Dan Reynolds (Daniel Coulter Reynolds) is an American singer and songwriter best known as the lead singer of Las Vegas-based Grammy Award-winning pop rock band Imagine Dragons. Reynolds put the band together while in college alongside drummer Andrew Tolman who later left. Other members include Bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman (Tolman’s replacement). In their budding days, Imagine Dragons won local competitions, including Battle of the Bands, and currently, the band is considered one of the most successful bands with chart-hogging albums and tracks.
Though his rise to fame is linked to making music with Imagine Dragons, Dan Reynolds has expanded his musical horizon outside the group. He had a brief stint with Aja Volkman with whom he formed the indie rock duo, Egyptian. Reynold is also the founder of Night Street Records and the brain behind the charity Festival, LOVELOUD. Considered to be among the greatest and most influential performers of all time, Reynold, who didn’t think he could sing professionally in his budding days has earned the coveted Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award.
Biography of Imagine Dragons Frontman, Dan Reynolds
An American by nationality, Dan Reynolds was born on July 14, 1987, in Las Vegas, Nevada to Ronald Reynolds and Christene M. (née Callister). The seventh of nine children raised by his parents, Reynolds is a 4th generation Nevadan. He grew up as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was active as a Boy Scout, attaining the rank of Eagle Scout in 2005.
As a teenager, Dan Reynolds volunteered to serve full-time as a missionary in Nebraska for two years. He attended Bonanza High School and proceeded to the University of Nevada, Las Vegas before transferring to Brigham Young University. At BYU, he studied communications, marketing, and music. Beyond attaining academic excellence, Reynolds founded Imagine Dragons as a student. The band won BYU’s Battle of the Bands competition before launching a full-time career in the music industry.
Dan Reynolds Formed Imagine Dragons in 2008
Dan Reynolds decided to pursue music professionally while studying at Brigham Young University. He met drummer Andrew Tolman in college and recruited him to launch Imagine Records in 2008. The duo later recruited Andrew Beck to play the guitar, Dave Lemke on the bass and Aurora Florence to play the piano. Beck and Florence were the first to leave the band while Wayne Sermon took over the guitar. Soon afterward, Lemke left and Ben McKee replaced him as the bassist. The current members of the band are Dan Reynolds, Wayne Sermon, Ben McKee, and Daniel Platzman the latter of whom McKee invited to play the drums after the departure of Tolman.
Imagine Dragons caught their first big break in 2009 when they performed at the Bite of Las Vegas Festival. The band signed their first deal in 2011 with Interscope Records and dropped their debut studio album “Night Visions” on September 4, 2012. The album made it to the top ten albums in the US and won a Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Album among other recognitions and records set by the hit singles in the piece. The Band’s second album, “Smoke + Mirrors,” was released in February 2015. The sophomore piece peaked at the #1 spot on Billboard 200, UK Albums Charts, and Canadian Albums Chart.
Children of the Sky (a Starfield song). the official video. out now. @StarfieldGame @BethesdaStudios #Starfield pic.twitter.com/QzJCrQfyLE
— Imagine Dragons (@Imaginedragons) September 19, 2023
Released on June 23, 2017, Imagine Dragons’ third album, “Evolve” entered the Billboard 200 list at number two. Their fourth studio album “Origins,” released on November 9, 2018, attained the same feat. The band’s fifth, “Mercury – Act 1” (2021) and sixth, “Mercury – Acts 1 & 2” (2022) albums recorded minimal commercial success. Nevertheless, with chart-topping albums and tracks, the band is still together and remains relevant in the music industry.
His Other Career Endeavors Beyond Imagine Dragons
While Imagine Dragons shot him to fame, Dan Reynolds has ventured into many things outside the band. In 2010, he met Aja Volkman during a performance for her indie rock band, Nico Vega. They developed a strong connection and while working on some demos, they decided to collaborate, forming an indie rock duo named Egyptian. They have an independently released eponymous EP. In addition to the foregoing, Reynold co-wrote a few songs on X Ambassadors’ debut album – “VHS” (2013) which went on to get platinum certification by the RIAA.
Dan Reynolds launched Night Street Records in 2016 as an imprint label under Interscope Records. Alternative hip-hop artist K.Flay became the first signee to join Night Street Records. Reynolds also organized the charity festival LOVELOUD in 2017 to support LGBT organizations.
Dan Reynolds and Aja Volkman had an Unsteady Marriage
Dan Reynolds and Aja Volkman are both singers who met on the job. They exchanged marriage vows on March 5, 2011, and made their first move towards divorce on April 26, 2018. Reynolds made the announcement about their imminent divorce at the time but the couple later patched things up between them. According to the Imagine Dragon’s frontman, Volkman co-wrote the band’s song Bad Liar with him and they had reconciled.
However, the divorce woes came knocking again after a couple of years. Reynolds, again, took to the media on September 16, 2022, to announce that he was separating from Volkman. She was the one who filed for divorce on April 18, 2023, a few months after their separation. They are yet to reverse their decision to pull the plug on their union.
The marriage between Dan Reynolds and Aja Volkman produced four kids, three daughters and a son. Their first child is a daughter born on August 18, 2012. The family expanded with the arrival of fraternal twin daughters who were born on March 28, 2017. The only son of Dan Reynolds was born on October 1, 2019.
Follow Us
