"Roots" is a song by American

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

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 band members

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 ...

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. ...

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 Aja ...

and

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 ...

along with producer

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 ...

, and originally released as a non-album single, however it appears as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their third studio album '' Evolve''. They performed the song for the first time on September 2, 2015, at their

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

, show for the

Smoke + Mirrors Tour The Smoke + Mirrors Tour was the second worldwide concert tour by American alternative rock band Imagine Dragons in support of their second studio album ''Smoke + Mirrors'' (2015). The tour had a preview show in Sydney, Australia, on March 17, ...

. The music video was released on September 29, 2015, and was filmed in New Zealand. The song debuted atop the ''Billboard'' Rock Digital Songs chart.

Composition

Guitarist Wayne Sermon stated that the song was written on the road during their

, and that it talks about the highs and lows of their lives as musicians. The short track features a distorted drum beat over a prominent piano riff. The track is dedicated to the support they have received from their fanbase.

Music video

The music video for "Roots" was released on September 29, 2015. It was filmed in New Zealand, and directed by

Matt Eastin Matt Eastin (born June 3, 1979) is a Utah-based music video, documentary, and commercial director and editor. He is perhaps best known for his work with Imagine Dragons, directing and editing the Wrecked, Follow You, Cutthroat, Believer, Wh ...

, who previously directed the video for " On Top of the World" and the

Broiler A broiler is any chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') that is bred and raised specifically for meat production. Most commercial broilers reach slaughter weight between four and six weeks of age, although slower growing breeds reach slaughte ...

remix of " Shots". The video follows lead singer Dan Reynolds as he finds a way to escape, and remember who he is, during his hectic tour lifestyle. Throughout the video, home videos of a young Reynolds are shown ranging from infant to young adult.

Promotion

On August 19, 2015, Imagine Dragons began teasing the single when they changed their social profiles to all black, with the caption "My Roots". The social media post foreshadowed and promoted the impending release of "Roots". The next day, the band began posting pictures of themselves as children on social media with a hashtag (#MYROOTS).

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

and

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

users began submitting pictures of themselves when they were younger with the same hashtag. All pictures were used to form a collage. The single was released to

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

on August 27, 2015. The single's artwork is by Louis Lander Deacon, who did the artwork for the band's 2012 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 ...

''.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

Imagine Dragons official website
{{Authority control 2015 singles 2015 songs Imagine Dragons songs Interscope Records singles Universal Music Group singles Songs written by Wayne Sermon Songs written by Dan Reynolds (musician) Songs written by Daniel Platzman Songs written by Ben McKee