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Imagine Dragons leads Billboard's top rock songs of the decade leaving fans divided: 'Thank you for the love'

Fans argued that Imagine Dragons is either pop or alternative and question Billboard's move to heavily favor bands that do not usually identify as rock

BY NEETHA K

PUBLISHED DEC 31, 2019

Frontman Dan Reynolds (L) and bassist Ben McKee of Imagine Dragons perform during the Origins Experience pop-up concert at The Chelsea at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on November 7, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada (Getty Images)

Billboard released its decade-ending charts and there is one particular chart fans are not happy about. In its Hot Rock Songs of the 2010s list, Imagine Dragons occupies the first three positions with the songs 'Believer', 'Thunder' and 'Radioactive'.

Fans, however, argue that the Las Vegas group is not a rock band.

The Billboard list also includes Panic! At The Disco with 'High Hopes' in the fourth position followed by 'Ho Hey' by The Lumineers. Twenty-One Pilots also have three songs in the list, namely 'Heathens', 'Ride' and 'Stressed Out'.

In addition to the top three songs for Imagine Dragons, the band's 'Natural' ranked in the 13th position, 'It's Time' came in at No. 20 and 'Whatever It Takes' stood in the 21st place. Moreover, 'Demons' sits at No. 23, rounding off the Top 25 rock singles of the decade.

Most fans are not happy with the list and argue that Billboard is biased. One fan tweeted, "Does....does Billboard even know what rock is? Hint: it (9 times out of 10) isn't Imagine Dragons. But somehow they make up 14% of "top rock"?"

(L-R) Frontman Dan Reynolds, drummer Daniel Platzman, guitarist Wayne Sermon and bassist Ben McKee of Imagine Dragons pose during a meet-and-greet with fans at the Origins Experience at the Stratosphere Casino Hotel on November 7, 2018, in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band will release its fourth studio album "Origins" on November 9 (Getty Images).

Another fan wrote, "First of @thelumineers AREN’T Rock! Second, No Way @Imaginedragons have the top 3 of the Decade! Third, Your 'Top Rock Songs of the Decade' is only from 2013 to 2018! I think you best try again without bias! #Rigged #TryAgain."

Other fans were confused by the presence of Imagine Dragons and Twenty-One Pilots on the list as they consider the groups to be pop or alternative. One fan wrote, "I would [classify] Imagine Dragons as alternative, but it definitely is not 'Rock' and shouldn't be on this list lol."

Meanwhile, Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds brushed off the criticism, tweeting, "got on twitter to find all the slander and all the love. thank you for the love and yea I'd probably be mad if it wasn't my band but it is my band hahahahahahbaba."

He followed this up by writing, "and in all [seriousness]. thank you so much. I feel incredibly blessed to be able to have spent the last decade writing this music and sharing it w you. it all comes from a real place and it always will. The world can debate what genre it belongs in. That's not my concern."