Numb/Encore
"Numb/Encore" | |
---|---|
Song | |
B-side | "Numb/Encore (Instrumental)" |
"Numb/Encore" is a song by American rapper Jay-Z and rock band Linkin Park from their album Collision Course, (2004). It was released as a single on November 16, 2004, by Warner Bros. and Roc-A-Fella Records. The song, which combines lyrics from Linkin Park's 2003 single "Numb" and "Encore" by Jay-Z, also featured background vocals by Kanye West.
The track was the only single released from the album and went on to achieve success, reaching number 20 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also placed at number 93 on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 2005, a chart of the most successful singles of the year according to American publication Billboard. Outside the United States, the single peaked at number 14 in the United Kingdom, number five in France and the Netherlands and spent three weeks at number one in Ireland.
Background
Before Mike Shinoda joined Linkin Park in 2000, he was an experimental musician who enjoyed combining songs by Jay-Z with tracks recorded by Smashing Pumpkins amongst others.[1] A couple of years later, Jay-Z had a similar idea after hearing similar mash-ups by Danger Mouse and Cheap Cologne. He contacted Shinoda's new band, Linkin Park, and suggested that they work on some material together. Linkin Park's first two albums - Hybrid Theory and Meteora had both been worldwide successes and Jay-Z felt he could work with the band. Shinoda produced three mash-ups based on Jay-Z's The Black Album before responding by email.[1]
Shinoda and Jay-Z continued to respond by email but eventually met in person to discuss plans. Initially the idea was to create several mash-ups for a new show premiering on MTV called MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups in 2004. However, instead of simply reconfiguring the tracks, the two artists decided to enter the studio and re-record the raps on top of Shinoda's songs. Some of the musical elements were also altered to create an alternative sound. Both Linkin Park and Jay-Z found the session so rewarding that they believed the international audience deserved to hear the results.[1] The songs were performed at Roxy Theatre in West Hollywood in July 2004.[2]
"Numb/Encore" was released as a single in November that year. The song - one of six collaborations on the album - combined the Jay-Z song "Encore" (taken from his 2003 album The Black Album) and the Linkin Park song "Numb" (taken from their 2003 album Meteora). The released version also contained background vocals from Kanye West that were recorded for the original release.
Track listing
CD single
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Numb/Encore" (Explicit) | S. Carter, K. West, B. Delson, M. Shinoda | 3:27 |
2. | "Numb/Encore" (Instrumental) | B. Delson, M. Shinoda | 3:26 |
MTV Ultimate Mashups Presents: Numb / Encore - iTunes EP
No. | Title | Length |
---|---|---|
1. | "Numb/Encore" (Explicit) | 3:25 |
2. | "Numb/Encore" (Clean) | 3:25 |
3. | "Numb/Encore" (Instrumental) | 3:27 |
4. | "Numb/Encore" (Dirty Acapella) | 3:19 |
5. | "Numb/Encore" (Clean Acapella) | 3:19 |
6. | "Numb/Encore" (Bonus Beat) | 1:42 |
Music video
A music video directed by Kimo Proudfoot was made featuring a mix of their performance of the song at The Roxy and behind the scenes footage which was in black and white. The performance and most of the scenes can be found on the Collision Course DVD. However, the music video is not entirely available on the DVD.
Reception
Critical reception
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Awards
"Numb/Encore" won Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the Grammy Awards of 2006. The show featured a performance of the song, during which Paul McCartney made a surprise appearance and came onto the stage to perform a duet with Chester Bennington of The Beatles' song "Yesterday". "Yesterday" replaced "Numb" after the first rap verse of the mash-up.
Chart performance
In the United Kingdom, the single achieved the record for the longest stay in the top 20 without ever reaching the top 10. Despite only peaking at number 14[3] - the same peak Numb had achieved 15 months earlier on[4] - the song managed to spend 53[note 1][3] weeks in the top 100, 13 of them in the top 20[3]. It has since cleared 375,000 copies[5]. The former record has been beaten by Jason Mraz's I'm Yours, which has spent 90[note 2][6] weeks in the top 100.
Charts
Chart (2004–2005) | Peak position |
---|---|
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 20 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks | 40 |
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 12 |
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs | 94 |
U.S. Billboard Pop 100 | 8 |
U.S. Billboard Year End | 93 |
UK Singles Chart | 14 |
Dutch Top 40 | 5 |
French Singles Chart | 5 |
Eurochart Hot 100 | 1 |
Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
Polish Singles Chart[7] | 9 |
Year-end
End of year chart (2005) | Position |
---|---|
German Singles Chart [8] | 13 |
Certifications
Country | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
---|---|
Canada | Gold [9] |
Germany | Platinum [10] |
USA | Platinum [11] |
Chart procession and succession
Notes
References
- ^ a b c Wiederhorn, John (October 28, 2004). "Jay-Z and Linkin Park show Danger Mouse how it's done". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved October 9, 2010.
- ^ Jones, Steve (November 4, 2004). "The show goes on for Jay-Z". USA Today. Gannet Co. Inc. Retrieved October 9, 2004.
- ^ a b c "Jay-Z and Linkin Park - Numb/Encore". Chart Stats. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
- ^ http://chartarchive.org/r/30948
- ^ "The 50 Best Selling Singles Of The Noughties, 4Music.
- ^ http://chartarchive.org/r/33864
- ^ "Polish Singles Chart |".
- ^ http://www.mtv.de/charts/Single_Jahrescharts_2005
- ^ "Gold Platinum Database: Numb/Encore". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2011-07-12.
- ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank ('Numb/ Encore')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
- ^ RIAA - Recording Industry Association of America
External links
- Articles with empty sections from October 2010
- 2004 songs
- 2004 singles
- English-language songs
- Jay-Z songs
- Linkin Park songs
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Mashup songs
- Songs written by Jay-Z
- Songs written by Mike Shinoda
- Singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Singles certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of Japan
- Singles certified platinum by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie
- Warner Bros. Records singles
- Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration