Faint (song)

"Faint" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park from their second studio album, Meteora. 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 charts it appeared on. On the Hot 100, it peaked at #48. The song reached #1 on the US Modern Rock Tracks, 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, where it was mashed up with lyrics of the song Jigga What from Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life.

"Faint"
Single by Linkin Park
from the album Meteora
B-side
ReleasedJune 9, 2003
Recorded2002
Genre
Length2:42
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Linkin Park
Producer(s)
  • Don Gilmore
  • Linkin Park
Linkin Park singles chronology
"Somewhere I Belong"
(2003)		 "Faint"
(2003)		 "Numb"
(2003)
Music video
"Faint" on YouTube

American metalcore bands I, the Breather and Memphis May Fire recorded a cover of "Faint", as well as Japanese metalcore band Crossfaith featuring Masato Hayakawa from the post-hardcore band, Coldrain. "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, 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. "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 rapping with different lyrics, with only some backing input from Chester Bennington. A live version of the track was featured as a b-side for "What I've Done".

The success of this single, and the success of Linkin Park's "Numb/Encore" mashup with Jay-Z, led MTV to produce a mashup of "Faint" with "Toxic" by Britney Spears. This was done by DJ Rob Boskamp and can be found on MTV'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, it is played after "Tinfoil" as the opening song on the setlist.

Music video

The video, directed by Mark Romanek and shot in downtown Los Angeles, consists of the band performing in front of an audience and a floodlight. 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 silhouettes. 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 Mike Shinoda spray paints the words En Proceso (Spanish for In Process) on a garage door.[6][7]

As of July 2023, the music video for "Faint" has over 400 million views on YouTube.[8]

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 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 Modern Rock Tracks 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 format and number two for two weeks on the US Mainstream Rock Tracks.

"Faint" reached the top thirty on the Canadian Singles Chart where it peaked at 21.

The song was released in Australia, Europe and New Zealand 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 and it would also peak at forty in seven countries and reached the top twenty in the United Kingdom and Spain. 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" 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

All tracks are written by Linkin Park

Part 1
No.TitleLength
1."Faint"2:43
2."Lying from You" (Live)3:07
3."Somewhere I Belong" (Video) 

All tracks are written by Linkin Park

Part 2
No.TitleLength
1."Faint"2:43
2."One Step Closer" (Reanimated Live)3:43
3."Faint Live" (Video) 

All tracks are written by Linkin Park

Maxi single
No.TitleLength
1."Faint"2:43
2."Lying from You" (Live)3:06
3."One Step Closer" (Reanimated Live)3:41

All tracks are written by Linkin Park

10" vinyl picture disc
No.TitleLength
1."Faint"2:43
2."Lying from You" (Live)3:07

Personnel

Linkin Park

Additional musicians

Charts

Weekly charts
2003 weekly chart performance for "Faint"
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[9] 25
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 27
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 44
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[12] 5
Chile (Notimex)[13] 2
Croatia (HRT)[14] 8
Ecuador (Notimex)[15] 1
Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[16] 35
Germany (Official German Charts)[17] 40
Hungary (Single Top 40)[18] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[19] 26
Italy (FIMI)[20] 29
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[21] 40
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[22] 20
Paraguay (Notimex)[23] 2
Scotland (OCC)[24] 15
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[25] 18
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 49
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 32
UK Singles (OCC)[28] 15
UK Rock & Metal (OCC)[29] 3
US Billboard Hot 100[30] 48
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[31] 1
US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[32] 2
2017 weekly chart performance for "Faint"
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[33] 71
Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[34] 86
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[35] 15

All-time charts
All-time chart performance for "Faint"
Chart Position
US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[36] 92

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[37] Gold 35,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[38] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[39] Platinum 1,000,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References
  1. "Concert review: Linkin Park, Vector Arena". February 22, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2016 – via New Zealand Herald.
  2. "10 Nü-Metal Songs That Don't Totally Suck". Consequence of Sound. 12 September 2019. Retrieved 1 April 2021.
  3. Weiss, Dan (April 6, 2012). "Ten Rap-Rock Songs That Are Actually Awesome". LA Weekly. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  4. "Ranking Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit from Worst to Best". Consequence of Sound. 5 July 2017. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  5. Law, Sam (April 17, 2020). "The 20 greatest Linkin Park songs – ranked". Kerrang!. Retrieved November 3, 2021.
  6. "Faint (Original Official Video) on Youtube". YouTube. from Linkin Park's Youtube Channel
  7. "Faint (Official Duplicate Video) on Youtube". YouTube. from Linkin Park's Youtube Channel
  8. Linkin Park (October 24, 2009). "Faint [Official Music Video] - Linkin Park". YouTube. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  9. "Linkin Park – Faint". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  10. "Linkin Park – Faint" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  11. "Linkin Park – Faint" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  12. "Linkin Park – Faint" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  13. "Linkin Park anda popular". El Siglo de Torreón. August 24, 2003. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  14. "Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija". Croatian Radiotelevision. Archived from the original on August 10, 2003. Retrieved April 14, 2023.
  15. "Linkin Park anda popular". El Siglo de Torreón. August 24, 2003. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  16. "European Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21, no. 15. July 5, 2003. p. 13. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  17. "Linkin Park – Faint" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  18. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  19. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Faint". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  20. "Linkin Park – Faint". Top Digital Download. Retrieved September 26, 2020.
  21. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 27, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  22. "Linkin Park – Faint" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  23. "Linkin Park anda popular". El Siglo de Torreón. August 24, 2003. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
  24. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  25. "Linkin Park – Faint" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  26. "Linkin Park – Faint". Singles Top 100. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  27. "Linkin Park – Faint". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  28. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  29. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  30. "Linkin Park Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  31. "Linkin Park Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  32. "Linkin Park Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
  33. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201730 into search. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  34. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201730 into search. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  35. "Linkin Park Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
  36. "Greatest of All Time Alternative Songs". Billboard. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  37. "Italian single certifications – Linkin Park – Faint" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved July 12, 2021. Select "2021" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Faint" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
  38. "British single certifications – Linkin Park – Faint". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 19, 2022.
  39. "American single certifications – Linkin Park – Faint". Recording Industry Association of America.
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