Imagine Dragons’ ‘Whatever It Takes’ Joins YouTube Billions Club

Imagine Dragons’ fantastical video for their song “Whatever It Takes” has surpassed one billion views on YouTube, joining the YouTube Billions Club. Originally released in 2017, the track appears on the album Evolve.

The video opens with lead singer Dan Reynolds swimming through a room completely submerged in water, before cutting away to reveal the band playing in the same room, completely dry. As they perform, it begins to rain, and the room gradually fills until it’s completely submerged. The band struggle to play above water, and Reynolds is fighting for air until a pair of sirens pull him down. The shot of the drowning members ultimately cuts away for the last time to show the room is instead on fire, surrounded by desert, as the group performs the last chorus.

The clip was directed by Matt Eastin and Aaron Hymes, who also directed the videos for the group’s hits “On Top of the World,” “Roots,” and “Believer.” The sirens were played by members of Cirque Du Soleil.

“Whatever It Takes” won Best Rock Video at the 2018 VMAs, beating out entries from fellow nominees Foo Fighters, Thirty Seconds To Mars, and Fall Out Boy, among others.

The song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard 100 and was featured as the theme song for the WWE PPV event Battleground. It additionally appeared in the 2018 video game Madden NFL 18.

Imagine Dragons recently achieved another milestone, becoming the first band to be broadcasted from the moon. Yes, the band’s track “Children Of The Sky,” recorded for the open-world video game Starfield, was transmitted back to Earth from the surface of the Moon. This all happened when they performed the song at their Hollywood Bowl show on October 27th featuring the Los Angeles Film Orchestra and composer Inon Zur. The show was part of the group’s North American tour promoting their 2024 album, LOOM.

Check out the Imagine Dragons Smoke + Mirrors anniversary box set and merch drop here.