"Demons" is a song by American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...

. It was written by

Alex da Kid Alexander Junior Grant (born 27 August 1983), professionally known as Alex da Kid or by.ALEXANDER, is a British musician, record producer, songwriter, record executive and fashion designer from Wood Green, London. He has gained recognition for p ...

Ben McKee Benjamin Arthur McKee (born April 7, 1985) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the bassist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Early life McKee was raised in Forestville, California, and graduated from El Molino ...

Dan Reynolds Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead vocalist of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled ''Egyptian – EP,'' as a duo with his former wife A ...

Wayne Sermon Daniel Wayne Sermon (born June 15, 1984) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead guitarist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Early life Sermon was born on June 15, 1984 in American Fork, Utah to parents Jeff ...

, Josh Mosser and produced by Alex da Kid. The song appears on their major-label debut

extended play An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record.

, ''

Continued Silence ''Continued Silence EP'' is the fifth EP by American rock band Imagine Dragons, released on February 14, 2012 by KIDinaKORNER and Interscope Records. It was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios. All songs were written by Imagine Dragons and pr ...

'', and also makes an appearance on their debut studio album, ''

Night Visions ''Night Visions'' is the debut studio album by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was released on September 4, 2012, through Kidinakorner and Interscope Records. The album was primarily produced by the band themselves, as well as Eng ...

'', as the fourth track. "Demons" was solicited to American triple-A radio stations on January 28, 2013 and to

modern rock Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music. Radio format Mod ...

stations on April 1. It serves as the album's overall fifth single and was released as the third single from ''Night Visions'' in the United States, later released to

contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio (also known as CHR, contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format that is common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by ...

stations on 17 September 2013 as an official single. The lyrics portray the protagonist warning the significant other of his or her flaws. The song was a commercial success, becoming their second top ten single after "

Radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consid ...

". It spent twelve weeks in the top ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, four of which were spent at its number six peak. It is Imagine Dragons' second song to stay more than one year on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

(61 weeks). Within two years of its release, more than 4.1 million copies were sold in the United States, making it the eighth most downloaded song in rock history at the time. It has also been a moderate commercial success worldwide, charting in several countries. The song won a

MuchMusic Video Award The iHeartRadio MMVAs were an annual awards show broadcast on Much to honour the year's best music videos that was last held in 2018. Originally debuting in 1990 as the Canadian Music Video Awards, the awards were renamed in 1995 to the MuchMu ...

for International Video of the Year – Group (2014) and an iHeartRadio Music Award for Alternative Rock Song of the Year (2014).

Composition

The song is written in E-flat major with a slow-moderate tempo.

Music video

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

report on the "Demons" music video stated that it would "fit nicely with the artful imagery of ' It's Time' and the thoroughly out-there puppet grappling of '

'." Released on May 7, 2013 and shot in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

at the band's performance at The Joint on February 9, 2013, the video features a mix of live footage of the band and a companion narrative. Various characters with personal hardships are depicted, including a grieving daughter, a man with Marfan syndrome who stares at himself in a mirror, a victim of parental abuse and a military veteran. The meaning imposed is that most don't see beyond the face that everyone puts on for the public. The clip ends with a dedication to Tyler Robinson (1995–2013), a fan of the band who died at the age of 17 in March 2013 following a battle with cancer. The music reached the one billion view milestone on July 18, 2022.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

Release history

Personnel

– lead vocals *

Daniel Wayne Sermon Daniel Wayne Sermon (born June 15, 1984) is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead guitarist for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Early life Sermon was born on June 15, 1984 in American Fork, Utah to parents Jeff ...

– guitars, backing vocals *

– bass, keyboards, backing vocals *

Daniel Platzman Daniel James Platzman (born September 28, 1986) is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and composer. He is the drummer for the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Early life Platzman was born on September 28, 1986 in Atlanta, Georgia. ...

– drums, backing vocals

Additional musicians

* J Brownz – additional guitar, additional bass

References

{{authority control 2012 songs 2013 singles Imagine Dragons songs Song recordings produced by Alex da Kid Songs written by Alex da Kid Kidinakorner singles Interscope Records singles Universal Music Group singles Rock ballads 2010s ballads Songs written by Wayne Sermon Songs written by Dan Reynolds (musician) Songs written by Daniel Platzman Songs written by Ben McKee Songs containing the I–V-vi-IV progression Pop ballads