Somewhere I Belong

"Somewhere I Belong" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released on March 17, 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 No. 1 in April 2003.

For the Valencia song of the same name, see Dancing with a Ghost.

"Somewhere I Belong"
Single by Linkin Park
from the album Meteora
B-side	"Step Up" (Live) "My December" (Live)
Released	March 17, 2003
Recorded	2002
Genre	Nu metal[1] Rap metal[2] alternative rock[3]
Length	3:33
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Linkin Park
Producer(s)	Don Gilmore Linkin Park
Linkin Park singles chronology
"Pts.OF.Athrty" (2002) "Somewhere I Belong" (2003) "Faint" (2003)
Audio sample
file help
Music video
"Somewhere I Belong" on YouTube

Commercial performance

"Somewhere I Belong" was officially released to U.S. radio on March 18, 2003. The song reached the top thirty on the Hot 100 Airplay, and the following week it debuted at No. 47 on the US Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at No. 32 during its fifteenth week on the chart and remained on the listing until its twentieth week. The song entered the top ten on the majority of the Billboard charts on which it appeared. It proved to be highly popular on rock radio, reaching No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks and Modern Rock Tracks charts. It was listed at No. 24 on the Modern Rock Tracks decade-end chart. In Canada, "Somewhere I Belong" was officially released to radio in March 2003. It reached the top five on the Canadian Singles Chart, peaking at No. 3.

"Somewhere I Belong" was released in Australia, Europe and New Zealand in May 2003. The single reached No. 1 in New Zealand and the top ten in the Ireland and Japan, and it was a moderate top-twenty success in Australia, Austria, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. It additionally reached the top forty in France and Belgium.

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 Mobile Suit Gundam: Char's Counterattack, XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero (EW Version) from Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz, and RX-78GP01-Fb Gundam "Zephyranthes" Full Burnern from Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory. 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,[4] 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".[5][6][7]

Track listing

CD single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Somewhere I Belong"	Linkin Park	3:33
2.	"Step Up" (Live)	Shinoda Hahn Delson	4:15
3.	"My December" (Live)	Shinoda	4:27

7-inch vinyl

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Somewhere I Belong"	Linkin Park	3:33
2.	"Step Up" (Live)	Shinoda Hahn Delson	4:15

In other media

• The song was one of the three songs off of Meteora that played during The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' 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.[8]
• 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.

Personnel

Linkin Park

• Chester Bennington – lead vocals
• Mike Shinoda – rap vocals, rhythm guitar
• Brad Delson – lead guitar
• Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass guitar
• Joe Hahn – turntables, samplers
• Rob Bourdon – drums

Production

• Don Gilmore – producer

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2003) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[9] 13 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[10] 16 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[11] 33 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[12] 23 Canada (Nielsen SoundScan)[13] 3 Czech Republic (IFPI)[14] 7 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[15] 10 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[16] 14 France (SNEP)[17] 32 Germany (Official German Charts)[18] 12 Hungary (Single Top 40)[19] 3 Ireland (IRMA)[20] 4 Italy (FIMI)[21] 13 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[22] 16 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 14 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[24] 1 Norway (VG-lista)[25] 12 Poland (LP3)[26] 1 Romania (Romanian Top 100)[27] 45 Scotland (Official Charts Company)[28] 6 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[29] 17 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[30] 19 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[31] 15 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[32] 10 UK Rock and Metal (Official Charts Company)[33] 1 US Billboard Hot 100[34] 32 US Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[35] 1 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[36] 1 Chart (2017) Peak position Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[37] 58 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[38] 90 US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[39] 9

Year-end charts Chart (2003) Position Australia (ARIA)[40] 91 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[41] 89 UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[42] 118

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[43]	Gold	35,000^^
Italy (FIMI)[44]	Gold	25,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[45]	Silver	200,000
United States (RIAA)[46]	Platinum	1,000,000
^^shipments figures based on certification alone sales+streaming figures based on certification alone

References

1. Jack Rogers (March 25, 2019). "Why 'Meteora' Is Linkin Park's Best Album=[[Rock Sound]]". URL–wikilink conflict (help)
2. Tom Sinclair (March 28, 2003). "Meteora". Entertainment Weekly.
3. "Ranking Every Alternative Rock No. 1 Hit from Worst to Best". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
4. 2003 MTV Music Video Awards
5. Montgomery, James (2 October 2011). "Does Linkin Park's 'The Catalyst' Rank Among Their Best Videos?". MTV.
6. "Somewhere I Belong (Official Video) on Youtube". from the Warner Bros. Records Youtube Channel
7. "Somewhere I Belong (Official Video) on Youtube". from Linkin Park's Youtube Channel
8. Mark Levin Fan
9. "Australian-charts.com – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
10. "Austriancharts.at – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
11. "Ultratop.be – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
12. "Ultratop.be – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong" (in French). Ultratop 50.
13. "Linkin Park Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
14. "Oficiální Česká Hitparáda - Pro týden 31/2003" (in Czech). IFPI ČR. Archived from the original on August 4, 2003. Retrieved January 14, 2020.
15. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 21 no. 15. April 5, 2003. p. 13. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
16. "Linkin Park: Somewhere I Belong" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
17. "Lescharts.com – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong" (in French). Les classement single.
18. "Offiziellecharts.de – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". GfK Entertainment Charts.
19. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
20. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Somewhere I Belong". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
21. "Italiancharts.com – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". Top Digital Download.
22. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
23. "Dutchcharts.nl – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
24. "Charts.nz – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". Top 40 Singles.
25. "Norwegiancharts.com – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". VG-lista.
26. "Polish Singles Chart |".
27. "Arhiva romanian top 100 – Editia 31, saptamina 11.08–17.08, 2003" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on February 18, 2005. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
28. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
29. "Spanishcharts.com – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong" Canciones Top 50.
30. "Swedishcharts.com – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". Singles Top 100.
31. "Swisscharts.com – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". Swiss Singles Chart.
32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
33. "Official Rock & Metal Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
34. "Linkin Park Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
35. "Linkin Park Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
36. "Linkin Park Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
37. "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.
38. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201730 into search. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
39. "Linkin Park Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
40. "ARIA End of Year Singles Chart 2003". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved January 10, 2020.
41. "Årslista Singlar, 2003" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
42. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2003" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved April 30, 2020.
43. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2003 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 15, 2019.
44. "Italian single certifications – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved April 15, 2019. Select "2019" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Somewhere I Belong" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli online" under "Sezione".
45. "British single certifications – Linkin Park – Somewhere I Belong". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
46. "American certifications – Linkin Park – Breaking the Habit". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 7, 2004.