"Leave Out All the Rest" is a ballad[3] by the American rock band Linkin Park, released as the fifth and final single from their third album, Minutes to Midnight. Because of the song's popularity of digital sales during the release week of the album, it charted in the BillboardPop 100 for that week. It was featured on the original motion picture soundtrack for the 2008 film Twilight during the end credits. On the album, the song segues into "Bleed It Out". The single was released on July 15, 2008.
Background
The song's working titles were "Fear" and "When My Time Comes" according to the booklet. While writing, the group went through over thirty lyrical variations before completing the album version. The song combines various synths and samples with raw guitars and drums and powerful vocals. A demo which features Mike Shinoda doing lead vocals can be heard on the Making of Minutes to Midnight documentary, as well as the Linkin Park Underground 9.0 CD where it is entitled "Fear". The song starts with a string sample and electric piano intro, followed by the verse. At the end of the song of the album version, a crowd can be heard which leads into "Bleed It Out", a song that features the background sound of a crowd throughout.
In a Kerrang! review/interview of the band, and the album, vocalist Chester Bennington said about the song, "We knew this was going to be a single from the very beginning, so we worked really hard on making sure it had great lyrics. I'm singing 'pretending someone else can come and save me from myself' during it because it's supposed to feel like an apology letter, as though I'm moving on but I want people to remember the good things and not the bad things. A lot of the song is about humility."[4]Mike Shinoda has also stated that Rick Rubin (producer for Minutes to Midnight) was the first to have said "This sounds like a massive single".
It was also featured on the original motion picture soundtrack for the 2008 film Twilight. It is played during the end credits. Also, the performance from "Road to Revolution" is available on the Twilight special edition DVD.[5]
"Leave Out All the Rest" was the title of a CSI episode that aired on November 6, 2008. The band made a deal with CBS to work the song into the episode. It contained several elements of the song throughout, and pieces of the verses, as well as the chorus, were played at the opening and end of the episode.[6]
In 2009 the German action-series Alarm für Cobra 11 used a part of the song (the chorus) in an especially sad scene, it was the fourth time that a Linkin Park title was used in the series.
Music video
Screenshot from the official music video
In an interview with MTV, Mike said that the video, directed by bandmate Joe Hahn, takes place in a futuristic, science fiction influenced setting, and depicts what the daily life of the band's members would be like if they lived in outer space. The band lives in a rundown, artificial habitat that is making its way across the galaxy. At first, they are seen passing the time performing mundane tasks, but then gravity is lost on board the vessel, sending the members floating into what looks like the Sun or a star. The video features no performance footage, though Chester Bennington is seen singing during most of his solo scenes.[7]
The video has respectively been influenced by the British movie Sunshine, borrowing similar imagery and a similar concept.
Hahn said:
We're explorers in space, just like when we go on tour. We're leaving our home life behind, and I guess it kind of ties into 'Leave Out All the Rest', in that we have to leave things behind in order to do something better.
The video leaked on May 30, 2008, the same day the band released a statement on their widget at MySpace, saying that the premiere for the video would be on June 2, 2008. It featured in the top ten songs of the week on VH1.[8][9][10][11][12]
As of May 2023, the music video for "Leave Out All the Rest" has over 225 million views on YouTube.[13]
While playing a show in Germany (München) in June 2008, Shinoda spoke with Warner Bros. Records Germany and they told him that the music video they've made for "Leave Out All the Rest" was not going to be released just yet due to the high success for the single "Given Up" in Germany. He later told this to the fans at the show.[14][15]
Commercial performance
The song managed to spend one week on the BillboardPop 100 without being officially released as a single, at #98.[16] The song debuted on the US BillboardHot Modern Rock Tracks at #35 and peaked at #11. It is one of Linkin Park's lowest charting songs in the UK to date, peaking at #90, as well as on the Billboard Modern Rock chart, peaking at only #11. "Leave Out All the Rest" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at #99 and the BillboardHot Digital Songs at #72. The single would later peak on the Billboard Hot 100 at #94. Despite its mediocre chart performance, the single was certified Platinum by the RIAA in 2017. Despite the song charting poorly in the UK, it would eventually be certified silver by the BPI for 200,000 units sold in December 2021.[17][18]
^Unterberger, Andrew (July 20, 2017). "The 15 Greatest Linkin Park Songs". Billboard. Retrieved March 16, 2021. "Leave Out All the Rest," a gently glowing power ballad that sounds particularly self-eulogizing today.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200838 into search. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
^"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.
