It's Time (song)

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

"It's Time"
Single by Imagine Dragons
from the album Night Visions
Released	March 12, 2011 (2011-03-12)
Recorded	2010
Studio	Studio at the Palms (Paradise, Nevada)
Genre	Indie rock
Length	4:00
Label	Interscope KIDinaKORNER
Songwriter(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" (2011) "Radioactive" (2012)
Music video
"It's Time" on YouTube

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), 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. 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.

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]
• Featured in Gossip Girl (season 6) in the series finale episode New York, I Love You XOXO[10]
• Featured in the theatrical trailer for the 2012 film adaptation of the 1999 coming-of-age novel The Perks of Being a Wallflower.[11]
• 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.[12]
• In 2012, Darren Criss (as his character Blaine Anderson) covered "It's Time" in the season 4 premier of the musical TV series Glee.[13][13][14] The song also charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #15 as well as the Canadian Hot 100 at #30.[15]
• 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.[16][17] 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.[18]

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.[19]

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 tracks are written by Ben McKee, Dan Platzman, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon.

Digital download

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

Maxi digital download[20]

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

Remixes EP[21]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"It's Time" (Penguin Prison remix)	4:23
2.	"It's Time" (Kat Krazy Remix)	3:28
3.	"It's Time" (Jailbreaks Remix)	4:26
4.	"It's Time" (StunGun and Jailbreaks Remix)	5:06

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 Iceland (RÚV)[34] 14 Ireland (IRMA)[35] 9 Italy (FIMI)[36] 20 Japan (Japan Hot 100)[37] 7 Lebanon (Lebanese Top 20)[38] 9 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[39] 36 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[40] 37 Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[41] 46 Portugal Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[42] 6 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[43] 18 Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[44] 46 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[45] 40 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[46] 36 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[47] 38 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[48] 23 US Billboard Hot 100[49] 15 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[50] 3 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[51] 4 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[52] 22 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[53] 8 US Dance/Mix Show Airplay (Billboard)[54] 18 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[55] 10

Year-end charts Chart (2012) Position US Billboard Hot 100[56] 91 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[57] 9 Chart (2013) Position Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[58] 63 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[59] 88 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[60] 137 US Billboard Hot 100[61] 47 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[62] 6 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[63] 22 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[64] 28 US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[65] 45 Chart (2019) Position Portugal (AFP)[66] 1638 Decade-end charts Chart (2010–2019) Position US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[67] 20

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[68]	2× Platinum	140,000^^
Austria (IFPI Austria)[69]	Gold	15,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)[70]	3× Platinum	240,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[71] Streaming	Platinum	1,800,000^^
Germany (BVMI)[72]	Gold	150,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[73]	Platinum	50,000
Mexico (AMPROFON)[74]	Gold	30,000^*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[75]	Gold	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[76]	Gold	400,000
United States (RIAA)[77]	Platinum	2,986,000[78]
^*sales figures based on certification alone ^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming 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[79]	2013	9

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
United States[80][81]	February 6, 2012	Submodern rock radio	Interscope Records
	February 20, 2012	Modern rock radio
Canada[82]	September 2, 2012	Digital download (Cherry Cherry Boom Boom remix)	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER
United States[83]
United States[84]	September 18, 2012	Contemporary hit radio	Interscope Records
Canada[85]	October 2, 2012	Digital download (Passion Pit remix)	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER
United States[86]
Australia[87]	November 9, 2012	Digital download
Brazil[88]
France[89]
Italy[90]
New Zealand[91]
Philippines[92]
Russia[93]
South Africa[94]
Spain[95]
Switzerland[96]
Mexico[97]	November 13, 2012
Germany[20]	December 7, 2012
Italy[98]	January 11, 2013	Contemporary hit radio	Universal Music
United Kingdom[99]	August 2, 2013	Digital download	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER

References

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External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics