Heavy (Linkin Park song)

"Heavy"
Single by Linkin Park featuring Kiiara
from the album One More Light
Released February 16, 2017
Genre
Length 2:49
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Linkin Park singles chronology
"Darker Than Blood"
(2015)		 "Heavy"
(2017)		 "Talking to Myself"
(2017)

"Darker Than Blood"
(2015)		 "Heavy"
(2017)		 "Talking to Myself"
(2017)
Kiiara singles chronology
"Dopemang"
(2016) Dopemang2016		 "Heavy"
(2017) Heavy2017		 "Whippin"
(2017) Whippin2017
Music video
"Heavy" on YouTube
"Heavy" (Lyric Video) on YouTube

"Heavy" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park, featuring guest vocals from American singer Kiiara. The song is the first single from their seventh studio album, One More Light. The song was written by Linkin Park members Chester Bennington, Brad Delson, and Mike Shinoda, alongside Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter. The single was released for download on February 16, 2017, and was premiered on radio on February 21. It is the band's last single to be released during Bennington's lifetime.

Writing and recording

Band members Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda, and Brad Delson worked with Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter in co-writing the song's lyrics,[5][6] who had previously worked with artists such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Gwen Stefani.[7] Lyrically, the inspiration for "Heavy" came from band member's conversations about frustrations and troubles in their own lives.[5] From that, they found that there was some heavy stuff happening in each other's lives.[5] Bennington stated that personally, he has a hard time with life, even on a good day. He said the opening line "I don't like my mind right now" is him 24 hours a day.[8] In an interview with Music Choice, Bennington said of the song: "Most of my problems are problems that I cause myself. That's what that song's about -- that time when you consciously look at that. Once you acknowledge what it is, you can separate yourself from it and do something about it, as opposed to just being in it."[9]

In a series of videos released leading up to the single's debut, Joseph Hahn brought up the idea of bringing in a female singer for the track, which he described as "something that feels out of the box for us, could give [the song] that dynamic it needs."[10] Bennington, in working with Michaels on writing the track and hearing her rough vocal takes, suggested she sing on the final version, though she declined, stating she would rather be behind the scenes. Bennington recorded a version entirely with his vocals in case the band could not find a fit for a female singer, while the band continued their search.[11]

The band was introduced to Kiiara through Zane Lowe, who, upon interviewing her, was informed that Linkin Park was her favorite band. Lowe reached out to vocalist Shinoda, who was intrigued considering how different Kiiara's music, like her single "Gold", was from Linkin Park's previous works. Zane put Shinoda in contact with Kiiara, and the band ended up deciding to work with her. Kiiara only recorded vocals for the song, as the lyrics and music had already been written prior to her involvement.[5] Music producers Emily Wright and Andrew Bolooki handled vocal production.[12][13] The band approved of the overall sound, with Shinoda noting that adding the female voice brought more meaning to the song, signaling that it is not just about one person's struggle.[14]

Critical reception

"Heavy" received generally negative reviews from critics, with complaints generally centered around the band's move from nu metal to a pop-oriented sound.[15][7][16] Anna Gaca of Spin found the song to be a failed attempt to stay relevant against current popular rap rock bands like Twenty One Pilots, concluding that "So: How bad is "Heavy"? It's not as bad as you'd think. It will annoy you no more and no less than any other blowout pop duet else you're likely to hear on the radio while you're at the gym or the supermarket or something. It's fairly astonishing to see Linkin Park bend their knee so shamelessly for a taste of the charts, but those are the rules of the game."[7] Emmy Mack of Music Feeds was similarly negative, noting the irony of naming the track "Heavy" when the song sounded like "a dance-pop duet featuring Chester doing a really bad Twenty One Pilots impersonation and trading verses with a random guest pop vocalist."[15] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post called the song "lumbering" and stated that it "emulates, in feel if not in sound, the Chainsmokers' "Closer," with Kiiara standing in for Halsey."[17]

Fan reaction to the song has been equally negative.[15] The negativity inspired the band "Bloodywood" to re-record the song in Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory and Meteora nu metal sound, catching the attention of many music websites such as Loudwire and Team Rock, the latter of which declared it "what Linkin Park's Heavy should have sounded like."[16][18] The cover and negative reception even caught the attention of the band, who halfheartedly played a part of it in a rehearsal session video, with Bennington jokingly stating at the end "There's your fuckin' Hybrid Theory now shut the... [fuck up]".[19]

Release and promotion

The song was released as the first single from their seventh studio album, One More Light.[5] It was released digitally on February 16, 2017.[5] The music video for the song was released on March 9 through their official YouTube channel.[20] The band released a lyric video of the song on the same day.[21]

Live performances

The song was performed live on the day of the single's release via Facebook as a "stripped down", acoustic version with Shinoda on piano, Delson on guitar, and Bennington and Kiiara on vocals, along with a similar performance of past singles "Burn It Down" and "Crawling".[22] The entire band with Kiiara then performed the song live together on The Late Late Show with James Corden on February 27, 2017.[23] It was also performed with the entire band during ECHO Music Awards in Germany on April 6, 2017.[24]

Music video

The music video starts with Chester Bennington and Kiiara grappling with doubles of themselves, where Kiiara's double lingers hauntingly, while Bennington begins to scuffle with his. Eventually, Bennington leaves his house to attend his support group. During discussions, he gets into a confrontation with one of the members of the group, while Kiiara is shown watching them from the under the brim of her hoodie. Bennington leaves in a fury and enters a bathroom. In the bathroom he engages in a fierce fist fight with his double. Then Kiiara is shown entering the same bathroom where Bennington is shown pushed by his demon to the wall and falls down and is caught by Kiiara. The video ends with the two sitting together, Kiiara putting her hand onto Bennington's shoulder.

Chart performance

"Heavy" debuted at number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100, selling 35,000 downloads in its first week. The song slid down to number 82 the following week and peaked at slowly rose to number 50.[25] The song re-entered the chart in August 2017, after the death of frontman Chester Bennington, and reached a new peak of 45.[26]

Track listing

Digital single[27]

No.TitleLength
1."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara)2:49

CD single

No.TitleLength
1."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara)2:49
2."Heavy" (Instrumental)2:49

Radio CD single

No.TitleLength
1."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara)2:49
2."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara) (Clean)2:49
3."Heavy" (Instrumental)2:49
4."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara) (TV Track)2:49
5."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara) (A Capella)2:49
6."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara) (Clean A Capella)2:49
CD single (Benelux) – Nicky Romero Remix[28]
No.TitleLength
1."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara) (Explicit Version)2:49
2."Heavy" (featuring Kiiara) (Nicky Romero Remix)3:29

Personnel

Band

Additional musicians

Production

Notes

Charts

Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[30] 33
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[31] 9
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[32] 4
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[33] 46
Czech Republic (Rádio Top 100)[34] 30
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[35] 5
France (SNEP)[36] 112
Germany (Official German Charts)[37] 12
Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[38] 29
Hungary (Single Top 40)[39] 21
Hungary (Stream Top 40)[40] 23
Ireland (IRMA)[41] 70
Italy (FIMI)[42] 59
Malaysia (RIM)[43] 2
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[44] 100
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[45] 35
Poland (Polish Airplay Top 100)[46] 37
Portugal (AFP)[47] 41
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[48] 25
Slovakia (Rádio Top 100)[49] 36
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[50] 26
Slovenia (SloTop50)[51] 23
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[52] 44
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[53] 82
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[54] 8
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[55] 43
US Billboard Hot 100[56] 45
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[57] 11
US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[58] 22
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[59] 2
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[60] 16
US Rock Airplay (Billboard)[61] 46

References

  1. ↑ "Linkin Park debuts new single, announces 7th album". PanARMENIAN.Net. February 17, 2017. Retrieved March 7, 2017.
  2. ↑ Baroni, Nastassia (February 27, 2017). "Apparently Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Is A Fan Of Linkin Park’s Controversial New ‘Heavy’ Track". Music Feeds. Retrieved March 10, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Singles Club: Future, Linkin Park, and Rome Fortune". Fact. Retrieved February 21, 2017.
  4. ↑ "Jack White's Quiet Songwriting Delight". Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda Talks 'Heavy' New Single & Hooking up With Kiiara". Billboard. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Linkin Park Debut New Song 'Heavy' Featuring Kiiara". radio.com. Retrieved February 16, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 "So, How Bad Is the New Linkin Park and Kiiara Song?". spin.com. February 16, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  8. ↑ Bennington, Chester (February 24, 2017). Linkin Park on the Concept for "Heavy". Music Choice. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  9. ↑ http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7873894/chester-bennington-dark-thoughts-inspired-heavy
  10. ↑ Linkin Park (February 13, 2017). Female Vocal Idea. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  11. ↑ Bennington, Chester (February 22, 2017). Linkin Park on Kiiara's "Heavy" Feature. Music Choice. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  12. ↑ "Mike Shinoda on Twitter: "Thanks for posting! FYI, Emily Wright was not a writer on it. We wrote it with Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter. Emily recorded vox. ;)". February 13, 2017.
  13. ↑ "One More Light by Linkin Park". February 22, 2017. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  14. ↑ Shinoda, Mike; Sang, Zach (February 16, 2017). Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda - Full Interview. Retrieved February 19, 2017.
  15. 1 2 3 "Linkin Park Have A 'Heavy' New Single & Fans Are Fkn Hating It - Music Feeds". musicfeeds.com.au. February 17, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  16. 1 2 "Linkin Park Fan Plays New Song ‘Heavy’ in Band’s Classic Style". February 22, 2017.
  17. ↑ Stewart, Allison (21 May 2017). "Linkin Park abandons its signature sound and the result is unrecognizable". The Washington Post. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
  18. ↑ "This is what Linkin Park's Heavy should have sounded like". teamrock.com. February 21, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  19. ↑ brownypaul (February 24, 2017). "Linkin Park perform Nu-Metal version of ‘Heavy’ and Condescendingly take aim at haters!". wallofsoundau.com. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  20. ↑ "Linkin Park Feel a 'Heavy' Burden in New Music Video". Loudwire. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  21. ↑ "Heavy (Official Lyric Video)". February 16, 2017.
  22. ↑ "Linkin Park Announce New Album 'One More Light,' Unveil 'Heavy' Song". Loudwire. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  23. ↑ Leight, Elias. "Watch Linkin Park, Kiiara's Fiery Power Ballad Duet on 'Corden'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 6, 2017.
  24. ↑ Leight, Elias. "Watch Linkin Park, Kiiara in Echo Awards". ABC News Online. Retrieved April 6, 2017.
  25. ↑ "Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  26. ↑ "Linkin Park Earns Record 23 Titles on Hot Rock Songs Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
  27. ↑ "Amazon.com: One More Light: Linkin Park: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  28. ↑ LP catalog (ed.). "Heavy (feat. Kiiara) [Nicky Romero Remix] - CD-R Single".
  29. ↑ One More Light- Linkin Park–Download and listen to the album Qobuz Retrieved May 10, 2017.
  30. ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  32. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved March 25, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Linkin Park – Chart history" Canadian Hot 100 for Linkin Park. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  34. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201715 into search. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
  35. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201730 into search. Retrieved July 1, 2017.
  36. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles Téléchargés - SNEP (Week 8, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  37. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  38. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  39. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  40. ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  41. ↑ "IRMA - Irish Charts". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  42. ↑ "Classifica settimanale WK 30" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  43. ↑ "Top 20 Most Streamed International & Domestic Singles in Malaysia" (PDF). Recording Industry Association of Malaysia. Retrieved August 11, 2017.
  44. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  45. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. July 31, 2017. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  46. ↑ "Listy bestsellerów, wyróżnienia :: Związek Producentów Audio-Video". Polish Airplay Top 100. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  47. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved August 5, 2017.
  48. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2017-02-24". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  49. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201716 into search. Retrieved April 25, 2017.
  50. ↑ "SNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: insert 201730 into search. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  51. ↑ "SloTop50 – Slovenian official singles chart". slotop50.si. Retrieved April 10, 2017.
  52. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
  53. ↑ "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved July 28, 2017.
  54. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Linkin Park feat. Kiiara – Heavy". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  55. ↑ "Archive Chart: 2017-07-28" UK Singles Chart. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  56. ↑ "Linkin Park – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Linkin Park. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  57. ↑ "Linkin Park – Chart history" Billboard Adult Pop Songs for Linkin Park. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  58. ↑ "Linkin Park – Chart history" Billboard Alternative Songs for Linkin Park. Retrieved March 21, 2017.
  59. ↑ "Linkin Park – Chart history" Billboard Hot Rock Songs for Linkin Park. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
  60. ↑ "Linkin Park – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Linkin Park. Retrieved May 31, 2017.
  61. ↑ "Linkin Park – Chart history" Billboard Rock Airplay for Linkin Park. Retrieved February 28, 2017.
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