Numb (Linkin Park song)

Numb (Linkin Park song)
"Numb" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the third single from their second studio album, Meteora (2003), and is the closing track on the album. One of Linkin Park's most well-known and critically acclaimed songs, "Numb" topped the Billboard Alternative Songs chart for 12 weeks. The song spent six weeks at the top of the chart in 2003 and six weeks in 2004. The song also spent three weeks atop the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The song was remixed as "Numb/Encore", a collaboration between the band and American rapper Jay-Z. It was a massive hit for both artists that was featured on the album Collision Course and earned them the Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration. "Numb" was ranked number 95 on Rhapsody's list of the "Top 100 Tracks of the Decade".
On March 15, 2022, "Numb" became the second song by the band after "In the End" to surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify.
Also, on October 9, 2023, "Numb" surpassed Guns N' Roses song "November Rain", for the fifth time, with 2.1 billion views on YouTube, being one of the most viewed rock songs.
Music video
Directed by band member Joe Hahn, the indoor scenes of the music video are set in St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Czech Republic as are the outdoor scenes. The school interiors, the classroom, the corridor, and the outside playground are set in Johannes Kepler Grammar School (Gymnázium Jana Keplera) in Prague. The bridge scenes were all shot on Prague's famed Charles Bridge. The video was shot over June 2003, even though vocalist Chester Bennington was suffering from severe abdominal and back pains at the time, so the band's performance was filmed afterwards in a matching cathedral in Los Angeles. The final video was released within the release of the single early September 2003.
The video follows the domestic and social problems faced during a day in the life of an unpopular outcast young female student (portrayed by Briana Evigan). The girl apparently spends much of her time drawing pictures, revealing that she probably has dreams of becoming an artist. She is largely shunned and ridiculed at school, considering that when she is told off by the chemistry lecturer for drawing in class almost everybody laughs at her and teases her, and when she trips on the stairs nobody stops to help her up and that when she tries to join a group of girls at a lunch table they immediately get up and leave. There are also self-inflicted cut marks on her arms, which spell out "NUMB". During the song's climax, she is shown in her room, as she ties up her hair with a paintbrush, and throws paint at a canvas in anger. At the end, she runs into the church that the band was playing in, almost as if she heard them, only to find the band not there anymore.
In November 2018, the song became the band's first video to reach over one billion views on their YouTube channel. In March 2023, the video was remastered in 4K resolution. As of August 2023, the music video for "Numb" has over 2 billion views and 12 million likes on the platform.
Commercial performance
The track became one of Linkin Park's most critically acclaimed songs, as well as one of their most commercially successful, peaking at number 11 on the US Billboard Hot 100 on February 24, 2004, and spending 3 weeks on top of the Mainstream Rock Tracks and 12 weeks on top of the Modern Rock Tracks. "Numb" was the 33rd best-performing single on the Billboard Hot 100 during 2004 and it was listed at number 15 in the alternative songs decade-end chart. As of June 2014, the song has sold 2,036,000 copies in the US. The song re-entered at #35 in July 2017 after the death of Chester Bennington, all together with "In the End" charting at number 37 and their new song "Heavy" peaking at number 45.
The song was also successful in Oceania, peaking at number 10 in Australia and number 13 in New Zealand. "Numb" is also their longest-running single in France, spending 23 weeks on the chart, peaking at number 19; it was also successful in Greece, topping the singles chart. However, it only ranked for one week in Italy and on the Belgian Singles Chart.
Track listing
In other media and covers
In 2017, an online meme mashing up "Numb" with the Seinfeld theme song was released.
Nicki Minaj remixed the song for her debut mixtape, retitled as 'Encore '07'.
The Swedish metal band Dead by April released a cover of the song on YouTube after Chester's passing in 2017.
Machine Gun Kelly covered the song on YouTube after Bennington's passing in 2017.
The song is featured in the dance rhythm game, Just Dance 2023 Edition.
Rebelion & Vertile released a hardstyle cover of the song in 2023.
Personnel
Chester Bennington – lead vocals
Mike Shinoda – piano, vocals
Brad Delson – guitars
Rob Bourdon – drums
Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass guitar
Joe Hahn – turntables, samplers
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
All-time charts
Certifications
Release history
References
External links
2003 songs
2003 singles
Linkin Park songs
Songs written by Mike Shinoda
Warner Records singles
Songs about bullying
Number-one singles in Greece
American pop rock songs