[5] Co-written by Fall Out Boy members and producers J. R. Rotem and Omega, the single reached number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100, the band's fourth top ten hit and first in eight years, since "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" in 2007, and was certified quadruple Platinum by the RIAA.

Stump originally came forward with the song while Fall Out Boy were on the Monumentour tour with fellow American band Paramore.

[10][11] Stump described the inclusion as "a tip of the hat" to "Tom's Diner", a song which the band wanted to "re-inject" into popular culture.

[12] Days after the ending of co-headlining the Monumentour tour with Paramore, on September 4, 2014, Fall Out Boy released a teaser video depicting the title of the song in Morse code.

Vidette provided a positive review, stating "'Centuries' displays a definite pop vibe and certainly does not reflect much of the band’s earlier albums.

B-Sides on Air also applauded the song, noting how it acknowledges contemporary radio trends and calling it "An infusion of electronic elements to up the ante on the band's next step in their musical journey".

However, the reviewer criticized Stump's vocals as "raw" and "overdone", causing the track to lose its "charm".

The official music video, which features the band members in a gladiator-style battle, and a cameo from rapper Rick Ross, was released on October 17, 2014.

[17] The video features strong Christian imagery and thematic elements, including a scene of a crucified figure, a cross in place of the "T" in the song title, the use of a sling against a "giant" (in reference to the Hebrew story of David and Goliath), and an angelic figure depicted as a human with white wings.

The "giant" is portrayed by Canadian actor Jon Ambrose,[18] and the band's gladiator doubles were Simu Liu,[19] Ben Devries,[20] Sebastian Deery [21] and Paul Ebejer.

[22] "Centuries" was shot on-site at Fort Henry National Historic Site in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.

[24][25] The official video features four gladiators doomed for some unknown reason prior to entering the Colosseum in Rome for the entertainment of the crowds.

As of June 2015, the song has spent 21 weeks in the UK top 100 and has been certified Silver by the BPI, denoting 200,000 copies.

[33] On September 10, 2014, ESPN announced "Centuries" as a promotional song for its coverage of the inaugural College Football Playoff.

The song was featured across promotions for the event throughout the 2014 college football season, and during coverage of the semi-final and national championship games.

[16][34] In a January 2015 interview with FoxSports.com, the band apologized for ESPN's overexposure of the song; it was estimated that across its coverage of the two semi-final bowls, along with the National Championship game, that "Centuries" had been played a total of 45 times.

[37] "Centuries" was used by WWE as the official theme song for Friday Night SmackDown's 15th anniversary show.