"Walking the Wire" 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 ...

. The song was written by

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 ...

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. ...

Robin Fredriksson Mattman & Robin is a Swedish songwriting and production duo composed of Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson. They are published by Wolf Cousins, a publishing company administered by Warner Chappell Music. In 2016, they won a Grammy A ...

Mattias Larsson Mattman & Robin is a Swedish songwriting and production duo composed of Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson. They are published by Wolf Cousins, a publishing company administered by Warner Chappell Music. In 2016, they won a Grammy A ...

Justin Tranter Justin Drew Tranter (born June 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, singer, and activist. Frequently co-writing with Julia Michaels, Tranter has written songs for artists such as Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani, Linkin Park, Kelly Clarkson, Selena ...

with production handled by

Mattman & Robin Mattman & Robin is a Swedish songwriting and production duo composed of Mattias Per Larsson and Robin Lennart Fredriksson. They are published by Wolf Cousins, a publishing company administered by Warner Chappell Music. In 2016, they won a Grammy A ...

. It was released to digital retailers on June 15, 2017, as the third promotional single released off their third studio album, '' Evolve''.

Background

On June 15, "Walking the Wire" was made available for download with any purchase from the band's online shop. The song was accidentally released onto YouTube and Vevo a day earlier than planned, only to be taken down within a few hours.

Critical reception

Bobby Olivier of ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine wrote that the song "may be the band's most overtly pleasing pop anthem to date". Lauren Murphy of ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'' wrote: "Walking the Wire and Whatever It Takes are both arms-aloft anthems, but the more enjoyable tracks follow an 1980s pop template, like the Hall & Oates-style Make It Up to You and Start Over." Rob Harvilla of The Ringer wrote: "'Walking the Wire,' with a romantic and inspirational anthem that at least sands off the rough edges of all that bellowing/screeching, is the closest these guys have come to their own version of

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

's ' Roar,' or OneRepublic's '

Counting Stars "Counting Stars" is a song by American pop rock band OneRepublic from their third studio album, ''Native'' (2013). The song was written by lead singer Ryan Tedder, and produced by Tedder and Noel Zancanella. It was released as the album's seco ...

,' or Rachel Platten's '

Fight Song A fight song is a rousing short song associated with a sports team. The term is most common in the United States and Canada. In Australia, Mexico, and New Zealand these songs are called the team anthem, team song, or games song. First associated ...

.'" Allen Pham of ''

Daily Trojan The ''Daily Trojan'', or "DT," is the student newspaper of the University of Southern California. The newspaper is a forum for student expression and is written, edited, and managed by university students. The paper is intended to inform USC s ...

'' wrote: "'Walking the Wire' is one of the usually songs on Evolve's tracklist. Though Imagine Dragons uses less acoustics and more country music here, the song is evidence of the group's potential to achieve 2017-style music stardom while not completely straying from their roots."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Imagine Dragons songs Song recordings produced by Mattman & Robin Songs written by Dan Reynolds (musician) Songs written by Justin Tranter Songs written by Ben McKee Songs written by Daniel Platzman Songs written by Robin Fredriksson Songs written by Mattias Larsson Songs written by Wayne Sermon