Radioactive” is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons for their major-label debut EP Continued Silence and later on their debut studio album, Night Visions (2012), as the opening track. It was first sent to modern rock radio on October 29, 2012,and then released to contemporary radio on April 9, 2013. Musically, “Radioactive” is an electronic rock and alternative rock song with elements of dubstep. In a 2021 podcast interview called The Turning Point, Dan Reynolds revealed that after almost a decade, he had realized that lyrics were actually about him not giving up hope after losing faith in Mormonism.
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The song received positive reviews from critics, who praised the production, lyrics, and vocals, calling it a highlight on the album. Due to heavy rotation on various commercials and trailers, the song became a sleeper hit, peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and becoming the band’s first top 10 single as well as being the third best selling song in that country in 2013 It also broke the record for slowest ascension to the top 5 in chart history and held the record for most weeks spent on the Billboard Hot 100 at 87 weeks, a record for 7 years. The song has also reached number one in Sweden and in the top 20 in several countries including Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, becoming Imagine Dragons’ most successful single to date. It has since been certified Diamond in the US, making it one of the best selling singles of all time.
“Radioactive” received two Grammy Awards nominations for Record of the Year and Best Rock Performance, winning the latter. This was Imagine Dragons’ first time being nominated. During the broadcast, they presented a remix of the song with their Interscope label-mate, rapper Kendrick Lamar. The remix was later released for purchase on iTunes.
