Whatever It Takes (Imagine Dragons song)


"Whatever It Takes" is a song by American pop rock 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 WWE's PPV event Battleground, in addition to its inclusion in the video game Madden NFL 18. 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.
In October 2017, they performed the song on Late Night with Seth Meyers.
In February 2018, Imagine Dragons asked Conservative Political Action Conference to stop using "Whatever It Takes" on their conference website.
On May 30, 2018, they performed the song live before game two of the 2018 Stanley Cup Finals at T-Mobile Arena in their hometown of Las Vegas.
The National Basketball Association 's Utah Jazz frequently play the song prior to tip-off of every home game at Vivint Smart Home Arena in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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", and "Believer". The video begins with lead singer Dan Reynolds swimming through a room filled with water. 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 award.
As of May 2020, the video has over 600 million views and 4 million likes.

Critical reception

The Guardian writes that "Whatever It Takes" was "written with a sports highlights package in mind."

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

Chart Position
Belgium 39
Belgium 63
Canada 38
CIS 15
Germany 86
Hungary 58
Israel 12
Italy 56
Netherlands 97
Russia 15
Slovenia 14
Switzerland 23
US Billboard Hot 10037
US Adult Contemporary 36
US Adult Top 40 4
US Hot Rock Songs 4
US Mainstream Top 40 31

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history