Origins (Imagine Dragons album)
Origins is the fourth studio album by the American pop rock band Imagine Dragons, released on November 9, 2018 by Kidinakorner, Polydor Records[1] and Interscope Records.
Origins
November 9, 2018
November 2017 – October 2018
40:03
- Mattman & Robin
- Alex da Kid
- John Hill
- Joel Little
- Jorgen Odegard
- Tim Randolph
- Ido Zmishlany
- Kygo
- Imagine Dragons
The album was produced by the band members themselves, Alex da Kid, Mattman & Robin, John Hill, Joel Little, Tim Randolph, and Jayson DeZuzio, who produced a majority of the band's previous effort, Evolve (2017), as well as Jorgen Odegard. Frontman Dan Reynolds described Origins as a "sister album" to Evolve, and that it would complete a cycle of their music.
Origins received generally mixed reviews from critics, but many claimed that the album is an improvement from Evolve. The album was preceded by four singles: "Natural", "Zero", "Machine" and "Bad Liar". The final single, "Birds", was released in 2019.
Background[edit]
The album cover for Origins, along with several pieces of merchandise revolving around the album were leaked online on October 2, 2018. The following day, Imagine Dragons officially announced the album to the public with a trailer. Within the trailer, the band spoke about why they were releasing a new album so soon after their previous album Evolve, along with just finishing the Evolve World Tour in September 2018. Lead singer Dan Reynolds stated that although bands typically take a break for a while after touring, the band had already written songs that felt right to produce and release immediately, as they would be in a completely different place in the future.[2] The end of the Evolve World Tour immediately concluded the Evolve album cycle, and began the Origins album cycle.
Composition[edit]
Hannah Mylrea of NME described the album as "stuffed full of stadium-filling slices of the band's trademark electronic infused pop-rock", [3] while Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic stated that he felt the band attempted to make Origins blend in with rock, pop, electronic, and soul music playlists.[4]
Singles[edit]
On July 17, 2018, "Natural" was released as the lead single. To promote the single, it was chosen by ESPN as the anthem of the 2018 College Football season. The song has since peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100.[7][8] Its music video starring the band was released on August 24, 2018.[9]
On September 19, 2018, "Zero" was released as the second single. The song is featured in the Disney animated film Ralph Breaks the Internet and was included in its second official trailer, along with the ending credits for the film.[10] The music video, which takes place in an arcade and includes several references to the film, was released on October 23, 2018. The song peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.[11]
On October 31, 2018, Imagine Dragons released the third single off the album, "Machine".[12]
On November 6, 2018, "Bad Liar" was released as the fourth single.[13] The song has since peaked at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100.[14] A music video for the song was released on January 24, 2019.[15]
On June 21, 2019, Imagine Dragons released the fifth single off the album, "Birds", featuring Italian singer Elisa. The original album version of the song had already charted in some countries earlier that month. An animated music video for the original song was released on July 23, 2019.[16]
Commercial performance[edit]
Origins debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 with 91,000 album-equivalent units (including 61,000 pure album sales), making it the band's fourth top two album and their third album to debut at number 2.[28] As of August 31, 2021, the album has been certified Platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of 1 million units in the country alone.[29]