Remembering Chester Bennington: Five Highest-Charting Linkin Park Songs

Yesterday, the world lost another powerful voice in rock music, Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington. The singer lost his battle with depression and was found having committed suicide by hanging at his home in California. He was 41.
With Linkin Park, Bennington helped foster a new era of rock in the early 2000s. Combining the anger of grunge and the power of metal while mixing in some hip-hop bars for good measure, nu metal became a phenomenon that defined rock for a good portion of the aughts. And the band did it well. All seven of their studio albums debuted in the top five on the Billboard charts. But Linkin Park also went beyond that label. They have always experimented with their sound, expanding on it and taking risks. In 2003 they collaborated with Jay-Z for a remix EP that would bring open them up to a whole new fan base. On their latest album, ‘One More Light,’ released in May, the band chose a more melodic sound that put hip-hop on the back burner and focused on expanding their sound and songwriting.
Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, would like to honor Chester Bennington life and legacy by taking a look back at some of Linkin Park’s most iconic chart toppers. Here are five of the band’s highest-charting singles and what made them so popular.
1. “In the End”: This is actually a hard list to make since a lot of Linkin Park’s biggest hits showed their popularity on the alternative and mainstream rock charts than on the general chart. But “In the End” was a real breakthrough for the band. The fourth single from their debut ‘Hybrid Theory,’ the song was their first number one hit on the alternative chart and did nearly as well on the main Billboard chart, peaking at number two. Unlike their debut singles “One Step Closer” and “Crawling,” which are far more aggressive, “In the End” is a bit more philosophical. Its refrain of “I tried so hard and got so far/but in the end it doesn’t really matter” has been used by countless website tributes to Bennington as a way to understand his death.
2. “New Divide”: In 2009, the band released “New Divide” as a one-off single for the film ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.’ The song ended up being a big hit for the band, reaching number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the alternative and mainstream rock charts. It’s a little more hopeful than some of their previous singles, less about demons and more about achieving something meaningful.
3. “What I’ve Done”: In 2007, Linkin Park introduced their third album with the monster single “What I’ve Done.” The song instantly went to number one on the alternative and mainstream rock charts and peaked at number seven on the Hot 100. “What I’ve Done” finds the band moving towards an even bigger sound than what they had achieved on their previous two albums, transitioning them to arena rock rather than just another flash-in-the-pan nu-metal band.
4. “Numb”: One of the songs that instantly come to mind when you think of Linkin Park is “Numb.” The song has become a classic amongst early 2000s rock hits. Peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the alternative and mainstream rock charts, the song’s lyrics are like an angry conversation about not meeting other people’s expectations. It’s an important message made through gritted teeth that has provided catharsis to many an angry at the world adolescent.
5. “Shadow of the Day”: A rare “ballad” for Linkin Park, “Shadow of the Day” was a slower pick following the release of more energetic ‘Minutes to Midnight’ singles “What I’ve Done” and “Bleed It Out.” But it worked out well for them, peaking at number two on the alternative chart, number six on the mainstream rock chart and number 15 on the Hot 100. The song is one of their more depressing lyrically, but showed that the band didn’t have to scream to make a hit. They could just let the lyrics speak for themselves.
Linkin Park has been one of the most influential bands in 2000s hard rock. Between Chester Bennington’s passionate delivery and their ability to write songs that capture life’s hardships in a relatable way, the band has transcended labels and remains at the top of their game nearly two decades later. Bennington’s presence with the band will be sorely missed, as he, the band and their music were a beacon of hope for many.
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To read about two more of Linkin Park’s highest-charting songs, check out the original article at vinylbay777.blogspot.com.
