Somewhere I Belong Explained

Somewhere I Belong
Cover:	Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong CD cover.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Linkin Park
Album:	Meteora
Recorded:	December 2002^[1] ^[2]
Studio:	Soundtrack (New York City)
Length:	3:33
Label:	Warner Bros.
Prev Title:	Pts.OF.Athrty
Prev Year:	2002
Next Title:	Faint
Next Year:	2003

"Somewhere I Belong" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released to US radio on February 24, 2003, as the first single from their second studio album, Meteora (2003), and is the album's third track. It entered the top ten on several music charts, including the New Zealand Singles Chart, where it peaked at 1 in April 2003.

Commercial performance

Warner Bros. Records officially released "Somewhere I Belong" to American rock radio formats on February 24, 2003.^[3] The song debuted at No. 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100,^[4] peaked at No. 32 during its 15th week on the chart, and remained on the listing until its 20th week. It also topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. In Canada, the song reached the top five on the Canadian Singles Chart, peaking at No. 3.

"Somewhere I Belong" was released in Australia and the United Kingdom on March 17, 2003.^{[5] [6]} In New Zealand, the song debuted at number 33 on April 6, 2003, and jumped to number one the following week, becoming Linkin Park's most successful single there. It entered the top 10 in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ireland, and the United Kingdom, and it was a top-20 success in Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Sweden. It additionally reached the top 40 in France and Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia).

Music video

The video was directed by the band's turntablist, Joseph Hahn. It presents the band playing the song in front of a fire, with occasional shots of Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda in front of a waterfall with what appears to be monks around them. The doors in what is supposedly Bennington's room have the Chinese characters for fire and water, which possibly represent the waterfall and burning fire behind Shinoda while rapping.

During the video, on a dresser sits several props, most notably, Master Grade Gunpla models of the MSN-04 Sazabi from , XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (EW Version) from , and RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam "Zephyranthes" Full Burnern from . At the last time they sing the chorus, the bed sets on fire, and forms the Hybrid Theory Soldier. Near the ending of the video, tall, long-legged, tusked creatures that were on a painting (reminiscent of Salvador Dalí's The Elephants and The Temptation of St. Anthony) behind Chester's bed march past, even at one point the creature paintings seemed to move before stopping again. It was awarded as Best Rock Video at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards,^[7] and was the first music video broadcast on Fuse TV. MTV's James Montgomery named the video as Linkin Park's fifth best, saying that while the video is "massive", he said "it's the minimal touches that make it one of their all-time best", and called the end result a "stirring, powerful piece".^{[8] [9]}

Track listing

CD single

7-inch vinyl

Personnel

Linkin Park

• Chester Bennington – lead vocals, additional guitar^[10]
• Mike Shinoda – rap vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, sampler
• Brad Delson – lead guitar
• Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass guitar
• Joe Hahn – turntables, samplers
• Rob Bourdon – drums

Production

• Don Gilmore – producer
• Linkin Park – producer

Charts

Weekly charts

2003 weekly chart performance for "Somewhere I Belong"!Chart (2003)!Peak
position

Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)^[11]	3
scope=row	Croatia (HRT)^[12]	4
Czech Republic (IFPI)^[13]	7
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[14]	10
Romania (Romanian Top 100)^[15]	45

2017 weekly chart performance for "Somewhere I Belong"!Chart (2017)!Peak
position

Year-end charts

Year-end chart performance for "Somewhere I Belong"!Chart (2003)!Position

Australia (ARIA)^[16]	91
Brazil (Crowley)^[17]	34
Ireland (IRMA)^[18]	76
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)^[19]	89
UK Singles (OCC)^[20]	118

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)
United States	February 24, 2003		Warner Bros.	^[21]
Australia	March 17, 2003	CD
United Kingdom
New Zealand	March 31, 2003			^[22]

In other media

• The song was one of the three songs off of Meteora that played during win at the 2003 MTV Movie Awards. "Somewhere I Belong" played during "Best Movie" while "From the Inside" and "Faint" appeared during the nominee montage for "Best On-Screen Team" and "Best Action Sequence" respectively.
• Conservative commentator Mark Levin's son selected the song's instrumental as the main bumper music theme for his father's radio talk show.^[23]
• The song was also featured in a profile video for Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
• The instrumental version played in the opening video for the AST Dew Tour.
• In January 2011, "Somewhere I Belong" was released in a Linkin Park DLC pack for Rock Band 3.
• The song was used for a promo of the Nature entitled "Chasing Big Cats".
• On November 18, 2013, a 2002 demo of this song, titled as "Pretty Birdy", is chosen and featured on LP Underground XIII.
• Israel Adesanya used the song as his Walkout song during UFC 263.^[24]

Notes and References

1. Making of the Album 'Meteora'. video. 27:40–29:10. YouTube.
2. Meteora. Meteora (album). Linkin Park. 2003. US CD album booklet. Warner Bros. Records. 48186-2. ...they ended up recording the final version one week after the rest of the album was finished, in the studio where they were mixing..
3. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1492. 30. February 21, 2003. May 9, 2021.
4. The Hot 100: Week of March 15, 2003. Billboard. March 15, 2003. May 9, 2021.
5. Web site: The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 17th March 2003. ARIA. 26. March 17, 2003. dead. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20030406140000/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20030407-0000/Issue682.pdf. April 6, 2003. May 9, 2021.
6. New Releases – For Week Starting 17 March 2003: Singles. Music Week. 29. March 15, 2003. September 2, 2021.
7. http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2003/mtvvmas.htm 2003 MTV Music Video Awards
8. Web site: Does Linkin Park's 'The Catalyst' Rank Among Their Best Videos? . https://web.archive.org/web/20131101192125/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1646589/does-linkin-parks-catalyst-rank-among-their-best-videos.jhtml . dead . November 1, 2013 . Montgomery, James . October 2, 2011 . MTV.
9. Web site: Somewhere I Belong (Official Video) on Youtube. YouTube. from the Warner Bros. Records Youtube Channel
10. Web site: Shoutweb Track by Track with Mike Shinoda . 31 July 2022.
11. Linkin Park Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs). Billboard. May 13, 2020.
12. Web site: Top Lista Hrvatskog Radija. https://web.archive.org/web/20030424102425/http://www.hrt.hr:80/hr/top20/maineng.html. dead. April 24, 2003. Croatian Radiotelevision. April 14, 2023.
13. Web site: Oficiální Česká Hitparáda – Pro týden 31/2003. IFPI ČR. cs. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20030804092100/http://www.ifpicr.cz/radio.htm. August 4, 2003. January 14, 2020.
14. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 21. 15. 13. April 5, 2003. May 13, 2020.
15. Web site: Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 31, saptamina 11.08–17.08, 2003. Romanian Top 100. ro. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050218234436/http://www.rt100.ro/editie-top-100_x10082.html. February 18, 2005. May 13, 2020.
16. Web site: ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2003. Australian Recording Industry Association. January 10, 2020.
17. Web site: Brazilian Top 100 Year-End 2003. April 3, 2018. Crowley Broadcast Analysis. January 30, 2022.
18. Web site: Top 100 Songs of 2003. Raidió Teilifís Éireann. 2003. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20040602113024/http://www.rte.ie/2fm/charts/top100_2003.html. June 2, 2004. March 16, 2022.
19. Web site: Årslista Singlar, 2003. Sverigetopplistan. sv. May 20, 2020.
20. Web site: The Official UK Singles Chart 2003. UKChartsPlus. April 30, 2020.
21. Going for Adds. Radio & Records. 1492. 30. February 21, 2003. May 9, 2021.
22. Web site: New Releases. netcd.co.nz. March 31, 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030411210841/http://www.netcd.co.nz/NewReleases.html. April 11, 2003. November 9, 2023.
23. http://marklevinfan.com/?p=921 Mark Levin Fan
24. Web site: UFC 263 Israel Adesanya incredible walkout on LP(Crowd goes crazy). . en. June 15, 2021.