Given Up
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"Given Up" is the second track and the fourth single from Linkin Park's third studio album Minutes to Midnight. It was released on February 17, 2008 in United Kingdom as a digital download. In the UK it became the band's worst charting single, missing the top 200 entirely, many attributing this to the lack of promotion and airplay.
Background information
"Given Up", along with the hit singles "What I've Done" and "No More Sorrow", made its live debut on April 28, 2007 in Berlin, Germany. Live performances of these three songs at the AOL sessions were released on AOL on May 5, 2007. The performance of the song is available on the "Bleed It Out" CD single.
"Given Up" is one of the heavier songs on the album. It notably features a eighteen second-long scream by Chester Bennington after the second verse, as well as a steady guitar riff for the chorus verses of the song. The scream is split into two 8 second long screams when performed live allowing Chester to catch his breath, although he has completed the full scream in various live performances. It dawns a distinctive jingle sound during the verses and intro, generated by the jingling of guitarist Brad Delson's keys and a steady clapping beat by Mike Shinoda. The song was available as a single on March 3, 2008.
Track listings
CD1
- "Given Up"
7" Picture disc format
- "Given Up"
- On the b-side there is the Minutes to Midnight era LP logo etched in the vinyl.
Digital download/Maxi single CD2
- "Given Up"
- "Valentine's Day (Live in Germany)
- "In Between" (Live in the UK)
Single release
In June 2007, the official Billboard website gave information stating that "Given Up" and "Shadow of the Day" would be the next two singles from Minutes to Midnight, following "What I've Done". This proved incorrect after "Bleed It Out" was promoted to single status. On January 24, 2008, it was announced that "Given Up" would be the band's next single after "Shadow of the Day", released on October 16, 2007. The single was released as digital download on February 17, 2008 along with a cover art. [1]
Music video
On Chester Bennington's official blog, he stated that the video is currently being shot and features live performance from the band. Bennington told the crowd at the MEN Arena and the O2 Arena during his shows on January 27 and 29 that the performance of "Given Up" was recorded for use in the video although cameras were also visible during the performance of the song at the concert on January 28 at the O2 Arena. Linkin Park had officially finished filming the video on February 6, according to Billboard. The video premiered on the band's official website on March 3, 2008 at 4p.m. Pacific Standard Time (Midnight UTC). The video was uploaded to the band's YouTube channel on March 4, 2008. The video was directed by Mark Fiore, the band's videographer.
The video consists of live clips from the shows (stated above) and has been edited together in a sharp, rugged manner which contains short cut scenes with many special effects mainly altering the colouring. Transitions between cut scenes are in a style of VHS-type distortion giving the video an even more rugged, tough appearance. Bennington performs his seventeen-second scream perched on the guard rail, inches from the audience. Throughout the video several flash scenes appear such as a cowboy, hippopotamus and quotes from "Magical Thinking: True Stories" (chapter "Commercial Break") a book by the American author Augusten Burroughs. Frames from the Linkin Park videos "One Step Closer", "Papercut", "What I've Done", "Faint", "Numb", and "Breaking the Habit" can also be seen through out the video.
Chart performance
"Given Up" charted on Billboard's Hot 100 and Pop 100 charts at numbers 99 and 78 respectively in May of 2007, following Minutes to Midnight's release. Following the singles official release, the song has debuted at #34 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks, so far climbing to #9. It has also debuted at #32 on Modern Rock Tracks, so far peaking #5.
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Modern Rock Tracks | 5 |
| Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9 |
| Billboard Hot 100 | 99 |
| Billboard Pop 100 | 78 |
| Portugal singles Top 50 | 43 |
| Chilean Singles Chart[2] | 29 |
| Polish National Top 50 | 37 |
| Thailand Singles Chart[3] | 15 |
| UK Rock Chart | 4 |
References
- ^ 7Digital Sale Page for Given Up
- ^ Chilean Singles Chart
- ^ [1] MTVThailand.com Accessed April 21, 2008