Amsterdam (Imagine Dragons song)

"Amsterdam"
Promotional single by Imagine Dragons from the album Night Visions
Released September 4, 2012
Recorded December 2010 at
Studio at the Palms
(Paradise, Nevada, United States)
Genre Indie rock
Length 4:01
Label KIDinaKORNER, Interscope
Producer Ben McKee, Dan Platzman, Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Alexander Grant, Brandon Darner

Imagine Dragons singles chronology
"It's Time"
(2012)
"Amsterdam"
(2012)
"Hear Me"
(2012)

"Amsterdam" is a song written and recorded by American indie rock band Imagine Dragons, for their third self-released extended play, It's Time. It appears as the second track on the EP. The song was later reproduced and remastered for inclusion on their debut album Night Visions and appears as the sixth track on the album.

Composition

"Amsterdam"
"Amsterdam" is a contrast to its predecessor "On Top of the World".

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"Amsterdam" runs at 115 beats per minute.[1] The song, originally featured on the band's It's Time EP released in March 2011, was one of the earliest Imagine Dragons songs to incorporate electronic music into their traditional rock band set-up evident in their earlier works. The song, along with most of the It's Time EP, used electronic music to create the timbre and texture of the song rather than forming the melodies and riffs of the song. A similar concept was first used by the band for "Hear Me", a song off their 2010 extended play Hell and Silence.

On Night Visions, the song immediately contrasts the upbeat "On Top of the World", which appears as the predecessor track to "Amsterdam" on Night Visions, and is one of the album's darker songs, despite having a more uplifting tone than other tracks on the album. [2]

Release

"Amsterdam" was exclusively released as a free download via iTunes for a limited time. The song was released as iTunes' "Single of the Week" on the week of the album's release in countries with respective release dates of the album. The single was first released in North America on the American September 4, 2012 release date,[3] and again in European countries on the European February 7, 2013 release date of the album.[4]

Live performances

"Amsterdam" is one of the band's most played songs, being played at an excess of over 90 concerts since its first play during the band's 2010 performances.[5] The song is also a regular on the setlist of the band's Night Visions tour, on which they embarked in 2013. The song is usually played after the setlist opener "Round and Round".[6][7]

Track listing

Digital download
No. Title Length
1. "Amsterdam"   4:01

Personnel

Adapted from Night Visions liner notes.[8]

Imagine Dragons

Additional personnel
  • Brandon Darner – co-producer
  • Mark Everton Gray – recording
  • Mark Needham – mixing
  • Will Brierre – engineer
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering

Charts

Chart (2013–14) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[9] 18
Canada Rock (Billboard)[10] 45
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[11] 48

Release history

Country Date Format Label
Canada September 4, 2012 Digital download Interscope Records
United States[3]
Belgium February 7, 2013
France
Germany[4]
Netherlands
Ireland April 6, 2013
United Kingdom

References

  1. "Online Metronomer". Metronomer.com. Retrieved 4 January 2013.
  2. http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107859425796/
  3. 3.0 3.1 Smith, Grady (September 13, 2012). "'It's Time' rockers Imagine Dragons on their hit debut album, meeting Emma Watson, and getting covered on 'Glee'". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 29, 2013.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Amsterdam – Single by Imagine Dragons". iTunes Store (DE). Apple. Archived from the original on February 9, 2013. Retrieved February 9, 2013.
  5. "Imagine Dragons songs". setlist.fm. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  6. "Imagine Dragons Setlist at Coliseu dos Recreios, Lisbon, Portugal". setlist.fm. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  7. "Imagine Dragons Setlist at Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ, USA". setlist.fm. Retrieved 23 June 2013.
  8. Night Visions (Deluxe Edition) (liner notes). Imagine Dragons. Interscope Records. 2013.
  9. "Ultratop.be – Imagine Dragons – Amsterdam" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved July 20, 2014.
  10. "Imagine Dragons – Chart History: Canada Rock". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  11. "Imagine Dragons – Chart History: Rock Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved January 20, 2014.