"Bleed It Out" marks Linkin Park's ninth song to surpass one billion streams on Spotify. No one else in the nu metal world even comes close to that number. System of a Down is closest with four songs in the club. The mainstream appeal of Linkin Park over the past two decades cannot be understated. While society may have soured on the nu metal genre after the mid 2000's, Linkin Park were immune and continued to be one of the biggest alternative bands in the world for years to come.
"Bleed It Out" was released as the second single from the band's third studio album, Minutes To Midnight, in 2007. The first single has also passed one billion streams on Spotify, that being "What I've Done". The track has since gone on to be certified 4x platinum in the United States by the RIAA. It has also been featured on the video games 2007 World Series and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock. Linkin Park played "Bleed It Out" on Saturday Night Live on May 12th, 2007, just a couple of days before the album's official release.
The song focuses on an artist's struggle and frustration at times with their creativity and inspiration. Artists are often their own biggest critics, not wanting to accept mediocrity from themselves when they know they can do better. Case in point, this song was scrapped and rewritten dozens of times before everyone was happy with the final product, hence the opening lyric "Yeah, here we go for the hundredth time". A lot of artists delve deep into their pain and hurting in order to produce their art, so having to scrap ideas and start over multiple times is not easy ("Fuck this hurts, I won't lie / Doesn't matter how hard I try / Half the words don't mean a thing / And I know I won't be satisfied"). Making meaningful art can mean re-opening closed wounds and revisiting trauma for the love of the game ("I bleed it out, digging deeper, just to throw it away"). Despite this, Mike Shinoda powered through and didn't give up, resulting in one of Linkin Park's most beloved songs. The combination of Shinoda's lyricism and rapping, Chester Bennington's punk delivery of the chorus, the motown-inspired drums, and 80's-inspired guitars create a fun party song that is a staple in their live show to keep the crowd amped up.
