Bad Liar (Imagine Dragons song)

"Bad Liar"
Single by Imagine Dragons
from the album Origins
ReleasedNovember 6, 2018
GenreElectropop[1]
Length4:21
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Odegard
Imagine Dragons singles chronology
"Machine"
(2018) 		"Bad Liar"
(2018) 		"Birds"
(2019)
Music video
"Bad Liar" on YouTube

"Bad Liar" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. The song was released through Interscope and Kidinakorner records on November 6, 2018, as the fourth single from their fourth studio album, Origins (2018). It was written by Imagine Dragons, Aja Volkman and Jorgen Odegard, and produced by Odegard.

"Bad Liar" peaked at number 56 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It topped the charts in Czech Republic and Latvia, and reached the top 10 in Belgium, Finland, Slovakia and Switzerland; as well as the top 20 in Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore and Sweden. On May 31, 2019, a "stripped" version titled "Bad Liar – Stripped" was released.[2]

Background

"Bad Liar" was co-written by Imagine Dragons lead vocalist Dan Reynolds and his wife Aja Volkman shortly before they separated. However, Reynolds has said the couple did not end up going through with the divorce.[3]

The Norwegian progressive rock band Maraton pointed out that the cover image for their single "Blood Music" is the same as Imagine Dragons’ cover image for "Bad Liar", with only the coloration being different. Maraton's single was released in February 2018, while Imagine Dragons’ song dropped nine months later in November 2018. Despite the undeniable shared artwork, Maraton released a statement revealing they had purchased the artwork from the artist Beeple, but had no deal giving them exclusive rights to the photo.[4][5][6][7]

Critical reception

Idolator called the song a "brutally honest breakup anthem", and described it as "raw and stripped back".[8] Billboard compared the song's lyrical heaviness to the band's track "Demons".[9]

Music video

A music video for the song was released on January 24, 2019. It was directed by Ryan Reichenfeld and was filmed at Green Valley High School, in Henderson, Nevada. The video features dancer Autumn Miller with choreography by Marissa Osato.[10] As of February 2023, the music video has received 421 million views and 4.3 million likes.

Live performances

The song was first performed live at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada.[11] It was also performed at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show.[12]

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Certifications for "Bad Liar"
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[65] Platinum 70,000‡
Austria (IFPI Austria)[66] Platinum 30,000‡
Belgium (BEA)[67] Gold 20,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[68] 2× Diamond 320,000‡
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)[68]
Stripped Version 		Gold 20,000‡
Canada (Music Canada)[69] Platinum 80,000‡
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[70] Platinum 90,000‡
France (SNEP)[71] Platinum 200,000‡
Germany (BVMI)[72] Platinum 400,000‡
Italy (FIMI)[73] 2× Platinum 100,000‡
New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] Gold 15,000‡
Poland (ZPAV)[75] 4× Platinum 200,000‡
Portugal (AFP)[76] 2× Platinum 20,000‡
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[77] Platinum 60,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[78] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[79] 2× Platinum 2,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

Release history and formats for "Bad Liar"
Country Date Format Label Ref.
Various November 6, 2018 Digital download
[9]
Italy January 25, 2019 Contemporary hit radio Interscope [80]
United States January 29, 2019 Alternative radio [81]
February 5, 2019 Contemporary hit radio [82]

References

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  7. ^ Louder, Scott Munro2019-03-13T14:48:48Z (13 March 2019). "Prog pop band Maraton and Imagine Dragons share cover confusion". loudersound. Retrieved 2019-05-24.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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