On Top of the World (Imagine Dragons song)

"On Top of the World" is a song by the American rock band Imagine Dragons for their major-label debut extended play Continued Silence (2012), where it appears as the third track. The song also appears on their debut studio album Night Visions (2012) as the fifth track. "On Top of the World" was released digitally as a single on 18 March 2013.

"On Top of the World"
Single by Imagine Dragons
from the album Night Visions
Released	18 March 2013
Recorded	2011–12 at Westlake Recording Studios (Los Angeles, United States)
Length	3:12
Label	KIDinaKORNER Interscope Universal
Songwriter(s)	Ben McKee Dan Platzman Dan Reynolds Wayne Sermon Alexander Grant
Producer(s)	Imagine Dragons Alex da Kid
Imagine Dragons singles chronology
"Demons" (2013) "On Top of the World" (2013) "Monster" (2013)
Music video
"On Top of the World" on YouTube

Composition

"On Top of the World" primarily features Magne guitar and piano instrumentation, with vocals performed by lead singer Dan Reynolds.[1] Originally published in the key of C major,[1] the song itself expresses a celebration of accomplishment for the band after striving for years to become successful.[2] The song incorporates the chord progression of C-F-C-Dm in the verses, and F-C-G-Dm in the chorus and bridge, with the pre-chorus using Am and G to create a different break in the song.[3] The song "On Top of the World" is found to be a positive, upbeat track, unlike other songs found on Night Visions, including "Bleeding Out" and "Hear Me".

The song is built on a sample of minimalist composer Steve Reich's "Clapping Music" from 1972.

In media

Imagine Dragons performed the song live on the Australian version of The X Factor in 2013.[4]

"On Top of the World" was licensed for inclusion on the soundtrack of EA Sports game, FIFA 13. The band, longtime fans of the FIFA video game series, reacted positively to its inclusion in the game and stated that it would be "a lot of fun hearing the track play while we are doing bicycle kicks and screaming at the screen."[5] It also served as the opening theme of the short-lived CBS comedy series Partners.[6] "On Top of the World" was performed by the PS22 Chorus during Barack Obama's second United States presidential inauguration.[7] It also featured in Konami video game Pro Evolution Soccer 2013 as well as being used in a Samsung Galaxy Note 8.0 advert.

The song was featured prominently in the film The Incredible Burt Wonderstone several times.

The song was featured in the British kids film All Stars (2013 film).

The song is featured in the Liv and Maddie episode "Twin-a-Rooney", performed by Dove Cameron in the title role of Liv Rooney. Dove Cameron's version appears on the compilation album Disney Channel Play It Loud.

Hunter Hayes covered the song live on his US tour.[8]

The song was used by ESPN for their coverage of the NBA for the 2013–14 NBA season.

The song was used during Cartoon Network's 2013 Hall of Game Awards.

The song was used in trailers for the films The Croods (2013) and Island of Lemurs: Madagascar (2014).

WPVI-TV in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania uses the song to promote their morning news, Action News Mornings.

The song is used in the Coca-Cola promotional video "Moments of Happiness", shown exclusively at the World of Coca-Cola in Atlanta, Georgia.

The song was featured in the soundtracks of Alpha and Omega: The Legend of the Saw Tooth Cave and The Angry Birds Movie.

From 2013 to 2015, Vodafone Portugal used the song in their ads for the Red phone plan.[9]

In November 2017, Ford used this song in their Black Friday year-end event sales commercial.[10]

Music video

The official music video satirizes a popular conspiracy theory that the Apollo moon landings were faked with the help of director Stanley Kubrick (pictured)

As a part of the Palladia documentary Imagine Dragons: The Making of Night Visions, which originally aired on 7 November 2012, the band filmed a video of themselves performing "On Top of the World" and subsequently uploaded it to YouTube.

On 13 November 2013 the band released an official music video for the song.[11] The video satirizes a popular conspiracy theory that the 1969 Moon landings were faked, the footage having been directed by Stanley Kubrick, and that Kubrick then made references to the fakery in various of his subsequent films. In the video, a rock band similar to the Beatles (played by the members of Imagine Dragons) pretend to be astronauts for the faked moon landing. The taping goes awry as fans of the band stream into the sound stage and turn the event into a rock concert, much to the chagrin of Kubrick and President Richard Nixon, who is also on hand; though no one else watching, either in the studio or at home, seems concerned about the revelation of fakery, instead enjoying the music.[11] The video also briefly references another popular conspiracy theory from around the same time, that Beatles member Paul McCartney died in 1966 and was replaced by a look-alike.[11]

The video was filmed in Provo, Utah, Imagine Dragons' original hometown, and includes cameos from various celebrities associated with Provo or Brigham Young University, including Jon Heder, Whit Hertford, the cast of the TV show Studio C, guitarist Robbie Connolly, and members of The New Electric Sound. Singer Aja Volkman, Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds' wife, appears as Reynolds' character's wife.[12] The video was co-directed by Matt Eastin and Corey Fox.[13]

Track listing

Digital download[14]

No.	Title	Length
1.	"On Top of the World"	3:12

Promotional CD

No.	Title	Length
1.	"On Top of the World"	2:58

Commercial performance

The song peaked at 79 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and 10 on the Hot Rock Songs charts. It has also charted in the top ten in Australia (No. 10), Austria (No. 6), Netherlands (No. 10), New Zealand (No. 10), Poland (No. 7), and Portugal (No. 1). Despite having not yet been released to mainstream radio, it has received airplay on contemporary hit stations, such as 97.1 ZHT in Salt Lake City.

The song reached a million copies sold in the U.S. in April 2014. It is the fourth million seller from the Night Visions album.[15]

Personnel

Adapted from Night Visions liner notes.[16]

Imagine Dragons Dan Reynolds – lead vocals Wayne Sermon – guitar, backing vocals Ben McKee – bass, backing vocals Daniel Platzman – drums Additional musicians J Browz – guitar

Additional personnel Alexander Grant – co-writer, producer Charlie Stavish – recording Josh Mosser – engineering Manny Marroquin – mixing Joe LaPorta – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2012–14) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[17] 10 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[18] 6 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[19] 11 Belgium (Ultratip Wallonia)[20] 3 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[21] 43 Canada AC (Billboard)[22] 30 Canada Hot AC (Billboard)[23] 37 Colombia Rock Songs (National-Report Top Rock)[24] 5 Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[25] 13 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[26] 21 France (SNEP)[27] 35 Germany (Official German Charts)[28] 13 Hungary (Single Top 40)[29] 36 Iceland (RÚV)[30] 23 Ireland (IRMA)[31] 24 Italy (FIMI)[32] 10 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[33] 10 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[34] 14 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[35] 10 Portugal Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[36] 1 Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[37] 7 Scotland (OCC)[38] 29 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[39] 37 Slovenia (SloTop50)[40] 17 South Africa (EMA)[41] 4 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[42] 21 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[43] 40 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[44] 14 UK Singles (OCC)[45] 34 US Billboard Hot 100[46] 79 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[47] 10 US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[48] 22 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[49] 19

Year-end charts Chart (2013) Position Australia (ARIA)[50] 43 Germany (Official German Charts)[51] 79 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[52] 38 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[53] 42 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[54] 78 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[55] 26 Chart (2014) Position Italy (FIMI)[56] 57 Slovenia (SloTop50)[57] 50 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[58] 23 Chart (2019) Position Portugal (AFP)[59] 1340

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[60]	3× Platinum	210,000^^
Canada (Music Canada)[61]	2× Platinum	160,000
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[62] Streaming	Platinum	2,600,000
Germany (BVMI)[63]	Gold	150,000
Italy (FIMI)[64]	2× Platinum	100,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[65]	Platinum	15,000^*
Norway (IFPI Norway)[66]	Gold	5,000^*
Sweden (GLF)[67]	Platinum	40,000
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[68]	Gold	15,000^^
United Kingdom (BPI)[69]	Platinum	600,000
United States (RIAA)[70]	2× Platinum	2,000,000
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. Streaming-only figures based on certification alone.

Accolades

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
2014	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Rock Song	Nominated
	VEVO Hot This Year Awards	Best Alternative/Rock Video	Nominated

Release history

Region	Date	Format	Label
Portugal[14][71]	18 March 2013	Digital download	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER
Australia[72]		Streamed audio
United Kingdom[72]
United States[72]
Spain	27 May 2013	Contemporary hit radio	Interscope Records
Australia	22 August 2013
United States[73]	21 October 2013	Triple A radio	Interscope Records KIDinaKORNER
United Kingdom[74]	18 November 2013	Contemporary hit radio
Australia[75]		Digital download (RAC remix)
Germany[76]
United Kingdom[77]
Italy[78]	30 May 2014	Contemporary hit radio	Interscope Records

#MakeTheFuture Version

In November 2017, petroleum company Shell created a music video of "On Top Of The World" as part of their "Make The Future" campaign to promote environment-friendly energy. The featured artists were Jennifer Hudson, Pixie Lott, Luan Santana, Yemi Alade, and Monali Thakur. Another #MakeTheFuture music video also featured American Authors' 2014 hit single Best Day of My Life.

References

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External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics