Imagine Dragons surprised with a two-song EP bundle including ‘Follow You’ and ‘Cutthroat.’ Both songs sound very different from each other, and they’re the leads of the band’s forthcoming album.
Dan Reynolds Explains ‘Follow You’
‘Follow You’ is a pop-rock song that focuses on loving someone in spite of the difficulties that may arise. Imagine Dragons’ lead-singer Dan Reynolds makes a point to affirm to their loved one that they are with them through thick and thin. He shared on Tiktok more information about the song. “Have you ever gotten a text that changed your life? My wife and I hadn’t talked in 7 months. I was driving to the lawyer’s office to sign the divorce papers. When I got a text from her that turned my perspective upside down. She said she didn’t want to own me to love me. She loved me without expectations. We ditched the lawyers and went to lunch. It felt like the first date again. We called off the divorce…I wrote this song after I got that text.”
Reynolds also shared on Twitter, “‘Follow You’ is a song about loyalty and love. Loving someone is an incredibly imperfect process. It isn’t always romantic or pretty. Sometimes it can be incredibly painful. Aja taught me self-love and showed me what it meant to truly accept someone without any expectations. She was endlessly patient with me, she didn’t need me. She even taught me that I didn’t need her. But we loved each other, and we chose to remarry and to stay together. I proposed again and she said yes, again. Not every relationship works out this way, but it did for us. It isn’t the happy ending; it is a choice that works for some. And Aja and I re-chose it after experiencing life without each other. I wanted ‘Follow You’ to represent a love that is realistic. One where love isn’t perfect, but it endures.
Imagine Dragons Bring Hard-Rock Back in ‘Cutthroat’
On the other hand, ‘Cutthroat’ offers more of a hard-rock vibe. The lyrics are certainly darker than the ones in ‘Follow You,’ and the song focuses on an internal struggle, where only one version of oneself will be able to survive. ‘Cutthroat’ marks a new chapter of the band’s evolution, differing entirely from the arena rock they are known for, and tapping into their hard-rock roots.
Dan Reynolds also took over to Twitter to talk more about the song. “It’s an exorcism of self-pity. An examination of my life—finding that I am beyond blessed—and trying to rid myself of all the meaningless things that have burdened me. Killing the part of me that spends its days lamenting about things that bear no real meaning or worth. Finding that at the end of the day only one Dan will prevail, and it’s the one that loves myself. Loves my past. My present. Loves my mistakes and problems. My weaknesses. My illness. One that wakes every day grateful for life. That lives fully and is a present for those that I love.”
