2010 single by Linkin Park
"
Waiting for the End
" is a song by American rock band
Linkin Park
, released on October 1, 2010.
[5]
It is the second single and eighth track 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.
[6]
[7]
It received mostly positive reviews from critics and reached number 42 on the US
Billboard
Hot 100.
"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
[
edit
]
"Waiting for the End" was announced as the album's second single at the time of the album's release.
[7]
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.
Music video
[
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]
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 palette 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 No. 28 of the year by VH1's Top 40 Videos of the Year.
Reception
[
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]
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."
[7]
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]
During a
Twitch
stream in 2020,
Mike Shinoda
revealed that "Waiting for the End" is his favourite Linkin Park song.
[14]
Live performances
[
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]
The song was performed live at the
MTV Europe Music Awards
in 2010.
[15]
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).
Commercial performance
[
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]
"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.
[16]
Despite peaking lower than "The Catalyst", it was the most successful single in the US from the album. Outside the US, the song was generally less successful than "The Catalyst".
Chester Bennington said this about the success of the single in an interview with MTV on February 7, 2011:
[17]
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 No. 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.
Track listing
[
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]
All songs written and composed by Linkin Park.
Digital single [1st version]
Title
|
---|
1.
| "Waiting for the End"
| 3:51
|
---|
2.
| "
The Catalyst
" ("Guitarmagedon"
DIOYY?
Remix)
| 3:06
|
---|
CD ? Digital single [2nd version]
Title
|
---|
1.
| "Waiting for the End"
| 3:51
|
---|
2.
| "Waiting for the End" (
The Glitch Mob
Remix)
| 4:54
|
---|
Promotional radio CD single
Title
|
---|
1.
| "Waiting for the End"
| 3:51
|
---|
Charts
[
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]
Weekly charts
[
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]
|
Year-end charts
[
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]
Decade-end charts
[
edit
]
|
Certifications
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
"Ranking: Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit From Worst to Best"
.
Consequence of Sound
. March 28, 2016. Archived from
the original
on October 11, 2016
. Retrieved
June 12,
2016
.
- ^
Grierson, Tim (September 14, 2010).
"Linkin Park A Thousand Suns Review ? Review of A Thousand Suns by Linkin Park"
.
About.com
. Archived from
the original
on March 4, 2016
. Retrieved
January 2,
2012
.
- ^
Castillo, Arielle (January 21, 2011).
"Linkin Park Mix Ambient with Rage in Tour Opener"
.
SPIN
.
- ^
"Live Review: Linkin Park at Sunset Strip Music Festival"
.
Artistdirect
. August 4, 2013. Archived from
the original
on September 23, 2015
. Retrieved
December 31,
2017
.
- ^
"Waiting for the End ? Single Linkin Park"
.
iTunes
. October 1, 2010
. Retrieved
October 20,
2010
.
- ^
"
"Waiting for the End" Video Premiere: This Friday"
. LinkinPark.com. October 4, 2010
. Retrieved
October 5,
2010
.
- ^
a
b
c
Montgomery, James (October 4, 2010).
"Linkin Park's 'Waiting for the End' Video: Watch A Preview!"
. MTV
. Retrieved
October 5,
2010
.
- ^
"Pic of the Day"
. Archived from
the original
on July 27, 2011
. Retrieved
June 12,
2011
.
- ^
"Joe Hahn's Blog Waiting for the End"
. Archived from
the original
on February 7, 2011
. Retrieved
January 22,
2011
.
- ^
"Waiting for the End" live from the 2011 A Thousand Suns Tour
on
YouTube
- ^
"Waiting for the End (Official Video) on Youtube"
.
YouTube
.
From Linkin Park's Youtube Channel.
- ^
Billboard "Waiting for the End" Linkin Park
- ^
Grierson, Tom.
"2010's Best Rock Songs"
.
About.com
. Archived from
the original
on November 2, 2014
. Retrieved
September 10,
2011
.
- ^
"MIKE SHINODA'S FAVORITE LINKIN PARK SONG MIGHT COME AS A SURPRISE"
.
Alternative Press
. May 8, 2020
. Retrieved
May 26,
2020
.
- ^
Linkin Park ? Waiting for the End EMA 2010
on
YouTube
- ^
Trust, Gary (June 24, 2014).
"Ask Billboard: With Nico & Vinz, Norway Continues U.S. Chart Invasion"
.
Billboard
. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^
Montgomery, James (February 7, 2011).
"Linkin Park's on "Waiting for the End" Success: "People Are Getting It Now."
"
. MTV
. Retrieved
June 24,
2011
.
- ^
"
Linkin Park ? Waiting for the End"
(in German).
O3 Austria Top 40
. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^
"
Linkin Park ? Waiting for the End"
(in Dutch).
Ultratip
. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Canada Hot AC)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Canada Rock)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^
"
?NS IFPI"
(in Czech). Hitparada ? Radio Top 100 Oficialni. IFPI Czech Republic.
Note: Change the chart to CZ ? RADIO ? TOP 100 and insert 201046 into search
. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^
"
Linkin Park ? Waiting for the End"
(in German).
GfK Entertainment charts
. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Mexico Ingles Airplay)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
May 11,
2023
.
- ^
"PORTUGAL SINGLES TOP 50"
.
Associacao Fonografica Portuguesa
. November 14, 2010
. Retrieved
May 28,
2022
.
- ^
"Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved January 23, 2022.
- ^
"
?NS IFPI"
(in Slovak). Hitparada ? Radio Top 100 Oficialna. IFPI Czech Republic.
Note: insert 201044 into search
. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^
"
Linkin Park ? Waiting for the End"
.
Swiss Singles Chart
. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^
"Official Singles Chart Top 100"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
- ^
"Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40"
.
Official Charts Company
. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Hot 100)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^
"Linkin Park Chart History (Pop Songs)"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved July 23, 2020.
- ^
"Adult Pop Songs ? Year-End 2011"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
April 3,
2021
.
- ^
"Hot Rock & Alternative Songs ? Year-End 2011"
.
Billboard
. Retrieved
April 3,
2021
.
- ^
"Decade-End Charts: Hot Rock Songs"
.
Billboard
.
Archived
from the original on December 16, 2019
. Retrieved
December 18,
2019
.
- ^
"American single certifications ? Linkin Park ? Waiting for the End"
.
Recording Industry Association of America
. Retrieved
November 7,
2010
.