In his quest to raise money and awareness, Reynolds is upsetting people on both sides of his argument. Believer, a documentary about LoveLoud, debuted last January at Sundance and is currently airing on HBO. What I hadnвЂ™t realized was that Dan Reynolds is on a crusade thatвЂ™s antithetical to everything IвЂ™d incorrectly assumed about Imagine Dragons.В HeвЂ™s a vocal and powerful advocate for LGBTQ rights whoвЂ™s started LoveLoud, a foundation and music festival that has raised over $1 million for LGBTQ-related organizations this year. IвЂ™m not Mormon, but unlike many non-Mormons in Utah, IвЂ™d had only positive experiences living among them for seven formative years.В IвЂ™ve since been fascinated with Mormon culture and presentation to the outside world. вЂњMy bishop told me that the headquarters had reached out and been like, вЂWhatвЂ™s his standing with the church?вЂ™В I think they check in on their famous Mormons.вЂќ Reynolds recalls the Mormon Church showing interest and inviting him to high-profile events once Imagine Dragons achieved a level of success. Some of the band members are Mormons from Las Vegas, which I knew to be common, as someone whoвЂ™d lived in Salt Lake City from age 10 to 17. Imagine Dragons embodies middle America and, IвЂ™d assumed, middle American values. Their heavy-handed, hip-hop-laced verses tee up anthemic choruses that pulse over Jeep and Microsoft commercials.В The first song on their new album, вЂњNatural,вЂќ is ESPNвЂ™s 2018 official college-football-season anthem. IвЂ™d made what I thought was a well-informed judgment about Imagine Dragons: They play mainstream, red-state rock music.

His handshake is predictably firm, and he exudes disciplined normality. HeвЂ™s the former high-school quarterback who blows everyoneвЂ™s mind at the reunion because heвЂ™s in better shape now than he was then. His tight, brand-new, white T-shirt tucks cleanly into black gym shorts.В He doesnвЂ™t have long hair, visible tattoos, or any signifiers that heвЂ™s in a band. Reynolds towers over me and IвЂ™m six-foot-one. Plenty of rock stars have nontraditional pasts, but Reynolds is different:В HeвЂ™s using his platform as a very famous straight man to advocate for LGBTQ rights, and in the process heвЂ™s alienating his band from its fans and himself from his own faith. Reynolds also started a band, and now, at 31, heвЂ™s the singer in Imagine Dragons, arguably the biggest rock band in the world. He served as a Mormon missionary and attended the Church-owned Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah.В He then got married and fathered three children. I only felt emotion, never what people call the spirit.вЂќДan Reynolds did everything right. вЂњI went on a mission because I was like, maybe if I go on a mission, God will talk to me, but he never did.В Or she never did, or whatever it is.

New imagine dragons album