# Believer (Imagine Dragons song)

"Believer" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released on February 1, 2017, through Interscope Records and Kidinakorner as the lead single from the band's third studio album, Evolve (2017). It was written by Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Justin Tranter and its producers Mattman & Robin.
"Believer" peaked at number four on the US Billboard Hot 100, becoming the band's third top ten single after "Radioactive" and "Demons". It also reached the top ten in Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Poland, Portugal, and Switzerland. The song received a notable boost in popularity after it was used in the season finale for the first season of the CW's Riverdale. The song was played heavily in advertisements, notably for the Nintendo Switch Super Bowl LI advertisement, and several movie and television trailers. It became the fifth best-selling song of 2017 in the United States and one of the best-selling singles of all time. As of March 2025, the song has amassed more than 3.3 billion streams on Spotify as well as 6.3 billion streams on YouTube Music. On January 8, 2019, another version of the song was released, featuring American rapper, Lil Wayne. A Halloween mix was released on October 31, 2022, a promo of the song appearing in the October 27, 2022 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

## Background

In March 2017, Dan Reynolds told People that the song was inspired by his experiences with ankylosing spondylitis in 2015. He said that, "The meaning of the song is really reflecting on specific things in my life that were painful, whether it was anxiety and dealing with crowds, feeling overwhelmed by that or the success of the band, disease, going through depression—anything that was a source of pain in my life. And just rising above that, finding a place of perspective where I could be appreciative of the pain in my life and make it my greatest strength."

## Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, "Believer" is an allegro tempo of 125 beats per minute. Written in the time signature of 12/8, the song is in the key of B♭ minor and follows a chord progression of B♭m-G♭-F (i-bVI-V). Dan Reynolds' vocal range spans from A♭$_3$ to D♭$_5$ during the song.

## Music video

The official music video for the song was released on March 7, 2017, on the Imagine Dragons Vevo account, and was directed by Matt Eastin. It features a boxing match between Reynolds and Dolph Lundgren, with some scenes showing what seems to be a young Dan drawing on his notepad in scenes. Dan is losing, and he says that he wants to stop, but Dolph replies "We can't." It ends with Reynolds barely conscious, while Young Dan is revealed to have sketched a symbol identical to the one on Reynolds' chest, the "Evolve" symbol. As of October 2024, the video has 2.7 billion views and over 22 million likes. It is currently the most-viewed and most-liked video on the band's YouTube channel. It is also the most watched rock video of the 2010's, according to Vevo.

## Commercial performance

"Believer" reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, and topped the Billboard Hot Rock Songs (29 weeks), Alternative Songs (13 weeks), and Adult Pop Songs (6 weeks). Among component charts, it also topped Rock Airplay, Rock Streaming Songs, Rock Digital Sale Songs, and Top TV Commercials Charts. It also topped the Canada Alternative Rock Chart. "Believer" broke the 14-year-old record for the most spins on the Mediabase Alternative chart. "Believer" has reached the top ten in Austria, Canada, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, and the United States.
"Believer" was the number one song on several Billboard year-end charts, including the Hot Rock Songs chart, the Rock Airplay chart, and the Alternative Songs chart. The song was the fifth best-selling song of 2017 in the United States, selling 1,598,000 copies in the year. In late 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Alternative Songs (which by then had been renamed to Alternative Airplay), Billboard published a list of the top 100 most successful songs in the chart's history; "Believer" was ranked at number 43.

## Live performances

The first televised performance of "Believer" was during the March 22, 2017 episode of ABC late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!. They then performed the song at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend. "Believer" was performed again during the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show.
Grammy Award-winning singer Michelle Williams performed the song on the second US series of The Masked Singer.
In the finals of China's reality TV singing competition show, The Next 2023, Jeryl Lee performed her rendition of the song (besides another), and won the competition.

## Certifications and sales

| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
| Australia (ARIA) | 10× Platinum | 700,000$^‡$ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria) | 3× Platinum | 90,000$^‡$ |
| Belgium (BEA) | 2× Platinum | 80,000$^‡$ |
| Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil) | 7× Diamond | 1,750,000$^‡$ |
| Canada (Music Canada) | 7× Platinum | 560,000$^‡$ |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark) | 2× Platinum | 180,000$^‡$ |
| France (SNEP) | Diamond | 233,333$^‡$ |
| Germany (BVMI) | Diamond | 1,000,000$^‡$ |
| Italy (FIMI) | 5× Platinum | 250,000$^‡$ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ) | Platinum | 30,000$^‡$ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway) | 3× Platinum | 180,000$^‡$ |
| Poland (ZPAV) | 2× Diamond | 500,000$^‡$ |
| Portugal (AFP) | 5× Platinum | 50,000$^‡$ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE) | 4× Platinum | 240,000$^‡$ |
| Sweden (GLF) | 2× Platinum | 80,000$^‡$ |
| United Kingdom (BPI) | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000$^‡$ |
| United States (RIAA) | 14× Platinum | 14,000,000$^‡$ |
| Streaming |||
| Greece (IFPI Greece) | Platinum | 2,000,000$^†$ |
| Summaries |||
| Worldwide (IFPI) | — | 15,400,000 |
| $^‡$ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. $^†$ Streaming-only figures based on certification alone. |||

## Notable usage in media

* The instrumental version of Believer used in the American film The 15:17 to Paris by Clint Eastwood.
* The song was used in a Nintendo Switch commercial shown during Super Bowl LI.
* The song appeared in the trailer for the 2017 film Murder on the Orient Express where its usage was met with mixed response.
* The song appeared on the CW series Riverdale.
* The song appeared on the Netflix series Lucifer in the opening scene of Season 05 Episode 11, "Resting Devil Face".
* The song is in the dance rhythm game Just Dance 2022.
* The song appears in a 2021 advert for the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Z Flip 3.
* In 2022, the song appeared in commercials for 2K Sports' WWE brand video game, WWE 2K22.
* In 2022, the song's Halloween remix is promoted during a skit on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
* This song appears in a rhythm game Rock Band 4.
* A remake of the song by metalcore band Hanabie. was used as the main theme for Japanese TV drama "Kenshiro ni Yoroshiku".
* The song plays on a loop in the main menu of the 2023 version of the mobile game MLB Perfect Inning, with Gerrit Cole as the cover star.
* In 2023, the song was used in the American film Prom Pact.