Fact Finder - Music

Imagine Dragons' 'Radioactive' holds the record for the slowest climb to the Top 5 in Billboard history and the record for the most weeks spent on the Hot 100 (87 weeks). A blend of alternative rock and heavy dubstep-influenced production, the song's 'booming' drum sound became a hallmark of early 2010s pop-rock. Lead singer Dan Reynolds wrote the song about his personal struggle with depression and his 'awakening' to a new outlook on life. The track was a 'sleeper hit,' gaining popularity through its use in video game trailers (Assassin's Creed III) and commercials before finally conquering radio. It won the Grammy for Best Rock Performance. Its success proved that 'genre-bending' tracks could achieve massive commercial longevity in the streaming era, where songs often stay in the public consciousness for years rather than weeks.