"Powerless" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park. The song was written by the band and produced by co-lead vocalist Mike Shinoda and Rick Rubin. Its working title was "Tinfoil", which instead ended up serving as the intro to the song. It was released on iTunes as a digital single from the soundtrack of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter on October 31, 2012, in Japan. The song was also released as a single worldwide through the official website of the band. The song was released as the third single from the album Living Things.[1][2] The release included the "Powerless" artwork and featured just the one track.
"Powerless" is a mid-tempo song[3] that features "lock-step beats, soaring harmonies, and synthesizer whispers".[4] The song has a piano-based production and is described by Spin as having an "electro-goth atmosphere like Bruno Mars on the most recent Twilight soundtrack".[5] The Silver Tongue Online described the song as "a foundation of busy percussion and electronica, a sweeping chorus and Coldplay-worthy bridge".[6] It has also been described as a "surging, slow-burning, classically Linkin Park anthem".[7] Lyrically, the song is about a self-destructive friend or lover.[8]
Promotion
"Powerless", the twelfth and closing track of the album, is featured in the closing credits to the film Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.[9] A performance music video of "Powerless" featuring scenes from the film was released on Yahoo!, serving as the film's music trailer.[10] The music video was directed by Timur Bekmambetov, director of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.[11] The video was filmed in Berlin, Germany.[11] Bekmambetov screened the film for the band, who reacted positively to the film, and believed that the band had a song that would fit into the film; hence, "Powerless" was chosen.[11]
It was used in a commercial promoting the second season of the NBC show Revolution, following the usage of "Roads Untraveled" in a commercial promoting the first season.
Reception
Billboard lists "Powerless" as an example "of why Linkin Park remains vital while its nu-metal compatriots have more or less fallen by the wayside".[4] AltSounds.com says the song is "certainly bigger and bolder than the majority of the album's songs, but it still doesn't shake you to your core like I wish it would".[12]
Music video
Chester Bennington has confirmed in an interview that a music video will be shot for "Powerless".[13]Music for Relief premiered the promotion video of "Powerless" on November 27, 2012.[14] The two-minute video was a compilation between the "Powerless" footage filmed for the trailer of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter and clips of the Music for Relief's Power the World campaign.[14]
As of November 2021, the song has 4.5 million views on YouTube.
