Iridescent (song)

"Iridescent" is a song by American alternative rock band Linkin Park. It was announced as the band's third US and overall fourth and final single from their fourth studio album, A Thousand Suns, which was released on September 14, 2010. A music video for the song was directed by Joe Hahn, the band's turntablist. "Iridescent" serves as the theme song for the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, continuing the streak of the band's songs serving as the theme songs of the Transformers films.

Background

In April 2011, a splash screen appeared on the band's website, that contained a distorted Autobot image and a snippet from "Iridescent" (this is no longer available). A few days later, Mike Shinoda, one of the band's lead vocalists, confirmed that the song will be the fourth single from A Thousand Suns. He also confirmed that a shorter version was made for the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon, which is circulating around the internet.^[1] Shinoda said that the collaboration began when Michael Bay, the director of the film series, phoned him about the possibility of the band continuing their run with songs paired with the Transformers films (having chosen "What I've Done" for the first film and having recorded "New Divide" specifically for the second). Shinoda decided to put "Iridescent" in the film due to the fact it was a fan favorite and called it a "natural fit", despite the song not being an "in-your-face" kind of tune.^[2]

The film's composer, Steve Jablonsky, who is a longtime fan of the band, agreed with the choice, saying that the song fit well with his score, as well as the film's story.^[3] Both Shinoda and Jablonsky agree that the song is an appropriate choice for the film, since the film is described to be more "positive" than the previous films and is consistent with where the band is at (learning from mistakes; going in different directions).

"Iridescent" is a rock ballad about hope in the midst of chaos and sadness. Just like their previous single, "Burning in the Skies", Shinoda sings the verses while lead vocalist Chester Bennington sings the chorus and backup vocals on the verses. On the third chorus of the song, all six band members sing together.

Some LPTVs (behind-the-scenes footage) show the creation and development of "Iridescent", such as the inclusion of gang vocals in the third chorus of the song^[4] and the initial discussion about the song.^[5]

In June, Linkin Park held an artwork contest for "Iridescent", in which the winning artwork will be shown in the band's stage in their concert at Red Square in Moscow at the premiere of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Artworks were submitted to Linkin Park's official deviantArt.^[6] They announced the winner on June 23, 2011, however, aside from the aforementioned winner's artwork, they also showed the artwork of the contest's runner-up at the concert.^[7]

Music video

The official music video was directed by Joe Hahn, the band's turntablist. In an interview with MTV, Mike Shinoda stated: "All I know about the concept is that Joe Hahn sent me an e-mail that said something about 'In the valley of the blind, the one-eyed man is king', or something like that. And the next thing I know, I've got horns growing out of my shoulders, and I've got one blind eye, and I've got a white dog and a snake on a throne made of antlers. I think you'd have to ask Joe what that all means."^[8]

In the behind-the-scenes video for "Iridescent", which was released on May 31, 2011, Hahn stated that he wanted to combine the "soulfulness" of Transformers: Dark of the Moon to the soulfulness of what they do, as well as elements of robots tying into human existence.^[9] In an extended behind-the-scenes video, which was released on 11 July 2011, it was revealed that Shinoda was required to carry a diamond carpet python.^[10]

The music video for "Iridescent" was released on June 3, 2011 on MTV and VH1. The video shows Mike Shinoda as a one-eyed king, with horns sticking out of his shoulders, ruling over the citizens of a post-apocalyptic land. Numerous citizens of the world are wearing ragged clothing, including the other band members. Some scenes also show the band sitting together in a feast, mirroring Leonardo da Vinci's painting "The Last Supper". Numerous scenes and stills from Transformers: Dark of the Moon are inserted to the video. Hahn stated that "the video explores how human existence might be affected by the elements of Transformers robots and the threat of the Decepticons."^[11]

On June 28, 2011, the band announced that the video can be seen in 3D in select theaters after the film credits of Transformers: Dark of the Moon.^[12] A day later, the same day the film was released in USA and Canada, the 3D video was released online. However, the video has since been made private by the band.^[13]

Live performances

"Iridescent" has been performed at most concerts of the A Thousand Suns World Tour. The Transformers remix was first performed at their free concert at the premiere of Transformers: Dark of the Moon at Red Square in Moscow, Russia.

Chart performance

"Iridescent" so far has achieved moderate success. The single debuted at #86 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and later peaked at #81, spending three weeks on the chart. The single also charted to the US Billboard Alternative Songs at #21 before being officially released. The single debuted at the UK Singles Chart at #93, but debuted high at the UK Rock Chart at #2.

Track listing

CD single

Digital iTunes single (UK, DE, BE, IT, IE)

Promotional CD single

References