I Bet My Life

"I Bet My Life"
Single by Imagine Dragons
from the album Smoke + Mirrors
Released	October 27, 2014
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2014 at Imagine Dragons Studio (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Genre	Folk rock alternative rock
Length	3:12
Label	KIDinaKORNER Interscope
Writer(s)	Ben McKee Daniel Platzman Dan Reynolds Wayne Sermon
Producer(s)	Imagine Dragons
Imagine Dragons singles chronology
"Warriors" (2014) "I Bet My Life" (2014) "Gold" (2014)

"I Bet My Life" is a song recorded by American rock band Imagine Dragons. The track, written by band members Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon, was released as the lead single from their second studio album Smoke + Mirrors on October 27, 2014. The band's network debut performing the track occurred at the American Music Awards (2014), where they received the award for Favorite Alternative Artist.^[1][2]

Composition

Themes

Lead singer Dan Reynolds has stated that the song is about his relationship with his parents and explained that while "at times it's been strained and difficult... in the end, 'I Bet My Life' celebrates the bond that we still hold on to."^[3]

Music video

On December 12, 2014, Imagine Dragons released the official music video for "I Bet My Life". The video was directed by Jodeb and features an actor Dane DeHaan.^[4] Footage from the video featured in advertising by American automobile manufacturer Jeep at the American Music Awards, prior to the release of the video.^[5]

Synopsis

The beginning and end of the video take place at the Salt River in Arizona. A car is shown driving to the river. The occupants turn out to be the members of Imagine Dragons, and their relatives and friends. Somewhere else at the river, a boy in a shirt (Dane DeHaan) and a boy in overalls (Alex Neustaedter) are fighting at the waterbed. While walking away, Neustaedter eventually pushes DeHaan into the river, and it is implied that DeHaan swims away, while the former stares in shock. DeHaan is pulled towards a dam, in which he is sucked in. He lands in a house, and looks out the window and finds everything underwater. He finds a bed and goes to sleep. The next morning, DeHaan finds himself in a sailboat, and takes control of it. He tries unsuccessfully to avoid a waterfall, but ends up flying over the land in the boat when he goes over the waterfall. While looking over the boat, he decides to flip it over. He falls into a city, and a crowd is shown carrying him. They toss and turn him, until he realizes it was a vision and he was knocked unconscious in the dam. He is pulled back up to the surface by Neustaedter, and survives. The last shot of the video zooms out from the point where DeHaan is picked up, and the video ends.

Reception

"I Bet My Life" was released to mixed to positive reviews. Joel Freecheck of Everything Mainstream gave the song a rating of 59/100, stating that "A [Imagine Dragons] single that sounds nothing like an Imagine Dragons song, yet isn't a bad song, just not the best for them."^[6] Catolyn Menyes of Music Times called the song "Another [Imagine Dragons] strong armed rolling anthem."^[7] James Grebey of www.spin.com called it "Bombastic"^[8] and USA Today named it "Song of the week" during October 27-November 4.^[9]

Track listing

Digital download
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"I Bet My Life"	Ben McKee Daniel Platzman Dan Reynolds Wayne Sermon	Imagine Dragons	3:12

Remixes

Bastille, Alex Adair, Lost Kings, Imagine Dragons, and Riot Games have all released remixes.

Personnel

Imagine Dragons Dan Reynolds – vocals Wayne Sermon – guitar Ben McKee – bass guitar Daniel Platzman – drums

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2014-2015) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 36 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 74 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12] 5 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[13] 6 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[14] 15 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[15] 38 Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[16] 24 Canada Rock (Billboard)[17] 4 Croatia (Croatian Airplay Chart)[18] 29 France (SNEP)[19] 42 Germany (Official German Charts)[20] 65 Hungary (Single Top 40)[21] 20 Ireland (IRMA)[22] 40 Italy (FIMI)[23] 54 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[24] 27 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[25] 63 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[26] 28 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[27] 30 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[28] 71 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[29] 27 US Billboard Hot 100[30] 28 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[31] 3 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[32] 3 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[33] 17 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[34] 7 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[35] 28

Year-end charts Chart (2014) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[36] 87 Chart (2015) Position Canadian Hot 100[37] 69 US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs[38] 20 US Billboard Adult Pop Songs[39] 24 US Billboard Alternative Songs[40] 19 US Billboard Hot Rock Songs[41] 9 US Billboard Rock Airplay Songs[42] 14 US Billboard Rock Digital Songs[43] 9

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Canada (Music Canada)[44]	Platinum	10,000
Italy (FIMI)[45]	Gold	25,000
Norway (IFPI Norway)[46]	Gold	5,000
United States (RIAA)[47]	Gold	500,000
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Accolades

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
2015	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Rock Song[48]	Nominated

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label	Ref.
Australia	October 27, 2014	Digital download	Interscope Records, KIDinaKORNER	[49]
Canada				[50]
United States				[51]
Italy		Contemporary hit radio	Interscope Records	[52]
United States	November 3, 2014	Adult album alternative radio		[53]
	November 4, 2014	Modern rock radio		[54]
	January 27, 2015	Contemporary hit radio		[55]
United Kingdom	February 8, 2015	Digital download	Interscope Records, KIDinaKORNER	[56]

References

1. Daniel D’Addario (November 23, 2014). "Imagine Dragons "I Bet My Life" American Music Awards". TIME.com.
2. "Imagine Dragons Bet It All On A New Sound At The 2014 AMAs!".
3. Grebey, James (October 27, 2014). "Imagine Dragons Release Bombastic New Song From Upcoming Album". Spin. Retrieved October 28, 2014.
4. "Imagine Dragons’ ‘I Bet My Life’ Video Sucks a Kid Into a Dam « Radio.com".
5. Pollack, Judann. "Chrysler Blitzes American Music Awards With Fergie, Imagine Dragons and More". AdvertisingAge. Retrieved 12 January 2015.
6. https://everythingmainstream.wordpress.com/2014/12/23/smoke-mirrors-imagine-dragons-album-review/
7. http://www.musictimes.com/articles/13551/20141027/imagine-dragons-i-bet-my-life-review-new-single-listen.htm
8. http://www.spin.com/2014/10/imagine-dragons-new-album-announcement-i-bet-my-life/
9. Mansfield, Brian (October 27, 2014). "Song of the Week: Imagine Dragons' 'I Bet My Life'". USA Today.
10. "Australian-charts.com – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved November 8, 2014.
11. "Austriancharts.at – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
12. "Ultratop.be – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
13. "Ultratop.be – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
14. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved December 4, 2014.
15. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 13, 2015.
16. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Canada Hot AC for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
17. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Canada Rock for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
18. "Croatia: Radio Chart". Retrieved December 8, 2014.
19. "Lescharts.com – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life" (in French). Les classement single.
20. "Offiziellecharts.de – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
21. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
22. "Chart Track: Week 7, 2015". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved December 14, 2014.
23. "FIMI/GfK Top Digital, Classifica settimanale WK 8 (dal 2015-02-16 al 2015-02-22)" (in Italian). Top Digital Download. Retrieved September 6, 2015.
24. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Imagine Dragons search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 1, 2014.
25. "Dutchcharts.nl – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
26. "Charts.org.nz – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 11, 2014.
27. "Spanishcharts.com – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved November 9, 2014.
28. "Swisscharts.com – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved March 29, 2015.
29. "Archive Chart: 2015-02-15" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
30. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
31. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
32. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Rock Airplay for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 29, 2015.
33. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved May 7, 2015.
34. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved April 2, 2015.
35. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved March 26, 2015.
36. "Hot Rock Songs: Year End 2014". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
37. "Canadian Hot 100 : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
38. "Adult Alternative Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
39. "Adult Pop Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
40. "Alternative Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
41. "Hot Rock Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
42. "Rock Airplay Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
43. "Rock Digital Songs : Dec 31, 2015 | Billboard Chart Archive". Billboard. billboard.com. Retrieved January 3, 2016.
44. "Canadian single certifications – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life". Music Canada.
45. "Italian single certifications – Imagine Dragons – I bet my life" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 27 February 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Imagine Dragons in the field Filtra. Select 2015 in the field Anno. The certification will load automatically
46. "Norwegian single certifications – Imagine Dragons – I bet my life" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
47. "American single certifications – Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 1 May 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
48. http://www.eonline.com/news/674216/teen-choice-awards-2015-nominees-wave-2-revealed
49. "I Bet My Life – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store. Australia: Apple. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
50. "I Bet My Life – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store. Canada: Apple. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
51. "I Bet My Life – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store. United States: Apple. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
52. "Imagine Dragons – I Bet My Life (Interscope Records)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
53. "Triple A > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
54. "Alternative > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on October 25, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
55. "Top 40/M Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on January 13, 2015. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
56. "I Bet My Life – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store. United Kingdom: Apple. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2014.

External links

• Imagine Dragons official website