It's Time (Imagine Dragons song)

"It's Time"
Single by Imagine Dragons
from the album Night Visions
Released	February 6, 2012
Format	Digital download
Recorded	2010 at Studio at the Palms (Paradise, Nevada, United States)
Genre	Indie rock
Length	4:00
Label	Interscope KIDinaKORNER
Writer(s)	Ben McKee Andrew Tolman+ Brittany Tolman+ Dan Reynolds Wayne Sermon Daniel Platzman+
Producer(s)	Brandon Darner Ben McKee Andrew Tolman+ Dan Reynolds Brittany Tolman+ Daniel Platzman+ Wayne Sermon
Imagine Dragons singles chronology
"It's Time" (2012) "Radioactive" (2012)

"It's Time" is a song written and performed by American alternative rock band Imagine Dragons, taken from the band's 2011 EP It's Time, major label debut EP Continued Silence as well as their major debut studio album Night Visions (2012) With production handled by Brandon Darner, the song is an indie rock song, and its lyrics describe the narrator's resistance to change in the face of great turmoil.

The single was created prior to the recruitment of Daniel Platzman, and also prior to the departure of Andrew and Brittany Tolman. The song was first uploaded to YouTube on December 20, 2010,^[1] but did not receive an official single release until 2012.

After the song was covered on Glee and heavy rotation in commercials and television shows, the song received commercial success and reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it the band's first Top 40 single, as well as number four on the Alternative Songs chart and number three on the Rock Songs chart. With 32 weeks, it had the longest run on the Alternative Songs Top 10 in 2012.^[2] The single reached the top 10 in Austria (#6), Belgium (#1), Czech Republic (#10), Ireland (#9), India (#17) Japan (#7), Billboard Pop Songs (#10), and Portugal (#6) and peaked at number 23 in the United Kingdom. It was certified Platinum by the RIAA and CRIA, and Platinum by the ARIA. It was also nominated for Best Rock Video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards.^[3]

Music video

The music video debuted on April 17, 2012, on all MTV affiliates and the band was named PUSH Artist of the Week and later featured on PUSH Live.^[4][5] A first teaser released March 28, 2012. The video also reached #1 on Yahoo Music's Top Videos.^[6]

The video starts with the band walking through a barren wasteland beneath a dark and ominous looking sky. The sky begins to grow more turbulent as the band walks past flags and boat wreckage, a destroyed bridge, and dead trees (which looks likes a post-apocalyptic San Francisco). Bassist McKee opens a box he has been carrying and a pale light glows from within. The band removes a pebble-sized, glowing orb from the box. The band members dig a hole for it with their hands, and then drop the orb into the ground. Lead singer Dan Reynolds then shouts, and in the next scene the band members are shown running away from their dig site. A large explosion throws Reynolds into the air where he seems to levitate (similarly to the Continued Silence album cover). Finally, the sky begins to part and the sunlight shines through—reminiscent of heavenly inspiration.

The art design is vaguely reminiscent of that of The Lord of the Rings. The music video was produced by Todd Makurath and directed by Anthony Leonardi III. Ian Clemmer, who created some of the visual effects, wrote on his website that he "was asked to create big, large scale smoke explosions in a short amount of time, these are the end shots of the video ...."^[7]

Usage in media

• Voted by Entertainment Weekly readers #8 on "The Best Singles of 2012".^[8]
• Featured in BYUtv's AUDIO-FILES pilot episode about the band^[9]
• Cover performed live on The Voice (U.S. season 3) finale by winner Cassadee Pope and friends^[10]
• Featured in Gossip Girl (season 6) in the series finale episode New York, I Love You XOXO^[11]
• Featured in the theatrical trailer for the 2012 film adaptation of the 1999 coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.^[12]
• The song was featured in the "Explorer TOP 125" ad for the National Geographic Channel.
• The song was used in the long ending montage on Sky Sports after England won the Ashes Series in 2013
• The song was used for promotional clip for French television channel D8.^[13]
• In 2012, Darren Criss (as his character Blaine Anderson) covered "It's Time" in the season 4 premier of musical TV series Glee.^[14][14][15] The song also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #95 as well as the Canadian Hot 100 at #87.^[16]
• The song is frequently used in the background in the British observational documentary series Gogglebox.

Live performances

On July 16, 2012, Imagine Dragons performed "It's Time" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[17][18] They also performed the song live on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on September 4, 2012 and on Conan on January 9, 2013. They also performed the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on October 29, 2012, notable for being broadcast during Hurricane Sandy. As a result, they performed the song to an empty audience, with only the cast and crew of Late Night being present. The band also performed and singer Dan Reynolds was interviewed on Norwegian and Swedish television show Skavlan on February 1, 2013.^[19]

Imagine Dragons plays "It's Time" at its live concerts, and although it's a "bigger single", the band plays it early in their set list rather than last, as might be expected.^[20]

On December 5, 2014, the group played an acoustic version at the end of The Game Awards (the inaugural ceremonies of said award show), with Nintendo composer Koji Kondo playing on the piano as part of a medley of music from The Legend of Zelda series.

Personnel

• Dan Reynolds – vocals
• Daniel Wayne Sermon – guitar, mandolin
• Ben McKee – bass guitar
• Andrew Tolman – drums, backing vocals, acoustic rhythm guitar
• Brittany Tolman – keyboard, backing vocals

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Ben McKee, Dan Platzman, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon. 

Digital download
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Time"		McKee Platzman Reynolds Sermon Brandon Darner	4:00
Total length:				4:00

Maxi digital download[21]
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"It's Time"		McKee Platzman Reynolds Sermon Darner	4:00
2.	"It's Time" (Passion Pit Remix)		McKee Platzman Reynolds Sermon Darner Michael Angelakos Ian Hultquist Jeff Apruzzese Xander Singh	4:30
3.	"It's Time" (Jailbreaks Remix)		McKee Platzman Reynolds Sermon Darner Jailbreaks	4:26
4.	"Round and Round"	McKee Platzman Reynolds Sermon Alexander Grant	McKee Platzman Reynolds Sermon Grant	3:17
Total length:				16:23

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2012–14) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[22] 27 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[23] 6 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[24] 1 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[25] 3 Brazil (Billboard Brasil Hot 100)[26] 71 Brazil Hot Pop Songs (Billboard Brasil)[26] 26 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[27] 30 Canada CHR/Top 40 (Billboard)[28] 22 Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[29] 30 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[30] 10 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[31] 84 France (SNEP)[32] 101 Germany (Official German Charts)[33] 20 Ireland (IRMA)[34] 9 Italy (FIMI)[35] 20 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[36] 7 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[37] 39 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[38] 37 Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[39] 46 Portugal Digital Songs (Billboard)[40] 6 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[41] 18 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[42] 46 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[43] 40 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[44] 36 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[45] 38 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[46] 23 US Billboard Hot 100[47] 15 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[48] 3 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[49] 4 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[50] 22 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[51] 8 US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)[52] 18 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[53] 10

Year-end charts Chart (2012) Position US Billboard Hot 100[54] 91 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[55] 9 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[56] 2 US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[57] 4 Chart (2013) Position Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[58] 88 US Billboard Hot 100[59] 47 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[60] 6 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[61] 22 US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[62] 35 US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[63] 35

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[64]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[65]	Gold	15,000^x
Canada (Music Canada)[66]	2× Platinum	160,000^^
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[67]	Platinum	30,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[68]	Gold	15,000^*
Mexico (AMPROFON)[69]	Gold	30,000^^
Sweden (GLF)[70]	Platinum	40,000^x
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[71]	Gold	15,000^x
United States (RIAA)[72]	3× Platinum	3,000,000[73]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone ^xunspecified figures based on certification alone

Accolades

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
2012	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Rock Video	Nominated

Publication	Country	Accolade	Year	Rank
Z100	United States	Most Played Tracks of 2013[74]	2013	9

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United States[75][76]	February 6, 2012	Submodern rock radio	Interscope Records
	February 20, 2012	Modern rock radio
Canada[77]	September 2, 2012	Digital download (Cherry Cherry Boom Boom remix)	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER
United States[78]
United States[79]	September 18, 2012	Contemporary hit radio	Interscope Records
Canada[80]	October 2, 2012	Digital download (Passion Pit remix)	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER
United States[81]
Australia[82]	November 9, 2012	Digital download
Brazil[83]
France[84]
Italy[85]
New Zealand[86]
Philippines[87]
Russia[88]
South Africa[89]
Spain[90]
Switzerland[91]
Mexico[92]	November 13, 2012
Germany[21]	December 7, 2012
Italy[93]	January 11, 2013	Contemporary hit radio	Universal Music
United Kingdom[94]	August 2, 2013	Digital download	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER

References

1. ""It's Time" by Imagine Dragons (w/ visuals)".
2. "Imagine Dragons Enjoy Longest Run In Alternative Top 10". AllAccess.com. November 13, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
3. Grein, Paul (September 3, 2012). "Previewing The VMAs". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
4. "Watch Imagine Dragons' 'PUSH Live' 'It's Time' Performance (VIDEO)". Buzzworthy.mtv.com. 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
5. "MTV PUSH Artist Of The Week: Imagine Dragons". Buzzworthy.mtv.com. 2012-04-16. Retrieved 2012-07-22.
6. Sarath, Daniel (August 24, 2012). "6 pop acts who should be huge: Janelle Monae to Natalia Kills". omg!. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
7. Clemmer, Ian (n.d.). "IMAGINE DRAGONS - It's Time". Ian Clemmer website. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
8. "The Best Singles of 2012". Entertainment Weekly (#1239-1240). December 21, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
9. "Imagine Dragons". Audio-Files. Season 1. Episode 1. April 10, 2012. BYU Television.
10. Whitney, Alyse (December 18, 2012). "Watch Cassadee Pope, De’Borah Garner, Melanie Martinez, and Liz Davis Sing Imagine Dragons’ "It’s Time" on The Voice Season 3 Live Finale, Dec. 18, 2012 (VIDEO)". Wetpaint. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
11. "Gossip Girl Pays Homage To Sex and the City: The Music Behind The Finale!". PerezHilton.com. December 18, 2012. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
12. Warner, Kara (June 5, 2012). "'Perks Of Being A Wallflower' Trailer: What's That Song?". MTV. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
13. "D8 I LA NOUVELLE GRANDE CHAINE". YouTube. 20 September 2012.
14. Beth Douglass (14 September 2012). "Watch: Blaine (Darren Criss) Sings Imagine Dragon's "It's Time" in Glee's Season 4 Premiere: "The New Rachel" (VIDEO)". Wetpaint.
15. Richenthal, Matt (August 16, 2012). "Glee Season 4 Preview: First Footage!". TV Fanatic. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
16. "Glee - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
17. Duck, Allison (18 July 2012). "Imagine Dragons are Leno tested, Warlock approved". Las Vegas Weekly. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
18. Smith, Harper (19 July 2012). "In rise to prominence, Imagine Dragons prove they can pack — and take — a punch". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 22 July 2012.
19. Imagine Dragons - "It's Time" (Live @ «Skavlan» - February 1st 2013) - YouTube
20. Smith, Bethany (September 27, 2012). "Imagine Dragons & AWOLNATION leave Kansas City fans feeling ‘On Top of the World’". Midcoast Station. Retrieved July 11, 2013.
21. "It's Time – EP by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (DE). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
22. "Australian-charts.com – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
23. "Austriancharts.at – Imagine Dragons – It's Time" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
24. "Ultratop.be – Imagine Dragons – It's Time" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
25. "Ultratop.be – Imagine Dragons – It's Time" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
26. BPP, ed. (November–December 2013). "Billboard Brasil Hot 100 Airplay". Billboard Brasil (46): 88.
27. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
28. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Canada CHR/Top 40 for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
29. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Canada Hot AC for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
30. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201310 into search. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
31. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201425 into search. Retrieved July 3, 2014.
32. "Lescharts.com – Imagine Dragons – It's Time" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
33. "Offiziellecharts.de – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". GfK Entertainment. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
34. "Chart Track: Week 36, 2013". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
35. "Italiancharts.com – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". Top Digital Download.
36. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Japan Hot 100 for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
37. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Imagine Dragons search results" (in Dutch) Dutch Top 40. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
38. "Charts.org.nz – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
39. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history: Mexico Ingles". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
40. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Portugal Digital Songs for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved June 23, 2013.
41. "Archive Chart: 2013-08-17". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
42. "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201311 into search. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
43. "Spanishcharts.com – Imagine Dragons – It's Time" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
44. "Swedishcharts.com – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". Singles Top 100. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
45. "Swisscharts.com – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
46. "Archive Chart: 2013-08-17" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
47. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
48. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
49. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Rock Airplay for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved June 4, 2014.
50. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Adult Contemporary for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
51. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
52. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Dance/Mix Show Airplay for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
53. "Imagine Dragons – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Imagine Dragons. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
54. "Best of 2012 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
55. "Best of 2012 – Rock Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
56. "Triple A Songs: 2012 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013. (subscription required (help)).
57. "Best of 2012 – Alternative Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 28, 2013.
58. "Best of 2013: Canadian Hot 100". publisher=Prometheus Gobal Media. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
59. "Best of 2013 – Hot 100 Songs". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2013-12-13.
60. "2013 Year End Charts - Top Billboard Hot Rock Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
61. "Rock Airplay Songs: Year End 2013". Billboard. Retrieved December 21, 2014.
62. "Triple A Songs: 2013 (Year-End)". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013. (subscription required (help)).
63. "2013 Year End Charts - Top Billboard Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
64. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2013 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
65. "Austrian single certifications – Imagine Dragons – It's Time" (in German). IFPI Austria. Retrieved December 5, 2013. Enter Imagine Dragons in the field Interpret. Enter It's Time in the field Titel. Select single in the field Format. Click Suchen
66. "Canadian single certifications – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". Music Canada. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
67. "Danish single certifications – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". IFPI Denmark. Retrieved May 5, 2014. Click on næste to go to page if certification from official website
68. "Italian single certifications – Imagine Dragons – It's Time" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved January 10, 2015. Select Online in the field Sezione. Enter Imagine Dragons in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
69. "Certificaciones – Imagine Dragons" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
70. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2014" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden.
71. "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Imagine Dragons; 'It's Time')". Hung Medien.
72. "American single certifications – Imagine Dragons – It's Time". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 5, 2013. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
73. Grein, Paul (January 29, 2014). "Chart Watch: Katy Perry Ties Rihanna’s Record". Chart Watch. Yahoo! Music. Retrieved February 2, 2014.
74. "Ross On Radio: It's Just Another New Year's Eve?: Z100's year-end shows New York is still different". Billboard. 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-12-30.
75. "Available for Airplay Archive – SubModern Rock". FMQB. Mediaspan. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
76. "Available for Airplay Archive – Modern Rock". FMQB. Mediaspan. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
77. "It's Time (Cherry Cherry Boom Boom Remix) – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
78. "It's Time (Cherry Cherry Boom Boom Remix) – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
79. "Available for Airplay Archive – CHR". FMQB. Mediaspan. Archived from the original on April 24, 2013. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
80. "It's Time (Passion Pit Remix) – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (CA). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
81. "It's Time (Passion Pit Remix) – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (US). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
82. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (AU). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
83. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (BR). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
84. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (FR). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
85. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (IT). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
86. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (NZ). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
87. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (PH). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
88. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (RU). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
89. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (ZA). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
90. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (ES). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
91. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (CH). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
92. "It's Time – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (MX). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.
93. Forastiero, Eleonora. "Imagine Dragons – It's Time (Universal)" (in Italian). Radio Airplay SRL. Retrieved February 6, 2015.
94. "It's Time – EP by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (GB). Apple. Retrieved December 29, 2012.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics