"It's Time" is the debut single 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 ...
, taken from the band's 2011 EP, ''
It's Time'', their major label debut EP, ''
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 ...
'', as well as their major 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 Englis ...
'' (2012). The song's production is handled by
Brandon Darner
Brandon Darner is an American record producer, songwriter and musician. He has produced albums for a number of artists, including Imagine Dragons, To My Surprise, and his own alternative rock band, The Envy Corps among others. Darner is a foundi ...
, and its lyrics describe the narrator's resistance to change in the face of great turmoil.
The single was created prior to the recruitment of Daniel Platzman, and also prior to the departure of Andrew and Brittany Tolman. The song was first uploaded to YouTube on December 20, 2010, but did not receive an official single release until 2012.
After the song was covered on ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
'' and heavy rotation in commercials and television shows, the song received commercial success and reached number 15 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100, making it the band's first Top 40 single, as well as number four on the
Alternative Songs
Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-played ...
chart and number three on the
Rock Songs
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (formerly known as Rock Songs and Hot Rock Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. From its debut on June 20, 2009, through October 13, 2012, the chart ranked the airplay of songs across alternati ...
chart. With 32 weeks, it had the longest run on the Alternative Songs Top 10 in 2012. The single reached the top 10 in
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
(#6),
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
(#10),
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
(#9),
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(#17)
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(#7),
''Billboard'' Pop Songs (#10), and
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
(#6) and peaked at number 23 in the United Kingdom. It was certified Platinum by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
and
CRIA
A ''cria'' (pronounced ) is a juvenile llama, alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco.
Etymology
The term comes from the Spanish word cría, meaning "baby". Its false cognate in English, ''crya'' (pronounced ), was coined by British sailors who explored C ...
, and Platinum by the
ARIA
In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...
. It was also nominated for
Best Rock Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Rock was first given out in , one of the four original genre categories added to the VMAs that year. In its first year, the award was called Best Heavy Metal Video, and from 1990 to 1995, it was renamed Best Meta ...
at the
2012 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, took place on Thursday, September 6, 2012, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The awards were broadcast from the Staples Center arena at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles. ...
.
Background
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 ...
told ''
The Huffington Post
''HuffPost'' (formerly ''The Huffington Post'' until 2017 and sometimes abbreviated ''HuffPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and ...
'' about the writing process for the song:
There's so many times you wake up at 3 a.m., grab a recorder on the iPhone and say something - a lyrical idea or melody - and then you lay it out in logic later on and sometimes it makes no sense. We sat with 'It's Time' for a year or year-and-a-half. Sometimes you just have to let a song sit for awhile. There's just something really special about it. I wrote it during a very hard time in my life. I had dropped out of college, and I was just sitting down at my computer, and I came up with this rhythm. And the words just wrote themselves. I knew I had something special coming. When a song is most honest and most raw that’s when you know you’re doing something right. A lot of my favorite artists are able to be in touch with their problems and put it through melodies. It happens all the time with bands."
Music video
The music video debuted on April 17, 2012, on all
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 ...
affiliates and the band was named PUSH Artist of the Week and later featured on PUSH Live. A first teaser released March 28, 2012. The video also reached #1 on
Yahoo Music
Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...
's Top Videos.
The video starts with the band walking through a barren wasteland beneath a dark and ominous looking sky. The sky begins to grow more turbulent as the band walks past flags and boat wreckage, a destroyed bridge, and dead trees. Bassist McKee opens a box he has been carrying and a pale light glows from within. The band removes a pebble-sized, glowing orb from the box. The band members dig a hole for it with their hands, and then drop the orb into the ground. Lead singer
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 ...
then shouts, and in the next scene the band members are shown running away from their dig site. A large explosion throws Reynolds into the air where he seems to levitate (similarly to the ''
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 ...
'' album cover). Finally, the sky begins to part and the sunlight shines through.
The music video was produced by Todd Makurath and directed by Anthony Leonardi III. Ian Clemmer, who created some of the
visual effects
Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of
a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production.
The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...
, wrote on his website that he "was asked to create big, large scale smoke explosions in a short amount of time, these are the end shots of the video ...."
About 2 months after the original music video, another one was created for the Jailbreaks remix.
Usage in media
*Voted by ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' readers #8 on "The Best Singles of 2012".
*Featured in
BYUtv
BYU TV (stylized as BYUtv) is a television channel, founded in 2000, which is owned and operated as a part of Brigham Young University (BYU). The channel, available through cable and satellite distributors in the United States, produces a number ...
's ''
AUDIO-FILES
''Audio-Files'' is a television music series produced by BYUtv. The series combines interviews, concerts, and behind-the-scenes footage of nationally rising indie bands. The show premiered on April 10, 2012, at 6:30 pm MST, 8:30 pm EST.
On Marc ...
'' pilot episode about the band''
*Featured in ''
Gossip Girl (season 6)
The sixth and final season of the American teen drama television series ''Gossip Girl'' premiered on The CW on October 8 and concluded on December 17, 2012, consisting of 10 episodes. Based on the novel series of the same name by Cecily von Ziege ...
'' in the series finale episode ''
New York, I Love You XOXO
"New York, I Love You XOXO" is the series finale of ''Gossip Girl''. The episode serves as the tenth episode of the sixth season and the show's 121st episode overall. Written by Stephanie Savage, and directed by Mark Piznarski, the series finale ...
''
*Featured in the theatrical trailer for the 2012 film adaptation of the 1999 coming-of-age novel ''
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
''The Perks of Being a Wallflower'' is a coming-of-age epistolary novel by American writer Stephen Chbosky, which was first published on February 1, 1999, by Pocket Books. Set in the early 1990s, the novel follows Charlie, an introverted and obs ...
''.
* The song was featured in the "Explorer TOP 125" ad for the
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic (formerly National Geographic Channel; abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo or Nat Geo TV) is an American pay television television network, network and flagship (broadcasting), flagship channel owned by the National Geograp ...
.
* The song was used in the long ending montage on Sky Sports after England won the Ashes Series in 2013
* The song was used for promotional clip for French television channel
D8.
* In 2012,
Darren Criss
Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee'' (2010–2015) and received Emmy and Golden Globe acting awards for his leading role as spree ...
(as his character
Blaine Anderson
Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series ''Glee''. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the sixth episode of the second season as the openly gay lead singer of the Dalt ...
) covered "It's Time" in the
season 4 Season 4 may refer to:
* "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock''
See also
*
* Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to:
Albums
* ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004
* ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
of the musical TV series ''
Glee
Glee means delight, a form of happiness.
Glee may also refer to:
* Glee (music), a type of English choral music
* ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy
* ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...
''.
The song also charted on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 at #15 as well as the
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. The Canadian Hot 100 was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007, and is currently the standard record chart in Canada; a n ...
at #30.
* The song is frequently used in the background in the British observational documentary series ''
Gogglebox
''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for thei ...
''.
* The song is used in commercials of the Chilean telecommunications company
VTR
A video tape recorder (VTR) is a tape recorder designed to record and playback video and audio material from magnetic tape. The early VTRs were open-reel devices that record on individual reels of 2-inch-wide (5.08 cm) tape. They were us ...
.
Live performances
On July 16, 2012, Imagine Dragons performed "It's Time" on ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that first aired from May 25, 1992, to May 29, 2009. It resumed production on March 1, 2010 and ended on February 6, 2014.
The fourth incarnation of the ...
''. They also performed the song live on ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. The nightly hour-long show debuted on January 26, 2003, at Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywood, Los ...
'' on September 4, 2012 and on ''
Conan'' on January 9, 2013. They also performed the song on ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon
''Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by comedian Jimmy Fallon.[ About pag ...](_blank)
'' on October 29, 2012, notable for being broadcast during
Hurricane Sandy
Hurricane Sandy (unofficially referred to as ''Superstorm Sandy'') was an extremely destructive and strong Atlantic hurricane, as well as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record as measured by diameter, with tropical-storm-force winds spann ...
. As a result, they performed the song to an empty audience, with only the cast and crew of Late Night being present. The band also performed and singer Dan Reynolds was interviewed on Norwegian and Swedish television show ''
Skavlan
''Skavlan'' was a Norwegian-Swedish television talk show hosted by Norwegian journalist Fredrik Skavlan. It premiered in Sweden on Sveriges Television (SVT) in January 2009, and the first guests to appear on the show were former Prime Minister o ...
'' on February 1, 2013.
Imagine Dragons plays "It's Time" at its live concerts, and although it's a "bigger single", the band plays it early in their
set list
A set list, or setlist, is typically a handwritten or printed document created as an ordered list of songs, jokes, stories and other elements an artist intends to present during a specific performance.
A setlist can be made of nearly any materi ...
rather than last, as might be expected.
On December 5, 2014, the group played an acoustic version at the end of
The Game Awards
The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley, who worked on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awards, ...
(
the inaugural ceremonies of said award show), with Nintendo composer
Koji Kondo
is a Japanese music composer, pianist, and music director who works for the video game company Nintendo. He is best known for his numerous contributions to the '' Super Mario'' and ''The Legend of Zelda'' series of video games, among others pr ...
playing on the piano as part of a medley of music from ''
The Legend of Zelda
''The Legend of Zelda'' is an action-adventure game franchise created by the Japanese game designers Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka. It is primarily developed and published by Nintendo, although some portable installments and re-rele ...
'' series.
Personnel
*
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 ...
– vocals
*
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 ...
– guitar, mandolin
*
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 Hi ...
– bass guitar
*
Andrew Tolman
Andrew Tolman (born January 9, 1986) is an American studio musician and songwriter. He is a member of the cult club band The Moth & The Flame. He was also a founding member of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons. In 2016–17, Andrew went on tour w ...
– drums, backing vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
*Brittany Tolman – keyboard, backing vocals
Track listing
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end charts
Certifications
Accolades
Release history
References
{{authority control
Imagine Dragons songs
2012 debut singles
Song recordings produced by Alex da Kid
2010 songs
Kidinakorner singles
Interscope Records singles
Songs written by Wayne Sermon
Songs written by Dan Reynolds (musician)
Songs written by Daniel Platzman
Songs written by Ben McKee