Whatever It Takes (Imagine Dragons song)
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"Whatever It Takes" 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. The song was released on May 8, 2017, as a promotional single through Kidinakorner and Interscope. It later became the third single from the band's third studio album, '' Evolve'', on October 6, 2017. It was also the official theme song for
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's
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event Battleground, in addition to its inclusion in the video game ''
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''. The song was sent to US contemporary hit radio on February 13, 2018.


Background

The song was announced alongside the name and album art of '' Evolve'' via Twitter on May 9, 2017.


Music video

A music video for the song was released on October 12, 2017. It was directed by Matt Eastin and Aaron Hymes. Eastin had also previously directed the music videos for Imagine Dragons' songs " On Top of the World", "
Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusing ...
", and " Believer". The video begins with 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 ...
swimming through a room filled with water. You can see matchbooks reading "The Overlook Hotel" and "Mt. Qualo, Colorado, references to 'The Shining'. It then cuts to a scene in which Reynolds and the band are playing in the same room; however, it is not filled with water in this scene. As they perform the chorus of the song, the roof crumbles and rain starts pouring in. Throughout the video, the rain persists and the room eventually fills completely with water. However, the band still plays. As Reynolds sings, objects such as boxing gloves and keys float by him along with two people who are seemingly sirens, tugging at him from both sides. Before the final chorus, the music stops and the band floats lifelessly on the water. When they break into song again, the stage has completely changed as the room is no longer underwater, but on fire as the band plays on it. As the video ends, everything is on fire and the music stops. The video won the
MTV Video Music Award 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 ...
award.


Live performances

In October 2017, Imagine Dragons performed the song on '' Late Night with Seth Meyers''. On May 30, 2018, they performed the song live before game two of the
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at
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in their hometown of
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.


Usage in media

In February 2018, Imagine Dragons asked
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to stop using "Whatever It Takes" on their conference website. The
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(NBA)'s
Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference (NBA), Western Conference, Northwest Division (NBA), ...
frequently play the song prior to tip-off of every home game at
Vivint Smart Home Arena Vivint Arena (stylized as vivint arena), formerly known as Delta Center, EnergySolutions Arena and Vivint Smart Home Arena, is an indoor arena located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The arena serves as the home venue for the National Basketball Assoc ...
in
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.


Critical reception

''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' writes that "Whatever It Takes" was "written with a sports highlights package in mind ("I love the adrenaline in my veins", wails frontman Dan Reynolds, before chart pop's current obligatory chorus of "woah-ohs" enters)."


Commercial performance

As of May 15, 2018, the song has peaked at number 12 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.


Track listing


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Decade-end charts


Certifications

, -


Release history


Notes


References

{{Authority control 2017 singles 2017 songs Imagine Dragons songs Songs written by Joel Little Songs written by Daniel Platzman Songs written by Ben McKee Songs written by Wayne Sermon Songs written by Dan Reynolds (musician) Number-one singles in Russia Kidinakorner singles Interscope Records singles Utah Jazz Vegas Golden Knights American contemporary R&B songs