We're listening to everything from hip-hop to classical music to South American favela music to jazz to country music.

'We never aspired to cater to one kind of person or musical audience. 'We can't help but be ourselves, but we really try not to be confined at all by the music we're inspired by and inspired to create,' McKee says. Is this intriguing statistic a result of Imagine Dragons being an inventive band or a public having difficulty discerning the quartet's sound? In 2013, they were one of the most queried artists on the app Shazam, which aids users in identifying what song they're hearing on the radio. 'It was really crazy and an amazing honor to be included in that elite group,' McKee recalls.Īs the music industry struggles to reach consumers and make money through streaming and downloads, Imagine Dragons embraces the Internet as a way to lure fans to their visually spectacular shows. The achievement puts Imagine Dragons in the same company as Elton John, Lady Gaga, and Eminem.

The band's unavoidable epic single 'Radioactive' has reached the Recording Industry Association of America's diamond status, one of only five songs in the past decade to have been sold and streamed 10 million times. Their second album, Smoke + Mirrors, debuted on top of the Billboard album chart in February. The Las Vegas-based musicians have become one of the biggest rock groups in the world.

In hindsight, the bassist for Imagine Dragons (whose members also include singer Dan Reynolds, Wayne 'Wing' Sermon on guitar, and drummer Daniel Platzman) knows his decision to drop out to join the quartet was the right one. Ben McKee's decision to drop out of the prestigious Berklee College of Music with only one semester remaining to join Imagine Dragons must have seemed foolish at the time.

Imagine dragons school