Radioactive (Imagine Dragons song)

Composition

"Radioactive" was written by Imagine Dragons and producer Alex da Kid. It is one of the more electronically influenced tracks on Night Visions as well as one of the darkest, similar to fourth track "Demons". The song is an electronic rock, alternative rock and stadium rock song with elements of dubstep. The song's lyrics speak of apocalyptic themes: 'I'm waking up to ash and dust' and 'This is it, the apocalypse'. Though the band has publicly maintained its secularity, NPR music critic Ann Powers has opined that the song features strong "religious or spiritual imagery", the likes of which have been common throughout the history of rock music.

Speaking on the song, lead singer Dan Reynolds said:

In a 2021 interview, Reynolds revealed that, on looking back at the song after almost a decade, he had realized that its lyrics were actually about him not giving up hope after losing faith in Mormonism.

Sheet music for "Radioactive" shows the key of B Dorian (a mode of F# minor or A major, in which B is used as the tonic), in 4/4 common time, and a tempo of 132bpm, with a chord progression of Bm-DSus2-A-E, and vocals spanning from E3 to B4.

Critical reception

"Radioactive" was released to positive reviews. Anne Erickson of Audio Ink Radio gave the song a rating of 4.5 out of 5, calling it "hook-y [and] emotional", and stated that the "drama" and "excitement" of the song would allow "Radioactive" to appeal to both alternative pop fans and hard rockers. AbsolutePunk gave a positive review, calling the acoustic section of the song "haunting", and called the chorus "hypnotizing". Dara Hickey of Unreality Shout also reacted positively, calling the song the "darkest moment" on the album, and stated that, like all the other songs on the album, "Radioactive" was successful in creating a sound that "never fails to take off and send fists skyward". IGN lauded the song, calling it "strangely intense and abrasive", and stated that "Radioactive" was "perhaps the greatest calling card of Imagine Dragons".

Crave Online called the song an "opening throb", saying that the song "sexes up the dub-flirtation with a verse hingeing on the line 'this is it, the apocalypse' and a triumphant chorus, with more than a few shades of Hip-Hop in the production", and that the song was as "radio-ready as they come". Our Vinyl stated that the "power of this song is outstanding with heavy drums and more of an electronic feel than the rest of the album and strong, impressive vocals from front-man Dan Reynolds which are reciprocated throughout the LP." Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone was critical of the song, calling it "a dour moaner that sound[s] like Chris Martin trying to write an Eminem ballad about the end of the world."

In 2018, Billboard and Louder Sound ranked the song number two and number one, respectively, on their lists of the 10 greatest Imagine Dragons songs.

It is also on the soundtrack for NBA 2K14, the first NBA 2K game on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The song also appeared in the 2023 video game Fortnite Festival.

Chart performance

"Radioactive" debuted at 96 on the Billboard Hot 100 after the release of Night Visions in September 2012 and remained at the lower ends of the chart for some time. In April 2013, the song made its top ten entry at number seven, besting the number 15 position set by previous single "It's Time". In mid-June, the song reached number four, breaking the record for the slowest ascension to the top five, besting the previous holder Florida Georgia Line's song "Cruise", which broke the record just three weeks earlier. Two weeks later, the song reached its peak at number three. The song formerly held the record for the longest reign atop the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart at 23 weeks before being surpassed by Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance". "Radioactive" currently holds the record for the longest reign atop the Billboard Rock Airplay chart, with 24 weeks. It also spent 13 weeks at number one on the Alternative Airplay component chart. In late 2023, for Alternative Airplay's 35th anniversary, Billboard placed "Radioactive" at number eight on its ranking of the top 100 largest hits in the chart's history.

The song is also the best-selling rock song in US digital history. It was the No. 2 Song of the Summer according to Billboard and spent 87 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the all-time chart longevity record, previously held by Jason Mraz's 2008 single "I'm Yours", and overtaken by the Weeknd's 2019 single "Blinding Lights", which spent 90 weeks on the Hot 100 as of the chart issue dated September 4, 2021. However, it still holds the record for most consecutive weeks on the Hot 100, at 85. It has sold more copies in a calendar year than any other song by a rock act in digital history. "Radioactive" was the third best selling song of 2013 with sales of 5,496,000 for the year. It has gone on to sell 8,234,360 digital copies in the nation as of September 2017, and was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

The song has reached number one in Sweden and in the top twenty of several countries such as Australia, Canada, New Zealand as well as several parts of Europe. In the UK, the song debuted at 35 thanks to strong downloads from the Hear Me EP in November. After the release of Night Visions in April, the song peaked at number 12, becoming their highest charting single there.

Music video

The music video debuted on December 10, 2012. Directed by Syndrome and featuring puppeteers from Puppet Heap, the video revolves around a mysterious female drifter, played by actress Alexandra Daddario, on a quest to save her friends in Imagine Dragons from the perils of a sinister, underground puppet-fighting ring, the ringleader of which is played by Lou Diamond Phillips. The Champion of the fight, Gorigula, a large purple beast, beats and kills innocent stuffed animals and puppets forced to fight. After one puppet, Screaming Richard, is killed, the woman's pink teddy bear puppet enters the ring and fights Gorigula, initially being beaten up. After rising from the ground, the teddy bear knocks out Gorigula with a single superpower punch. The ringleader sends two bodyguards to subdue the teddy, whose laser vision disintegrates both of them. The remaining spectators flee, leaving the drifter with the stunned ringleader. The drifter takes a key off the chain around the ringleader's neck and the pink bear pulls the lever, causing the ringleader to fall in the dungeon. The drifter unlocks the door and frees the band. They climb out as the puppets and stuffed animals bid them farewell. The ringleader is left in the dungeon where the earlier-defeated puppets and stuffed animals soon surround and attack him.

Speaking of the video to MTV, Reynolds said "We read through a ton of scripts from really talented directors, and we came across one that stood out to us in particular, because it put into visuals the general theme of the song, which is kind of an empowering song about an awakening, but it did it in a way that was very different". "A lot of people probably see a post-apocalyptic world when they hear 'Radioactive', understandably, but we wanted to deliver something that was maybe a little different from that ... a lot different from that."

The music video reached one billion views on YouTube in February 2019.

Credits and personnel

Adapted from Night Visions liner notes. Imagine Dragons

• Dan Reynolds – lead and backing vocals
• Wayne Sermon – guitars, backing vocals
• Ben McKee – synthesizers, bass guitar, backing vocals
• Daniel Platzman – drums, drum machine

Additional musicians

• J Browz – guitar Additional personnel
• Alexander Grant – co-writer, producer
• Josh Mosser – co-writer
• Manny Marroquin – mixing
• Joe LaPorta – mastering

Live performances

The first televised performance of "Radioactive" was on the September 4, 2012, airing of ABC late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The song was performed alongside then-current single "It's Time".

In February 2013, the band started the 145-date Night Visions Tour, which saw the band perform across North America and Europe. During the North American leg, the band made their first national television appearance, performing "Radioactive" on the February 22, 2013, airing of CBS late-night talk show Late Show with David Letterman.

In addition to performing the song on the March 28, 2013, airing of NBC late-night talk show The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the band also performed "Radioactive" on the July 29, 2013, airing of NBC late-night talk show Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, following the historic performance of "It's Time" to an empty audience during Hurricane Sandy on the October 29, 2012, airing of Late Night. They performed the song on Saturday Night Live with a guest performance by Kendrick Lamar on February 2, 2014, recreating their teamed performance of the song at the Grammy Awards the previous month.

As one of Taylor Swift's many guest appearances on her 1989 World Tour, frontman Dan Reynolds performed the song with her in Detroit, Michigan.

Typical live performances of the song now have incorporated a drum solo and a guitar solo.

Remixes and covers

"Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody version entitled "Inactive" for his 2014 album Mandatory Fun. "Radioactive" was covered by American violinist Lindsey Stirling with Texan a cappella group Pentatonix and uploaded to Stirling's YouTube channel, becoming immensely successful and as of July 2025 has over 197 million views. The recording subsequently earned a 2013 YouTube Award. Jason Derulo covered the song live on BBC. Daughtry covered the song live on SiriusXM. Lady Antebellum covered the song live backstage on their Take Me Downtown Tour and put the video on their YouTube channel. Jake Bugg covered the song live on BBC Radio 1. Radioactive (The Dirty Tees Remix) Featured on the film The Host's soundtrack.

Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation recorded a version on their cover album The Q-Music Sessions released in April 2013 and released again on their album Hydra. American post-hardcore band Our Last Night covered the song. Masha covered "Radioactive" on her popular YouTube channel on May 25, 2013; the video has received 130,000 views as of December 2018. The Radioactive Chicken Heads recorded a punk rock cover of "Radioactive" and released a music video for their version on YouTube. Ed Kowalczyk (of Live) covered the song for an Australian radio station. Country music artist Dallas Smith covered the song on his Tippin' Point tour.

American singer Madilyn Bailey recorded an acoustic cover that reached number 36 on SNEP, the official French singles chart, in June 2015. Kelly Clarkson covered the song as part of her "Fan Requests" on July 12, 2015, during her Piece by Piece Tour.

Welsh metalcore band Bullet for My Valentine recorded a cover in 2018 on their sixth studio album Gravity In 2013-2014 Actress and Singer Lea Michele performed a cover of that song during the early sessions of 2014 Louder and Lea Michele performed the cover in a good way recorded for a whole year .

The song is included as a playable routine in the 2022 dance rhythm game Just Dance 2023 Edition. The choreography features the first Just Dance performer to use a wheelchair. The routine won the award for Best Representation at The Game Accessibility Conference on January 25, 2023.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Accolades

Release history

Kendrick Lamar remix

• electronic rock
• rap rock
• Interscope
• Ben McKee
• Josh Mosser
• Daniel Platzman
• Dan Reynolds
• Wayne Sermon
• Kendrick Duckworth

The Night Visions track was remixed by the band, featuring guest vocals from American rapper Kendrick Lamar. The remix, while retaining most of the original track from Continued Silence, was recorded by the band and Kendrick Lamar for release as a single. The single was released on January 27, 2014.

Live performances

"Radioactive" was first performed by Imagine Dragons and Kendrick Lamar at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, held at the Staples Center, Los Angeles on January 26, 2014. The song was performed in a mashup with Kendrick Lamar's "M.A.A.D City", a track from his Grammy-nominated album Good Kid, M.A.A.D City. It was the second most tweeted music moment of 2014. The song was performed by the duo again on the February 1, 2014, airing of NBC late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live.

Track listing

Credits and personnel

Partly adapted from Night Visions liner notes.

Imagine Dragons

• Dan Reynolds – vocals
• Wayne Sermon – guitar
• Ben McKee – bass
• Daniel Platzman – drums, viola

Additional personnel

• Alexander Grant – co-writer, producer
• Josh Mosser – co-writer
• Timmy 2Tone – co-writer
• Manny Marroquin – mixing
• Joe LaPorta – mastering

Additional musicians

• Kendrick Lamar – vocals
• J Browz – guitar

Charts

Accolades

Release history

References

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