"What I've Done" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. It was released as the first single from their third studio album, Minutes to Midnight (2007), and is the sixth track. The song was released as a radio single on April 1, 2007, as a digital download on April 2, and as a CD single on April 30. The live version of "What I've Done" from Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes was nominated for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 52nd Grammy Awards, but did not win. It serves as the end credits track of the 2007 science fiction film Transformers and also appears on Transformers: The Album (2007). Being certified six times platinum by the RIAA, it is the band's most commercially successful single in terms of pure sales, and reached number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

In January 2011, it was released in a Linkin Park DLC pack for Rock Band 3. The song is also a B-side to the UK single of "Iridescent". An instrumental version of the song is currently used by Sky UK as background music for their interactive services.

Composition
Chester Bennington described the track in a March 2007 interview with MTV:

The single and video appeared in the iTunes Store shortly after midnight EST on April 2, 2007. It became available the day after on iTunes in the UK and Australia. On April 2, the song was featured streaming on the front page of their official website, with the video being added to the site shortly thereafter.

The song is composed in the key of G minor. It starts out with a short 3-second guitar part and then a piano motif, before adding a hip hop-inspired drum line, and then introducing a raw-sounding guitar riff. When the song is played live at Linkin Park's concerts, Mike Shinoda plays the piano intro and the guitar after that. This song differs from most of Linkin Park's songs from previous albums in that it features almost no lead vocals from vocalist Shinoda, with the exception of a brief "na na na" refrain at the end. "What I've Done" was the last song written for Minutes to Midnight. The song also has a downbeat exactly once every second, consistent throughout its entirety.

Shinoda created a remix of the song, which is called "What I've Done (Distorted Remix)", which is included as a B-side to "Bleed It Out". The remix was then included in the international tour edition of Minutes to Midnight, as well as a track in the Linkin Park Underground-exclusive CD Underground X: Demos.

Music videos

Main music video
The music video for "What I've Done" was filmed in the California desert and was directed by Linkin Park turntablist Joe Hahn. The video begins with grass sinking down into the dirt, causing it to turn wet. It features footage of the band performing in an area outside of the city, interspersed with footage showing many political movements and humanitarian issues including pollution, racism, Nazism, the Ku Klux Klan, abortion, terrorism, Holocaust, deforestation, poverty, drug addiction, obesity, destruction, rising gasoline prices and crimes committed by humanity. The video ends with the same clip from the beginning but played in reverse, where it has the grass re-growing. Some cutscenes, such as the traffic scene and the napalm exploding, were also featured in the Rise Against music video for "Ready to Fall". The video premiered on April 2, 2007, on MTV and Fuse. It premiered on MTV Asia, MTV Germany, TMF Netherlands and Canada's MuchMusic on April 3, 2007.

As of May 2023, the music video for "What I've Done" has over 600 million views on YouTube.

The video clip was featured and won on MTV's Battle of the Videos against videos by Evanescence ("Sweet Sacrifice") and Lil' Mama ("Lip Gloss"). The video also marks the first appearance of a Linkin Park video in the #1 spot on MTV's TRL, hitting #1 six times so far. AOL currently has a live performance of "What I've Done" on their website. MTV's James Montgomery called "What I've Done" the "biggest, baddest and best Linkin Park video of all time," praising the visuals as well as the numerous political figures and events occurring within the video. He summarized the video's message: "Hahn was smart — or brave — enough to inject a message here: the destructive power of man versus the unyielding beauty of nature, and where it all will undoubtedly end ()."

As mentioned in episode 89 of MTV Cribs, Chester's jacket was lent to him by Yellowcard frontman Ryan Key.

Alternate music video
A second video, made exclusively for Australia, features a considerably different scenario from the first; instead of clips of human sin, the video tells the story of a woman (played by Emma Mullings) working at a government-run pharmaceutical company learning of a plan to develop a deadly new virus for "social control", and – with the help of several people dressed in black hooded sweatshirts with Linkin Park's logo on them – smuggles out several blood samples of a human test subject of the virus to expose the conspiracy. The video can be seen on YouTube and Linkin Park's Australian website.

Commercial performance
Despite Minutes to Midnight having mixed responses, the song made big debuts on the US charts during the chart week of April 21, 2007. The song debuted in the top 10 of the US Hot 100 on April 10, 2007, at #7. It is the band's second highest debut to date on the chart (this title was previously held by "Somewhere I Belong" which opened at #47), earning "Hot Shot" debut of the week, and subsequently becoming the third highest position for a Linkin Park single to date on the Hot 100. The song was their highest debut until they released "New Divide" in May 2009. At the time of its debut it was only the eleventh song since 2000 to debut at #7 or higher on the Hot 100, and only the third song to do so by an artist not from American Idol. The song was partly fueled by digital sales, debuting at #4 on the digital chart. The song was certified 6× Platinum by the RIAA on May 12, 2022. It reached 3 million downloads by early 2011, making it their most successful digital song in the US.  As of January 2015, the song has sold 3,700,000 copies in the US.

In addition the song became only the third song ever to open at #1 on the Modern Rock chart, also becoming the band's seventh number one on the chart. It held the #1 spot on Alternative Songs for 15 consecutive weeks, at the time tying it with Marcy Playground's "Sex and Candy" The song also reached #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart, where it stayed for 8 consecutive weeks. In the iTunes music store, the song had reached number two. It was kept out of the top spot by "Give It to Me" by Timbaland. The music video is the first to reach the number 1 spot on TRL for Linkin Park video history. It has also become a moderate hit on the Adult Top 40, and Pop 100 Airplay charts, peaking at number 21 and 17 respectively on those charts.

The song hit #6 in the UK once the physical format was released, making it Linkin Park's highest-charting UK single.

Usage in media 
"What I've Done" was featured in the 2007 science fiction film Transformers, where it appears in the final scene and the closing credits. The song is also present on Transformers: The Album, which features the movie soundtrack. The song was also featured in the 2008 video game Guitar Hero World Tour.

In August 2022, an internet meme was born using "What I've Done" as a template for various films "but it came out in 2007." It was inspired by the usage of the song in the 2007 film Transformers to showcase how well the song fits with other closing scenes in other media.

Track listings

Personnel

 Chester Bennington – vocals
 Mike Shinoda – rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals, piano
 Brad Delson – lead guitar
 Dave "Phoenix" Farrell – bass guitar
 Joe Hahn – turntables, samples
 Rob Bourdon – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Release history

See also
List of Billboard number-one alternative singles of the 2000s

References

External links

 What I've Done official lyrics

2007 songs
2007 singles
Linkin Park songs
Hard rock ballads
Number-one singles in Finland
Songs from Transformers (film series)
Song recordings produced by Rick Rubin
Songs written by Mike Shinoda
Warner Records singles
American hard rock songs
"What I've Done" 은 미국의 록 밴드 린킨 파크의 3번째 정규 음반인 Minutes to Midnight에 수록된 곡이자 첫 번째 싱글 음반이다. 2007년 4월 1일 라디오 싱글로 공개하였으며 이어 4월 2일에는 디지털 다운로드로, 4월 30일에는 CD 싱글로 발매하였다. 6월 28일 영화 트랜스포머가 개봉되면서 이 영화의 OST로도 사용되었다.

2009년 12월 2일에는 Road To Revolution: Live At Milton Keynes에 수록된 "What I've Done" 라이브 트랙이 52회 그래미상 최고의 하드 록 퍼포먼스 부문 후보에 올랐으나 AC/DC의 "War Machine"이 수상하였다.

작곡 
2007년 4월 2일 아이튠즈 스토어를 통해 싱글과 뮤직비디오가 공개되었으며 이어 영국과 오스트레일리아에 공개되었다. 공식 홈페이지에서도 스트리밍을 개시하며 이어 뮤직비디오도 짧게 게시하였다.

노래의 시작은 피아노 리프로 시작하여 힙합 계열의 드럼 라인이 추가되며 이어 기타 리프가 나온다. 라이브 공연에서는 마이크 시노다가 피아노 인트로를 연주한 다음 바로 기타를 연주한다. 또한 이 곡의 특징은 "Breaking the Habit"을 제외한 여태까지 린킨 파크가 발매한 곡들과는 다르게 마지막에 "na na na"를 반복하는 것을 제외하고 마이크 시노다의 보컬이 거의 들어가지 않는다. "What I've Done"은 또한 Minutes to Midnight에 수록된 곡 중 가장 마지막에 작곡된 곡이며, 곡에는 또한 다운비트가 계속해서 나오며, 곡이 끝날 때까지 계속 된다.

수록곡 
CD 1

CD 2 (맥시 / AU 싱글)

DVD 버전

7" 픽쳐 디스크 포맷

음반에 수록된 모든 라이브 음원은 2006년 8월 13일, 일본 도쿄 치바 마린 스타디움에서 열렸던 섬머 소닉에서의 라이브를 수록하였다.

뮤직비디오 
"What I've Done"의 뮤직비디오는 인류에 대한 문제점과 풍자, 지구와 환경에 대한 재난과 나쁜 영향들을 다루고 있다. 뮤직비디오 내에서 여러 가지 장면을 대비하여 구성하는데, 비만인 사람이 패스트 푸드를 먹는 장면과 줄자로 허리를 재는 여자가 나오다 반대적으로 배고픔에 굶주려 몰골이 보이는 남자가 나온다. 또한 과거 아프리카계 미국인들을 차별하였던 쿠 클럭스 클랜과 핵 폭발 장면, 9·11 테러로 세계 무역 센터가 붕괴되는 장면, 아이들이 미국 국기를 흔드는 장면과 이와는 반대로 중동에서 어린 아이가 AK-47을 쥐고 있는 모습, 기름 유출로 기름에 뒤덮인 새 등 여러 장면으로 구성되어 있다. 뮤직비디오의 감독은 밴드의 DJ인 조셉 한이 맡았으며, 촬영은 캘리포니아 사막에서 이루어졌다. 2007년 4월 2일, MTV와 퓨즈 TV를 통해 선공개되었으며, 이어 다음 날 MTV 아시아, MTV 독일 등 전 세계에 공개되었다.

사막에서 촬영한 밴드 장면과 함께 뮤직비디오에서는 사회의 다양성과 오염과 지구 온난화, 인종 차별, 나치즘, 쿠 클럭스 클랜, 낙태, 기아, 테러리즘, 복지, 핵 전쟁, 빈곤, 마약 중독, 비만 등과 유가 폭등, 범죄 등을 포함한 장면들이 나오며, 테레사 수녀, 에이브러햄 링컨, 로버트 케네디, 피델 카스트로, 아돌프 히틀러, 베니토 무솔리니, 마오 쩌둥, 이오시프 스탈린, 마하트마 간디 등 역사 속 중요한 인물들 또한 짧게 나온다. 또한 라이즈 어게인스트의 "Ready to Fall" 뮤직비디오에 사용되기도 했던 교통 장면과 네이팜탄 폭발 장면 등이 사용되었다.

이후 MTV에서 진행한 프로그램 Battle of the Videos에서 에반에센스의 "Sweet Sacrifice"와 릴 마마의 "Lip Gloss"를 눌렀으며 뮤직비디오 공개 후 MTV의 토탈 리퀘스트 라이브에서 첫 주에 1위, 이후 6차례 1위에 올라 장기간 동안 인기를 끌었다. 또한 360만명 이상의 조회 수를 기록하여 유튜브 내 가장 많이 본 비디오 50위 안에 기록되었으나 이후 워너 뮤직 측에서 게시물을 삭제하였다. 또한 AOL에서 라이브 퍼포먼스를 진행하기도 하였다.

뮤직비디오에 사용된 영상들 
아래는 뮤직비디오에 사용된 영상들이다 :

 전갈
 시계 태엽
 흰머리수리
 사막화
 걸프전에서의 미사일 발사 장면
 경찰 폭동 진압
 1960년대 앨라배마 버밍엄에서의 시민 인권 운동
 빌딩에서 아이를 구하는 소방관
 남아메리카 폭동
 구호활동하는 캐나다 군
 베트남 전쟁
 지구 온난화
 도시화
 오염
 상아를 삶는 장면
 삼림 벌채
 북극곰
 세계 후진국의 사람들
 비만
 거식증
 기아
 허리케인 카트리나
 스톤헨지
 아야 소피아

 기자의 대피라미드
 파르테논 신전
 비트루비우스적 인간
 테레사 수녀
 로버트 F. 케네디
 마하트마 간디
 석가모니
 마오 쩌둥
 에이브러햄 링컨
 피델 카스트로
 쿠 클럭스 클랜
 아돌프 히틀러
 사담 후세인
 9·11 테러

 세포 분열
 재생
 탄생
 유전공학
 마약 남용
 펭귄
 기름 유출
 트리니티 실험 핵 폭발과 핵 실험
 미국 국기를 흔드는 아이들
 팔레스타인인 (AK-47을 들고 있는 아이)
 아우슈비츠 강제 수용소
 이오시프 스탈린
 국수주의 (부분적으로 미국주의)
 아크로폴리스
 술탄 아흐메트 모스크
 로버트 무가베
 베니토 무솔리니
 마틴 루터 킹
 오클라호마 폭탄 테러

각주

외부 링크 
  What I've Done 가사
 

2007년 싱글
린킨 파크의 노래
2007년 노래