Waiting for the End

"Waiting for the End"
Single by Linkin Park
from the album A Thousand Suns
B-side "Waiting for the End" (The Glitch Mob Remix)
"The Catalyst" ("Guitarmagedon" DIOYY? Remix)
Released October 1, 2010 (2010-10-01)
Format CD single, digital download
Recorded 2008–2010
Genre
Length 3:51
Label Warner Bros.
Writer(s) Linkin Park
Producer(s) Rick Rubin, Mike Shinoda
Linkin Park singles chronology
"The Catalyst"
(2010)		 "Waiting for the End"
(2010)		 "Burning in the Skies"
(2011)
Promotional Single
Audio sample
file info · help
Music video
"Waiting for the End" on YouTube
"Waiting for the End" (live) on YouTube

"Waiting for the End" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park, released on October 1, 2010.[4] It is the second single from their fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, which was released on September 14, 2010. A music video for the single, directed by Joe Hahn, was released on October 8, 2010 on MTV.[5][6]

It received mostly positive reviews from professional critics and was a huge success.

"Waiting for the End", along with five other songs from A Thousand Suns, is featured in the "Linkin Park Track Pack" as downloadable content for the rhythm video game Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. The track pack was released on October 19, 2010. It was also released as one of six Linkin Park songs released in a pack for Rock Band 3 on January 11, 2011, though it was the only track from A Thousand Suns to be included in that pack.

Background

"Waiting for the End" was announced as the album's second single at the time of the album's release.[6]

The track features minimal distorted guitar and differs from many previous Linkin Park singles. The song features reggae-style verses by Mike Shinoda followed by both chorus and verses sung by Chester Bennington. The breakdown of the song uses remixed portions of Bennington's vocals. This song was featured in CSI on CBS on October 14, 2010.[7]

Music video

A screenshot of the music video, showing lead singer Chester Bennington being applied with digital effects.

The official music video is directed by Joe Hahn. The video was filmed in September 2010,[8] before the release of A Thousand Suns and was released to MTV on Friday October 8, 2010. The video features the entire band performing the song in darkness along with heavily experimental digital effects and distortion applied to them. The video also carries the themes of the artwork for their album, A Thousand Suns, with many shots of abstract artworks featuring animals and digital-themed media.

Joe Hahn wrote a blog post describing the music video:

The clip is an experiment in making the most digital version of ourselves in the spirit of the visual pallette of A Thousand Suns. If you have been following our visuals throughout this album, this is the next step in our journey. I wanted to push ourselves so far down the digital path that it eventually felt spiritual. As we live our lives in the digital noise of today, we can find our center of humanity in the midst of the chaos. This is my illustration of that.[9]

In celebration of the band's North American tour, an alternate live video of the song premiered in the band's official site and YouTube channel. It was filmed by numerous fans on January 26, 2011 at the United Center in Chicago, and January 28 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The version played in the video is the actual live performance of the song.[10][11]

The video was placed at #28 of the year by VH1's Top 40 Videos of the Year.

Reception

Michael Menachem of Billboard gave the song a positive review, saying " 'Waiting for the End' offers the grandness of 'Numb' and 'Faint', but producer Rick Rubin's polyrhythmic framework and the group's moralistic lyrics set it apart from Linkin Park's past hits."[12] MTV's James Montgomery praised the song, describing it as "one part soaring, big-boned ballad, one part rattling, slightly Ragga dancehall toast, and zero parts anything LP have previously attempted."[6] Tim Grierson of About.com listed the song as the fifteenth best rock song of 2010, saying that "Balancing rapped and sung vocals, the hopeful, resilient track builds to a beautifully rousing finale."[13]

Live performances

The song was performed live at the MTV Europe Music Awards in 2010.[14] It was also performed on Saturday Night Live on February 5, 2011. "Waiting for the End" is the only single to be performed at all concerts in the A Thousand Suns World Tour ("The Catalyst" was not performed at the Sunrise, Florida concert; "Burning in the Skies" never received a full performance until the Australia leg; and "Iridescent" was not performed at most concerts at the Australia leg).

Chart performance

"Waiting for the End" debuted at number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100 upon the release of the album. After falling off and re-entering the chart more than once, it has reached number 42, remaining 23 weeks on the chart. It has also obtained number 2 on the Rock Songs chart. After spending 15 weeks on the Alternative Songs chart, it replaced "Tighten Up" by The Black Keys at number 1, giving the band their tenth number 1 song on the chart. As of June 2014, the single has sold over 1,058,000 copies in the US, becoming their 9th best selling single in the US.[15]

Chester Bennington said this about the success of the single in an interview with MTV on February 7, 2011:[16]

It took two years for us to make that record, and it took that whole process for us to really digest the new music, so we knew that it was going to take people time to really let it settle... And 'Waiting for the End' is a perfect example of that ... it's taken it a while for it to elevate up the charts, and it went to No. 1 at the Alternative charts, and then kinda went back, and then went back to #1. ... People are getting it now. And I think, especially for our fans in the States, it was important for it to marinate for a little while before we came back and started playing these shows.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2010–2011) Peak
position
Austrian Singles Chart[17] 34
Belgium Flanders Ultratip[18] 20
Canadian Hot 100[19] 55
Czech Singles Chart 34
German Singles Chart[20] 29
Japan Hot 100[19] 34
Polish Singles Chart[21] 48
Slovakia Singles Chart 64
Swiss Singles Chart[22] 58
UK Singles Top 100[23] 90
US Billboard Hot 100[19] 42
US Billboard Rock Songs[19] 2
US Billboard Alternative Songs[19] 1
US Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks[19] 37
US Billboard Pop Songs[19] 21
US Billboard Adult Pop Songs[19] 11

Year-end charts

Chart (2011) Position
US Billboard Alternative Songs[24] 7
US Billboard Rock Songs[25] 10

Certifications

[15]
Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United states[26] platinum 1,058,000

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Linkin Park.

Digital single [1st version]
No.TitleLength
1."Waiting for the End"  3:51
2."The Catalyst" ("Guitarmagedon" DIOYY? Remix)3:06
CD • Digital single [2nd version]
No.TitleLength
1."Waiting for the End"  3:51
2."Waiting for the End" (The Glitch Mob Remix)4:54
Promotional radio CD single
No.TitleLength
1."Waiting for the End"  3:51

References

  1. ↑ "Ranking: Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit From Worst to Best". March 28, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
  2. ↑ "Linkin Park A Thousand Suns Review – Review of A Thousand Suns by Linkin Park". Rock.about.com. September 14, 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  3. ↑ Arielle Castillo (January 21, 2011). "Linkin Park Mix Ambient with Rage in Tour Opener". SPIN.
  4. ↑ "Waiting for the End – Single Linkin Park". iTunes. October 1, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-20.
  5. ↑ ""Waiting for the End" Video Premiere: This Friday". LinkinPark.com. October 4, 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  6. 1 2 3 Montgomery, James (October 4, 2010). "Linkin Park's 'Waiting for the End' Video: Watch A Preview!". MTV. Retrieved 2010-10-05.
  7. ↑ "Twitter / Linkin Park: #WaitingForTheEnd will be". Twitter. October 14, 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  8. ↑ Pic of the Day
  9. ↑ Joe Hahn's Blog Waiting for the End
  10. ↑ "Waiting for the End" live from the 2011 A Thousand Suns Tour on YouTube
  11. ↑ "Waiting for the End (Official Video) on Youtube". From Linkin Park's Youtube Channel.
  12. ↑ Billboard "Waiting for the End" Linkin Park
  13. ↑ Grierson, Tom. "2010's Best Rock Songs". About.com. Retrieved September 10, 2011.
  14. ↑ Linkin Park – Waiting for the End EMA 2010 on YouTube
  15. 1 2 Trust, Gary (June 24, 2014). "Ask Billboard: With Nico & Vinz, Norway Continues U.S. Chart Invasion". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
  16. ↑ Montgomery, James (February 7, 2011). "Linkin Park's on "Waiting for the End" Success: "People Are Getting It Now."". MTV. Retrieved 2011-06-24.
  17. ↑ "oe3.ORF.at / Woche 43/2011". Charts.orf.at. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  18. ↑ "Linkin Park – Waiting for the End". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Waiting for the End – Linkin Park". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  20. ↑ ""The Boss" ist der neue Chef der Album-Charts – media control". Media-control.de. November 23, 2010. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  21. ↑ "Polish Singles Chart |".
  22. ↑ Steffen Hung (December 25, 2011). "Swiss Charts – Singles Top 75 25.12.2011". swisscharts.com. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  23. ↑ "Official UK Singles Top 100 – 7th January 2012". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  24. ↑ "2011 Alternate Songs". Billboard. December 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  25. ↑ "2011 Top Rock Songs". Billboard. December 2011. Retrieved December 23, 2011.
  26. ↑ UNSUPPORTED OR EMPTY REGION: United states.
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