as part of.
"Monday" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released through Kidinakorner and Interscope on September 24, 2021, as the third and final single from the their fifth studio album, Mercury – Act 1. The song was first played live a week before the album's release at the Walmart Live Homecoming.
Dan: 'And that naturally turned into our philanthropy. We hold LoveLoud in Utah, in a very Mormon community, to open hearts to LGBTQ youth. [...] Our road has led us to things that we're passionate about. LoveLoud has raised millions of dollars for LGBTQ charities, such as The Trevor Project crisis hotline [866-488-7386] for young people to call when they feel like they don't have support at home, and the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which raises awareness and funds for LGBTQ issues and sends kids to camps where they can find refuge while they're figuring out their sexual identity.' Parents: 'Dan, you've said that if Mormon leaders won't change the doctrine, you'll fight to change the culture.' Dan: 'When there's a point of critical mass with millions agreeing that something needs to change but a few powerful figures aren't making that change, what do you do?'
This tight-knit family is a year into the build of a 'communal Mormon compound; 10 acres we bought in Las Vegas. Everybody has their own house,' with Dan and his wife 'the only ones who are non-Mormon' who nevertheless 'coexist quite well.'