Thunder

Album: Evolve (2017)
Charted: 20 4
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Here, Dan Reynolds sings about having big dreams of being a star on stage as a kid. He recalls being laughed by his classmates for such ambitions, but in the second verse, the Dragons frontman flips the script on those who mocked him.

    Now I'm smiling from the stage
    While you were clapping in the nose bleeds
  • Reynolds explained to the Las Vegas Review Journal that the song is about coming into one's own.

    "'Thunder' is: 'I'm so happy for a really (crappy) middle school and high school existence and getting kicked out of college,' " he said. "It's reflecting on all those things and saying, 'Good, I'm happy for all that because that brought me to this place of being. It created angst inside of me that bred art.'"
  • The song was co-produced by Imagine Dragons and Alex Da Kid, who is probably best known for his collaboration with Eminem and Rihanna ("Love The Way You Lie"). He has been a regular collaborator with the Dragons for a while now and worked on several of the group's previous hits including "Radioactive," "Demons," "Sucker For Pain."
  • The song soundtracked Jeep's summer 2017 "One Drive" commercial. The ad asserts that freedom is never far away behind the wheel of their SUV brand. The track also featured in Microsoft Surface Laptop's "Powerfully Beautiful" ad, which aired a few months later.
  • The music video was directed by Joseph Kahn (Eminem and Rihanna's "Love The Way You Lie", Taylor Swift's "Look What You Made Me Do") and shot in Dubai. The clip features Dan Reynolds performing while some creepy alien beings contort their bodies in all sorts of strange ways.

    "We knew that we wanted an alien environment, or something that we could twist in a way that would be perceived as alien," Reynolds told ABC Radio. "Dubai has some really strange architecture, amazing architecture and landscapes."
  • That's Dan Reynolds singing the song's high-pitched chorus rather than one of his three daughters - Arrow, Gia and Coco.

    "It's funny 'cause a lot of people have asked me if that's my five-year-old girl who's singing the 'Thunder' part in it," Reynolds told ABC Radio, referring to Arrow. "It's actually my own voice that I just pitched up!"
  • "Thunder" logged its 52nd week on the Hot 100 dated May 5, 2018. It was Imagine Dragons' fourth song to spend at least a year on the chart, an unprecedented achievement. The band was already the first act with three such hits: "Radioactive," "Demons," and "Believer."

Comments: 3

  • Rpeeps from NovaI would love to know more about the alien dancers?
  • Imaginedragonsfan2018 from GermanyIt's kind of like you never knew who says the part where Dan Reynolds says: "Just a young gun with a quick fuse"
    I like have no idea of why this was a line in Thunder. A young gun is a gun that has a very low age close to zero. A quick fuse means that the gun will be shot in less time than with a slow fuse.
  • Gwynfryn from 425 Mission Blvd.This song just recently peaked at 4th place.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up Musicians

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up MusiciansSong Writing

Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.