"Heavy" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park featuring American recording artist Kiiara. It was released as the lead single from the album on 26 February 2017, and features credited vocals from American recording artist Kiiara. It represents band's first collaboration with a female artist.
The song was written by Chester Bennington, Brad Delson, and Mike Shinoda, alongside Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter, and produced by Shinoda and Delson.
Release[]
The single was released for download on February 16, 2017, and was premiered on radio on February 21.
Commercial performance[]
The song has received a huge commercial success after its release, being Linkin Park's highest and longest charting single in the United States since "Burn It Down" (2012). The song was also Kiiara's highest charting single in Switzerland and the United Kingdom[1].
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. 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." 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."
Fan reaction to the song has been equally negative. 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." 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]".
The song has got a different meaning to band's fans after Chester Bennington's death in July 2017. The song, written by himself, was described as a "cry for help", according to fans: "Its lyrics made more sense than we thought". 'Heavy' is a song that has contributed to raise awareness about mental health and effects of depression and loneliness.
Lyrics[]
I don’t like my mind right now
Stacking up problems that are so unnecessary
Wish that I could slow things down
I wanna let go but there’s comfort in the panic
And I drive myself crazy
Thinking everything's about me
Yeah, I drive myself crazy
'Cause I can’t escape the gravity
I'm holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Holding on
So much more than I can carry
I keep dragging around what's bringing me down
If I just let go, I'd be set free
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Kiiara's vocals:
You say that I'm paranoid
But I’m pretty sure the world is out to get me
It’s not like I make the choice
To let my mind stay so fucking messy
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same
I'm holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Holding on
So much more than I can carry
I keep dragging around what's bringing me down
If I just let go, I'd be set free
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Chester and Kiiara's vocals:
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same
I know I'm not the center of the universe
But you keep spinning 'round me just the same
And I drive myself crazy
Thinking everything’s about me
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Holding on
So much more than I can carry
I keep dragging around what's bringing me down
If I just let go, I'd be set free
Holding on
Why is everything so heavy?
Why is everything so heavy?
Why is everything so heavy?
Trivia[]
- This is Linkin Park's first single on their album One More Light and the first time in all of their albums to feature a female artist.
- The song "Heavy" got a Heavy amount of backlash when the lyrics video first got uploaded on YouTube.
- The Fans criticized the song for being too poppy and soft despite the title of the song being "Heavy".
- They also criticized Linkin Park for having Kiiara featured in the song.
- After the heavy backlash, Linkin Park made a Nu-Metal version as a joke response to the fans who criticized them.
- At the end of the video, Chester Bennnigton jokingly said at the end "There's your fuckin' Hybrid Theory now shut the... [fuck up]"
- Some fans did not take it as a joke and started to boycott the band and their newest album One More Light.
- The music video for "Heavy" is the most viewed Music Video Single from the Album One More Light.
- The lyrics video for "Heavy" is the most disliked Linkin Park video on YouTube with over 119 thousand dislikes.
- The Line "Why is everything so heavy" became a small Meme in the Linkin Park community.
Music Video[]
| Heavy [Official Music Video] - Linkin Park (feat. Kiiara) | |||
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| Publish date | 9 March 2017 | ||
| Director | Tim Mattia [2] | ||
| Place shot | United States of America [?] | ||
| Views | 201,328,623 (as of 11 April 2024) | ||
Gallery[]
.jpg "Behind Scenes of Heavy MV set (3).jpg (195 KB)")
.jpg "Behind Scenes of Heavy MV set (2).jpg (200 KB)")
.jpg "Behind Scenes of Heavy MV set (16).jpg (360 KB)")
References[]
- ↑ "Kiiara Chart History" - The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 April 2024
- ↑ "Linkin Park feat. Kiiara: Heavy" - IMBD
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