Dan Reynolds (singer)

Dan Reynolds
Reynolds performing in 2013
Born	Daniel Coulter Reynolds (1987-07-14) July 14, 1987 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Occupation	Singer songwriter multi-instrumentalist record producer
Years active	2008–present
Spouse(s)	Aja Volkman (m. 2011)
Children	3
Musical career
Genres	Alternative rock[1] indie rock[2] pop rock[2] indie pop[3] electropop[1]
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano keyboards synthesizers drums percussion
Labels	Interscope
Associated acts	Imagine Dragons Egyptian
Website	imaginedragonsmusic.com

Daniel Coulter "Dan" Reynolds (born July 14, 1987)^[4] is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist for the rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds also released an EP in 2011, titled Egyptian – EP,^[5] as a duo with Aja Volkman of Nico Vega under the moniker Egyptian.^[6] He is a recipient of the Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award.^[7][8]

Early life

Reynolds was born on July 14, 1987 in Las Vegas, the seventh of nine children born to Christene M. (born Callister) and Ronald Reynolds, a lawyer and author.^[9] Both are natives of Nevada, and Reynolds is a 4th generation Nevadan.^[10] As a Boy Scout, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout in 2005.^[11][12] Reynolds is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. When he was 19 years old, he volunteered full-time as a missionary in Nebraska for two years.^{[13][14][15][16]} Reynolds wrote the song "I Bet My Life" celebrating and reflecting on his enduring relationship with his parents.^[17] He attended Brigham Young University, where he studied communications, marketing, and music and excelled academically before leaving to pursue music full-time.^[18]

Career

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".^[19] 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.^[20] With Reynolds as lead vocalist, Imagine Dragons won BYU's "Battle of the Bands" and other local competitions.^[21] 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 current lineup. The band relocated to Las Vegas, where they began performing almost nightly as a lounge act.^[13][22][23] It was there in 2010 that they caught their first big break when Train's frontman 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.^[24] In November 2011, they signed with Interscope Records and began working with Grammy award winning producer Alex da Kid.^[25]

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.^[26] It won a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Album and was nominated for a Juno Award for International Album of the Year.^[27] The album's second single, "Radioactive", reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Radioctive" set the all-time record for the longest reign at the top of the Billboard Rock Songs chart, with 23 consecutive weeks and the all-time record for longest run on the Billboard Hot 100, with 87 weeks.^[28] Rolling Stone called it "the biggest rock hit of the year".^[29][30] 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.^[31][32] The third single, "Demons", reached #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, the latter of which they won. 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.^[33][34]

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.^[35][36] Two of the album's four singles, "I Bet My Life" and "Shots", charted on the Billboard Hot 100.^[37][38]

Imagine Dragons released their third album Evolve on June 23, 2017. Evolve debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and number one on the Canadian Albums Chart. Singles "Believer", "Thunder", and "Whatever It Takes", each of which have charted at number 6, number 70, and number 92 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. Believer has also topped the Billboard Alternative Songs and Hot Rock Songs charts.^[39] and Alternative Songs (13 weeks so far).^[40][41]

Egyptian (2010)

Invited to perform an opening set for Nico Vega, Reynolds met Aja Volkman, the group's lead singer, in 2010. He invited her to help him finish some demos he was working on.^{[42][43][44][45]} The two began a collaborative process which they titled Egyptian.^[43] They recorded, produced, and released independently a four track eponymous EP digitally. They have performed this material only once live.^[46][47]

X Ambassadors (2013)

In 2013, Dan discovered then unsigned alternative band X Ambassadors. After connecting with the band, he brokered a record deal for them with KidinaKorner/Interscope Records.^[48] Dan co-wrote a few songs on their debut album VHS, which has gone on to achieve Gold certification by the RIAA.^[49]

Night Street Records (2016-present)

In 2016, Dan formed Night Street Records, an imprint label under Interscope Records. His first signing was alternative hip-hop artist K.Flay.^[50] Kristine's (K.Flay) debut single "Blood in the Cut" reached #3 on modern rock radio, and her debut album "Every Where Is Some Where" was released on April 7, 2017.^[51]

Personal life

On March 5, 2011, Reynolds married Aja Volkman. The two have three daughters; Arrow Eve Reynolds, who was born on August 8, 2012, and twin girls Gia James and Coco Rae Reynolds, who were born on March 28, 2017.^[52] Reynolds suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, and in 2016 partnered with Novartis's ThisASLife to raise awareness about the severe inflammatory disease.^[53]

Discography

Studio albums

• Night Visions (2012)
• Smoke + Mirrors (2015)
• Evolve (2017)

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Songwriters Hall of Fame

• Hal David Starlight Award (2014)^[7][8]

Philanthropy

Since 2013, Imagine Dragons along with the family of Tyler Robinson have supported The Tyler Robinson Foundation, helping young people battling cancer.^[65][66] Imagine Dragons have also partnered with Do The Write Thing: National Campaign to Stop Violence,^[67] Amnesty International's "Bringing Human Rights Home",^[68] OneOrlando Fund's "All Is One Orlando Unity Concert",^[69] and Crackle's "Playing It Forward" (S1 E2).^[70] In 2015, Imagine Dragons released track "I Was Me" with all proceeds going to the One4 project to help fleeing refugees, particularly in the Middle East.^[71]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dan Reynolds (singer).

• Official website