"Faint" is a song by American rock band

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drumm ...

from their second studio album, ''

Meteora The Meteora (; el, Μετέωρα, ) is a rock formation in central Greece hosting one of the largest and most precipitously built complexes of Eastern Orthodox monasteries, second in importance only to Mount Athos.Sofianos, D.Z.: "Metéora" ...

''. The song was released as the album's second single on June 9, 2003, and is the seventh track. It entered the top thirty on the majority of the

chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent ...

s it appeared on. On the Hot 100, it peaked at #48. The song reached #1 on the US

Modern Rock Tracks Alternative Airplay (formerly known as Modern Rock Tracks (1988–2009) and Alternative Songs (2009–2020)) is a music chart in the United States that has appeared in ''Billboard'' magazine since September 10, 1988. It ranks the 40 most-playe ...

, becoming the band's third number-one hit on the chart. The song would later be featured on the group's mashup EP with Jay-Z, ''

Collision Course {{wiktionary A collision course, also known as a ''kamikaze run'', is the deliberate maneuver by the operator of a moving object (or often in Sci-Fi a spaceship) to collide with another object. It is a desperate maneuver since it often damages ...

,'' where it was mashed up with lyrics of the song Jigga What from '' Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life''. American metalcore bands

I, the Breather I, the Breather is an American metalcore band from Baltimore, Maryland. Formed by Shawn Spann, Justin Huffman and Morgan Wright in late 2009, the group was signed to Sumerian Records and had released three albums through the label before announc ...

and

Memphis May Fire Memphis May Fire is an American metalcore band formed in Denton, Texas and currently signed to Rise Records. The band currently consists of lead guitarist Kellen McGregor, lead vocalist Matty Mullins, bassist Cory Elder, and drummer Jake Garl ...

recorded a cover of "Faint", as well as Japanese metalcore band

Crossfaith Crossfaith (Japanese: クロスフェイス) is a Japanese metalcore band from Osaka that was formed in 2006. Since its formation, the band has retained the same line-up with no member changes, which currently consists of vocalist Kenta Koie, g ...

featuring

Masato Hayakawa Masato David Hayakawa (Japanese: 早川雅人, ''Hayakawa Masato'', born December 17, 1986), known professionally as Masato, is a Japanese singer, musician, songwriter, producer and model. He is known for being the bandleader and vocalist of th ...

from the

post-hardcore Post-hardcore is a punk rock music genre that maintains the aggression and intensity of hardcore punk but emphasizes a greater degree of creative expression. It was initially inspired by post-punk and noise rock. Like post-punk, the term has be ...

band,

Coldrain are a Japanese rock band from Nagoya, Japan, who were formed in 2007. The band combines melodic singing with screams typical of the post-hardcore genre. Although the band is Japanese, all of their songs are written in English. The lineup consi ...

. "Faint" is considered one of Linkin Park's most iconic and most covered songs, with its intro and primary guitar riff being widely recognizable.

Overview

This song was released as two singles, "Faint 1" and "Faint 2." They differed in cover color and track listing ("Faint 1" is

blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

, and "Faint 2" is a brownish-green mixture). "Faint 1" was also released as a Canadian version that includes the tracks, but does not include the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

. "Faint 1" lists the length of "Lying from You" as 3:43 but is actually 3:04. "One Step Closer", on "Faint 2", is 3:43 long. A promotional sampler was given to members of the street team and some members of the LPU, the band's official fan club. A demo for the song can be found on the ''Underground 9.0'' Fan Club release. It features

Mike Shinoda Michael Kenji Shinoda (; ja, 篠田賢治, Shinoda Kenji; born February 11, 1977) is an American musician, singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He co-founded the rock band Linkin Park in 1996 and was the band's collaborative vocal ...

rapping with different lyrics, with only some backing input from

Chester Bennington Chester Charles Bennington (March 20, 1976 – July 20, 2017) was an American singer and songwriter who was best known as the lead vocalist of rock band Linkin Park. He was also the lead vocalist of the bands Grey Daze, Dead by Sunrise, ...

. A live version of the track was featured as a b-side for "

What I've Done "What I've Done" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single from their third studio album, '' Minutes to Midnight'' (2007), and is the sixth track. The song was released as a radio single on April 1, 2007, as ...

". The success of this single, and the success of Linkin Park's "

Numb/Encore "Numb/Encore" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z and rock band Linkin Park from their EP ''Collision Course'' (2004). It was released as a single on December 13, 2004, by Warner Bros., Machine Shop, Def Jam, and Roc-A-Fella Records. The song ...

" mashup with

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one o ...

, led

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

to produce a mashup of "Faint" with "

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a sub ...

" by

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage producti ...

. This was done by DJ Rob Boskamp and can be found on

's MTV Mash Up - Amazing Remixes! CD. During the Minutes to Midnight World Tour, they extended the length of the song during live performances, playing the riff from the bridge while Delson played a solo. In some live performances during

Living Things World Tour The Living Things World Tour was the eighth concert tour by American alternative metal band Linkin Park. It was launched in support of Linkin Park's fifth studio album '' Living Things'' (2012). The tour was officially announced in April 2012 thr ...

, it is played after "Tinfoil" as the opening song on the setlist.

Music video

The video, directed by

Mark Romanek Mark Romanek (; born September 18, 1959) is an American filmmaker whose directing work includes feature films, television, music videos and commercials. Romanek wrote and directed the 2002 film ''One Hour Photo'' and directed the 2010 film '' Neve ...

and shot in

downtown Los Angeles Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is a ...

, consists of the band performing in front of an audience and a

floodlight A floodlight is a broad-beamed, high-intensity artificial light. They are often used to illuminate outdoor playing fields while an outdoor sports event is being held during low-light conditions. More focused kinds are often used as a stage ...

. The audience consisted of members from the LPU. Almost the entire video is shot from behind the band, allowing the strong lighting to portray them in

silhouette A silhouette ( , ) is the image of a person, animal, object or scene represented as a solid shape of a single colour, usually black, with its edges matching the outline of the subject. The interior of a silhouette is featureless, and the silhou ...

s. Therefore, the faces of the band are not shown throughout most of the video, except at the final chorus where the band is then shown from the front. They perform in front of a derelict building structure with graffiti, such as a monstrous version of the ''Hybrid Theory'' Soldier and some Linkin Park symbols. A director's cut was made that features an extended ending where

spray paints the words ''En Proceso'' (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

for ''In Process'') on a garage door. As of January 2023, the music video for "Faint" has over 375 million views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

Commercial performance

"Faint" was officially released to US radio on July 1, 2003. The song reached the top twenty on the Hot 100 Recurrent Airplay, and the following week it debuted on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

, the official US chart. "Faint" peaked at number forty-eight in its eighth week and remained on the chart until its twentieth week. The song entered the top twenty on the majority of the ''Billboard'' charts on which it appeared. "Faint" proved popular on

radio, attaining the number one position on that chart for six weeks (with 37 weeks on the chart), and peaked at number forty-eight on the

Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acro ...

format and number two for two weeks on the US

Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart in '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in ...

. "Faint" reached the top thirty on the Canadian Singles Chart where it peaked at 21. The song was released in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

on July 22, 2003. "Somewhere I Belong" reached the UK top ten, while "Faint" reached the top twenty. "Faint" continued the trend of lower-charting singles when it debuted and peaked at number fifteen, and remained in the chart for 8 weeks. "Faint" peaked at number twenty-five on the Australian Singles Chart and stayed at its peak for two weeks. "Faint" reached 67 on the Japanese singles chart and 48 on the

Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

and it would also peak at forty in seven countries and reached the top twenty in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. It was a moderate top ten success on the LAUNCH Music Videos Top 100. To date, It has been less successful than its predecessor "Somewhere I Belong" and the following single "Numb" where both singles charted higher. However, it has peaked higher than "Numb" in the Belgium Singles Chart (#44) and Italian Singles Chart. Additionally, it was more successful on the Mainstream Rock Track and the Modern Rock Track chart than the other singles from Meteora. It was the 8th Best performing song of the decade on the Modern Rock Track chart, and the 13th best performing song of the decade on the Mainstream rock Track Chart. It is their second most successful single behind "

In the End "In the End" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It is the eighth track on their debut album, ''Hybrid Theory'' (2000), and was released as the album's fourth and final single. "In the End" received positive reviews by music critics, ...

" on the rock charts. Moreover, the single peaked at #15 in the UK, charting for 8 weeks, being their second-most successful song from ''Meteora'' in the UK after "Somewhere I Belong".

Track listing

Personnel

Linkin Park *

– vocals *

– strings arrangement, rap vocals, rhythm guitar, sampler *

Brad Delson Bradford Phillip Delson (born December 1, 1977) is an American musician, best known as the lead guitarist and one of the founding members of the rock band Linkin Park.

– lead guitar * Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass guitar *

Joe Hahn Joseph Hahn (born March 15, 1977) is an American musician, DJ, director and visual artist best known as the DJ of the American rock band Linkin Park, doing the scratching, turntables, sampling, and programming for all seven of Linkin Park ...

– turntables, samplers, synthesizers *

Rob Bourdon Robert Gregory Bourdon (born January 20, 1979) is an American musician, best known as the drummer and co-founding member of the American rock band Linkin Park. Early life Bourdon was born in Calabasas, California. He received classical piano l ...

– drums Additional musicians * Joel Derouin,

Charlie Bisharat Charlie Bisharat is an American violinist known as a member of Shadowfax and for his work in film and with other New Age Jazz artists. He was born in Inglewood, CA in 1963 to parents who immigrated to the United States from Palestine in the 1950 ...

, Alyssa Park, Sara Parkins, Michelle Richards, Mark Robertson –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

s * Evan Wilson, Bob Becker –

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s * Larry Corbett, Dan Smith –

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a bowed (sometimes plucked and occasionally hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually tuned in perfect fifths: from low to high, C2, G2, ...

s * David Campbell – strings arrangement

Charts

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

External links

''Faint'' official lyrics
{{authority control Linkin Park songs 2003 singles 2003 songs Music videos directed by Mark Romanek Protest songs Songs written by Mike Shinoda Warner Records singles American pop rock songs