"Bad Liar" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons. It was released through Interscope and Kidinakorner records on November 6, 2018, as the fourth single from the band's fourth studio album, Origins (2018). The song was written by Ben McKee, Daniel Platzman, Dan Reynolds, and Wayne Sermon, along with Aja Volkman and Jorgen Odegard, with the latter handling production.
"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.
Background The song 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.
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.
Critical reception Idolator called the song a "brutally honest breakup anthem", and described it as "raw and stripped back". Billboard compared the song's lyrical heaviness to the band's track "Demons".
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. 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. It was also performed at the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship halftime show.
Personnel Dan Reynolds – lead vocals, keyboards Wayne Sermon – guitar, backing vocals Daniel Platzman – drums, viola, backing vocals Ben McKee – bass guitar, synthesizer, backing vocals Jorgen Odegard – production
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for "Bad Liar" Chart (2018–2019) Peak position France (SNEP) 41 Germany Airplay (BVMI) 1 Italy (FIMI) 16 Lithuania (AGATA) 6 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) 16 Singapore (RIAS) 18 Slovenia (SloTop50) 9
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for "Bad Liar" Chart (2019) Position Australia (ARIA) 66 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40) 31 Belgium (Ultratop Flanders) 33 Belgium (Ultratop Wallonia) 21 France (SNEP) 101 Germany (Official German Charts) 32 Iceland (Tónlistinn) 77 Italy (FIMI) 50 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) 55 Poland (ZPAV) 15 Portugal (AFP) 62 Slovenia (SloTop50) 15 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade) 13 US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) 41 US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard) 5 US Rock Airplay (Billboard) 43
Certifications
Release history + Release history and formats for "Bad Liar" Country Date Format Label Various November 6, 2018 Digital download Italy January 25, 2019 Contemporary hit radio Interscope United States January 29, 2019 Alternative radio February 5, 2019 Contemporary hit radio
References