“In the End” by Linkin Park

"In the End" sits eighth on Hybrid Theory, Linkin Park's 2000 debut, and it was the fourth and last single pulled from it, the slow burner that took a nu metal band all the way into the pop charts. It opens on that stark, circling piano riff, and Mike Shinoda, the band's rapper, carries long stretches of it in a cool, clipped voice before Chester Bennington's howl cuts in.

Funny thing: Bennington didn't like it at first and didn't want it on the album. Don Gilmore produced and recorded it, Andy Wallace mixed it, Brad Delson's guitar and Rob Bourdon's drums keep the grind tight, and all five members share the writing credit.

It became their first top-40 hit in early 2002 and climbed to number two on the Billboard Hot 100, the highest they ever got there. The video, directed by Nathan Cox and turntablist Joe Hahn, dropped the band into a fantasy world; a remix, "Enth E ND", turned up on Reanimation; and for the album's 20th anniversary reissue in 2020 the band dug out a demo version. Blender later slotted it at number 121 on a 500-song list, Spin ranked it fifth among nu metal's all-time greats, and in 2021 no nu metal song had ever reached a billion Spotify streams before it did. The RIAA has certified it Diamond.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.