Why Nobody Thought Linkin Park’s “In the End” Would Be a Hit

Not even the most optimistic member of the Linkin Park believed that Hybrid Theory, debut album released in October 2000, would be so successful. We are talking about what is the best-selling rock album of the 21st century, which began in 2001, but the recorded numbers (32 million copies) refer precisely to the period in question.

The big hit of this work is “In the End”, available as the fourth single from the work. The track reached the top 10 of the charts in over ten countries, including number two in the United States. Today, it accumulates 1.5 billion views on its music video on YouTube.

Within the band, virtually no one thought the song would become a hit. No wonder, other songs were released as a single before her — “One Step Closer”, “papercut” It is “Crawling”.

In an interview with radio host Howard Stern (via website Igor Miranda), singer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda reflected on the matter. Even though he was one of those responsible for the composition, he did not see potential in the track. The only one to get really excited was the drummer Rob Bourdon.

It didn’t seem like a big deal or a hit. I was very young and didn’t know what a hit song was like. […] Rob I was like, ‘Man, this is the song we’ve been waiting for, it’s the best song we’ve got.’

Shinoda also took the opportunity to deny that Chester Benningtonvocalist who died in 2017, hated “In the End”. The artist even said this in interviews, but his colleague believes that he just had other favorites. “Chester didn’t hate’In the End‘. He liked the music and he really liked the heavier music. Then they said ‘In the End’ ‘supposed to be a single’ and this song is not the one he would have chosen for it.”

Linkin Park and the creation of “In the End”

Even during the conversation with Howard Stern, Mike Shinoda recalled how the process of creating “In the End”. The multi-instrumentalist noted that he created the piano phrasing, part of the rap, the chorus chords and the beats in just one night.

“I was sitting in a rehearsal space in Hollywood and Vine, In Los Angeles. Outside there were addicts and prostitutes. We locked all the doors because we didn’t want anyone to come in.”