Daniel Coulter Reynolds (born July 14, 1987) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist and a founding member of the pop rock band Imagine Dragons, which he formed in 2008. Born and raised in Las Vegas, Reynolds is a recipient of the Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award.
Reynolds was born in Las Vegas, the seventh of nine children (eight boys and one girl) of Christene M. (née Callister) and Ronald Reynolds, a lawyer and author. Both are natives of Nevada, and Reynolds is a fourth generation Nevadan. As a Boy Scout he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2005. Reynolds was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). When he was 19 years old he volunteered full-time as a missionary in Nebraska for two years. As of 2024, Reynolds was no longer a practicing member of the LDS Church.
Reynolds wrote the song "I Bet My Life" celebrating and reflecting on his enduring relationship with his parents. Following his graduation from Bonanza High School, he attended University of Nevada, Las Vegas, after losing his ecclesiastical endorsement for Brigham Young University (BYU). Reynolds then transferred to BYU after serving an LDS mission, where he studied communications, marketing, and music and excelled academically. While at BYU, he formed Imagine Dragons and won the school's Battle of the Bands competition before leaving to pursue music full-time.
Imagine Dragons (2008–present)
Reynolds was initially reluctant to become a professional musician, partially because future bandmate Wayne Sermon had once told him: "Don't do music because you want to do music - do music if you have to do music". After he began attending Brigham Young University, Reynolds found that he could not "do anything else" and committed fully to a professional music career. In Utah, Reynolds met and recruited drummer Andrew Tolman to form Imagine Dragons. With Reynolds as lead vocalist, Imagine Dragons won BYU's "Battle of the Bands" and other local competitions. Bassist Ben McKee joined the band in Las Vegas and after Tolman's departure 2011 invited Daniel Platzman, also a friend of Wayne's from Berklee College of Music, to play drums, thus completing the group's longest-standing lineup. The band relocated to Las Vegas, where they began performing almost nightly as a lounge act. It was there in 2009 that they caught their first big break when Train's frontman, Pat Monahan, fell sick just prior to the Bite of Las Vegas Festival. Imagine Dragons were called to fill in for them and performed in front of a crowd of more than 26,000 people. In November 2011, they signed with Interscope Records and began working with Grammy award-winning producer Alex da Kid.
Imagine Dragons released their debut studio album Night Visions on September 4, 2012. The album was preceded by their first single "It's Time", released on August 18, 2012. Night Visions charted in the top ten albums in the U.S. in 2012, 2013, and 2014. It won a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Album and was nominated for a Juno Award for International Album of the Year. The album's second single, "Radioactive", reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Radioactive" set the all-time record for the longest reign at the top of the Billboard Rock Songs chart, with 23 consecutive weeks. It also broke the all-time record for longest run on the Billboard Hot 100, with 87 weeks, a record that would remain unbroken until The Weeknd's smash single "Blinding Lights" charted for an 88th week on the Billboard Hot 100 in August 2021. Rolling Stone called it "the biggest rock hit of the year". It is the best-selling rock song in digital history, with sales of more than 7.5 million copies in the United States, and was certified diamond by the RIAA. The third single, "Demons", reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the eighth best-selling rock song in digital history with sales in excess of 5 million copies in the United States. Imagine Dragons were nominated for two Grammy Awards, Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance; they won the latter. They also won two AMAs for Favorite Alternative Artist, a Teen Choice Award for Choice Rock Group, a World Music Award for World's Best Rock Act, and a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Artist. The band made their major festival headlining debut at the Made In America Music Festival in 2014 and also drew large crowds and positive reviews at festivals such as Lollapalooza Brazil in 2014.
Imagine Dragons released their second album, Smoke + Mirrors, in February 2015. Smoke + Mirrors debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, UK Albums Chart, and Canadian Albums Chart. Two of the album's four singles, "I Bet My Life" and "Shots", charted on the Billboard Hot 100.Imagine Dragons released their third album Evolve on June 23, 2017. Evolve debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart. Singles "Believer", "Thunder", and "Whatever It Takes", each of which have charted at #4, #4, and #12 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Believer topped the Billboard Hot Rock Songs (29 weeks), Alternative Songs (13 weeks), and Adult Top 40 charts. Thunder also topped the Billboard Hot Rock Songs (22 weeks so far) and Alternative Songs chart (3 weeks so far), as well as the Mainstream Top 40 chart. Whatever It Takes topped the Billboard Rock Songs chart (17 weeks so far) and Alternative Songs chart (3 weeks). In 2018, the band was nominated for two more Grammy Awards and received the iHeartRadio Music Award for Alternative Rock Artists of the Year.
Imagine Dragons released their fourth studio album Origins on November 9, 2018. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200. The singles "Natural" and "Bad Liar" peaked at #13 and #56 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively.
Imagine Dragons released their fifth studio album Mercury - Act 1 on September 3, 2021. The album debuted at #9 on the Billboard 200. The singles "Follow You" and "Enemy" peaked at #68 and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Mercury - Act 2, the second part of the album, was released on July 1, 2022. The single "Bones" peaked at #47 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Imagine Dragons released their sixth studio album Loom on June 28, 2024. The album peaked at #22 on the Billboard 200. The lead single "Eyes Closed" peaked at #7 on Billboard's Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles on April 20, 2024.
Reynolds was invited to perform an opening set for Nico Vega in 2010, where he met Aja Volkman, the group's lead singer. He asked her to help him finish some demos he was developing. The two began collaborating, and formed Egyptian. They recorded, produced, and independently released a four track eponymous EP digitally. They have only performed this material once live.
In 2013, Reynolds discovered the unsigned alternative band X Ambassadors. After connecting with the band, he brokered a record deal for them with KidinaKorner/Interscope Records. Dan co-wrote a few songs on their debut album VHS, which has gone on to achieve Platinum certification by the RIAA.
Night Street Records and Loveloud festival (2016–present)
In 2016, Reynolds formed Night Street Records, an imprint label under Interscope Records. His first signing was alternative hip-hop artist K.Flay. Reynolds later signed artist Benson Boone in collaboration with Warner Records in 2021. Both Night Street Records artists have since been nominated for Grammy Awards, and Boone's song "Beautiful Things" went on to become the biggest-selling single in the world in 2024.
He organized the charity festival Loveloud, held August 26, 2017, in Orem, to "fight against teen suicide and to bring communities [...] and encourage acceptance" of LGBTQ youth. The concert donated the profits to LGBTQ organizations The Trevor Project, GLAAD, and others. Performing acts included Imagine Dragons, Neon Trees, Krewella, Joshua James, and Nicholas Petricca (of Walk the Moon). The film Believer, centering on LGBTQ youth suicides in Utah, and the Loveloud concert, premiered at Sundance on January 20, 2018, and on HBO on June 25, 2018.