"Shots" is a song by American rock band Imagine Dragons. It was written by band members Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Dan Reynolds and Wayne Sermon, and released as the third and final single from their second studio album Smoke + Mirrors (2015).
Composition The song shows influence of industrial music with heavy use of synthesizers. Reynolds' vocals are light, despite the dark lyrical content, recalling music from the 1980s. Sermon's guitar textures add complexity.
Promotion Imagine Dragons performed the track during a first ever live commercial (for Target) during the Grammy Awards (2015). The advertising was filmed on Las Vegas' Fremont Street under the direction of Jonas Åkerlund. The advertising promoted an exclusive edition of the album available at Target which includes four bonus tracks. It was estimated to cost $8 million and charted at number 2 on the Billboard Trending 140.
"Shots" was performed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (February 18, 2015), The Howard Stern Show (March 24, 2015), The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2015), and Today (2015).
Music video On February 12, 2015, Imagine Dragons released the official music video for "Shots". The video was directed by Robert Hales and was inspired by the artwork created by San Diego–based painter Tim Cantor. The same artwork also serves as the cover art for all of the singles for the album. Cantor himself appears as the live depiction of one of his paintings.
Track listing
Personnel Imagine Dragons Dan Reynolds – lead vocals, percussion, songwriting, production Wayne Sermon – guitar, songwriting, production Ben McKee – bass guitar, synthesizers, songwriting, production Daniel Platzman – drums, percussion, songwriting, production
Broiler remix In April 2015, Norwegian DJ and electronic music duo Broiler (Mikkel Christiansen and Simen Auke) released a remix of "Shots". It was a hit in its own right on VG-lista, the official Norwegian Singles Chart, reaching number 4 on the chart. A music video for the remix was released about 2 months later, on June 4.
Chart performance
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Shots" Chart (2015) Peakposition Australia (ARIA) 66Italy (FIMI) 69 Mexico Anglo (Monitor Latino) 19 UK Singles (Official Charts Company) 91
Broiler Remix Chart (2015) Peakposition
Year-end charts +2015 year-end chart performance for "Shots" Chart (2015) Position US Billboard Adult Alternative Songs32 US Billboard Alternative Songs42 US Billboard Hot Rock Songs16 US Billboard Rock Digital Songs33
Certifications
Release history +Release dates for "Shots" Country Date Format Label United States February 2, 2015 Digital download Italy February 6, 2015 Contemporary hit radio Interscope United States March 3, 2015 Modern rock radio KIDinaKORNER
References
External links
Imagine Dragons official website