Enemy (Imagine Dragons and JID song)

"Enemy" is a song by American pop rock band Imagine Dragons and American rapper JID. It was released through Interscope Records and Kidinakorner on October 28, 2021, from the soundtrack of the animated streaming television series Arcane. The song was written by the artists alongside Justin Tranter and the producers Mattman & Robin. The song was also included on the Additional Track Version of the band's fifth studio album Mercury – Act 1. The song became JID's first song to reach the top 5 in the US, and became the band's first song to reach the top 5 since the 2017 song "Thunder". In 2023, for the 35th anniversary of Alternative Airplay – where "Enemy" charted for 54 weeks, of which 9 were spent at the top spot – Billboard ranked the song as the 14th-most successful in the chart's history.

Background
"Enemy" was recorded for the animated Netflix series Arcane, which premiered on November 6, 2021. The inspiration behind the song was the video game League of Legends, with the band having previously recorded the song "Warriors" for the 2014 League of Legends World Championship. On Instagram, JID said "I wrote this verse a couple years ago but initially the opening lines were from a song I started with Mac [Miller], he told me it would fit better on this song and I’m glad he did."

Content
In a press release, the band's vocalist Dan Reynolds explained: "'Enemy' is about reconciling internal conflict in a world where it feels impossible to trust even yourself. In Arcane, two sisters' lives take them on different paths and leads to a division that threatens to tear an entire city apart. Like the series, the song is meant to be both personal and a critique of a society that seems intent on creating division."

Music video
An accompanying animated video was released alongside the song, and produced by Riot Games and Fortiche Production. It features the League of Legends character Jinx in a story about "the parts of her childhood that led her to a life of crime" and several scenes of "the falling out between Jinx and her sister Vi".

Personnel
Credits adapted from Tidal.


 * Mattman & Robin – producer, composer, lyricist, associated performer, background vocalist, bass, brass band, drums, guitar, programming, synthesizer
 * Justin Tranter – composer, lyricist, associated performer, background vocalist
 * Imagine Dragons – composer, lyricist, engineer, studio personnel
 * John Hanes – additional engineer, mix engineer, studio personnel
 * JID – associated performer, vocals
 * Dan Reynolds – associated performer, background vocals
 * Ben Sedano – engineer, studio personnel
 * Serban Ghenea – engineer, mixer, studio personnel
 * Randy Merrill – mastering engineer, studio personnel