"Bones" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released through Interscope and Kidinakorner on March 11, 2022, as the lead single from the band's fifth studio album, Mercury – Acts 1 & 2. It was written by Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, and its producers Mattman & Robin.
Background and release On March 9, 2022, the band posted to their social media, asking fans to head over to their official Discord server at 3:00PST for a surprise. The band's manager and frontman Dan Reynolds' brother, Mac, sent a WAV file containing the first 13 seconds of "Bones". The next day, the band announced on TikTok that the song would be released on March 11. The day afterward, the song was featured in the teaser for the third season of the Amazon Prime Video series, The Boys.
Upon the song's release, Reynolds stated to Rolling Stone, "'Bones' is a reflection of my constant obsession with the finality and fragility of my bone. I'm always in search of some evidence that will convince me that there is more to come—that life is truly eternal in some sense. Having yet to find that, I try to at least dream of what conquering death would feel like in a song." The song plays on a loop in the main menu of the mobile game MLB Perfect Inning 24 with cover star Corey Seager, following "Believer" playing in the 2023 edition.
Composition Musically, Emily Zemler of Rolling Stone described "Bones" as a "mid-tempo rock-heavy track".
Music video On April 6, 2022, the band released an official music video for the song, directed by Jason Koenig. The video draws influences from The Wolf of Wall Street and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" music video. The video stars frontman Dan Reynolds as an egoistic Wall Street day trader, while the other band members star as coworkers. However, all the workers suddenly turn into dancing zombies, who chase Reynolds around the office. Reynolds is then hypnotized into joining the zombies' dance performance, before the spell breaks, he gets caught, and is decapitated.
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Bones" Chart (2022–2025) Peakposition Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 8 Estonia Airplay (TopHit) 43 France (SNEP) 24 Greece International (IFPI) 37 Italy (FIMI) 39 Kazakhstan Airplay (TopHit) 77 Lithuania (AGATA) 18 Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard) 1 New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ) 6 Poland (Polish Streaming Top 100) 76 Romania Airplay (TopHit) 167 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 2 San Marino Airplay (SMRTV Top 50) 9 South Africa (RISA) 72 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) 90 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 3 Vietnam (Vietnam Hot 100) 36
Monthly charts + Monthly chart performance for "Bones" Chart (2022) Peakposition Russia Airplay (TopHit) 3
Year-end charts + 2022 year-end chart performance for "Bones" Chart (2022) Position Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) 41 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) 63 France (SNEP) 64 Global 200 (Billboard) 76 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 91 Hungary (Stream Top 40) 45 Italy (FIMI) 86 Lithuania (AGATA) 52 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 71 Poland (ZPAV) 77 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 6 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 28 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 46 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) 32 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 12 US Rock Airplay (Billboard) 30 + 2023 year-end chart performance for "Bones" Chart (2023) Position Global 200 (Billboard) 55Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 12 Russia Airplay (TopHit) 106 Ukraine Airplay (TopHit) 68 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard) 35
+ 2024 year-end chart performance for "Bones" Chart (2024) Position Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 89 CIS Airplay (TopHit) 141Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 43
+ 2025 year-end chart performance for "Bones" Chart (2025) Position Belarus Airplay (TopHit) 75 Hungary (Rádiós Top 40) 37
Certifications
Release history + Release history and formats for "Bones"RegionDateFormatLabelVariousMarch 11, 2022 United States April 5, 2022 Alternative radio Interscope June 7, 2022 Contemporary hit radio
References