“Believer” is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released on February 1, 2017, through Kidinakorner and Interscope Records as the lead single from the band’s third studio album, Evolve (2017). It was written by the band members, 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 was played heavily in advertisements, notably for the Nintendo Switch Super Bowl LI advertisement, and several film and television trailers. It was the fifth best-selling song of 2017 in the United States and one of the best-selling singles of all time.
In March 2017, Dan Reynolds told People that the song was inspired by his experiences with ankylosis spondylitis that he developed, elaborating by saying: 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.
“Believer” is an arena rock and pop rock song. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com, “Believer” has a tempo of 125 beats per minute. Written in the time signature of 128, the song is in the key of B♭ minor and follows a chord progression of B♭m-G♭-F (i-♭VI-V). Reynolds’ vocal range spans from A♭3 to D♭5 during the song. The official music video for the song was directed by Matt Eastin. It features a boxing match between Reynolds and Dolph Lundgren. It was the most watched rock video of the 2010s in the United States according to Vevo, receiving over 158 million views in the U.S. The first televised performance of “Believer” was during an episode of the ABC late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!, released on March 22, 2017.
“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.
“Believer” was used in various areas, including the first two trailers of the 2017 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, the Riverdale season 1 finale episode “Chapter Thirteen: The Sweet Hereafter”, and a Jeep advertisement. Bonner Bolton and Sharna Burgess performed an Argentine tango the song in the 24th season of Dancing with the Stars. The song was used in a Nintendo Switch commercial shown during Super Bowl LI. Upon its usage in the commercial, the song debuted at number two on the Billboard Top TV Commercials chart. A remake of the song by metalcore band Hanabie. was used as the main theme for Japanese TV drama Kenshiro ni Yoroshiku.
