Given Up performer Linkin Park
"Given Up" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. The song was released as the fourth single from their third studio album, Minutes to Midnight. It was released on February 17, 2008 in the UK as a digital download. The song was not as much of a success as what was expected in the US, although it did manage to chart high on the Alternative Songs music chart. Bennington's ability to hold a note (a fry screamed D5-B4) for 17 seconds (2:27-2:44) is considered the highlight of the song.Background
"Given Up", along with "No More Sorrow" and the hit single "What I've Done", made its live debut on April 28, 2007 in Berlin, Germany. Live performances of these three songs at the AOL sessions were released on AOL on May 5, 2007. The performance of the song is available on the "Bleed It Out" single.
"Given Up" is one of the heaviest songs on the album. It notably features a seventeen-second-long scream by Chester Bennington before the final chorus, as well as a steady guitar riff for the choruses of the song. The scream was often split into two, eight-second long screams when performed live allowing Bennington to catch his breath, although he has completed the full scream in various live performances.
Speaking in a 2020 interview with Vulture.com, Mike Shinoda would explain how the 17-second scream came to be:
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