Fun fact: the reason theres a male vocalist in the song isn't because they wanted rapping in one song but because the execs GENUINELY believed Amys voice alone could not carry the band. They thought nobody would care because shes a woman in a male dominated music scene at that time. Now, this seems silly because of Amys successful solo career and multiple albums that Evanescence has put out since the dude was removed from the band. The fact that these fools heard Amys voice and decided she wasn't good enough shows how absurdly out of touch music execs can be.
OK, you're right that their reasoning was asinine. Now with that said, let's admit that the song is better because of their demand. It didn't have to be a male rapper, but the fact that it is a duet with two distinct, different voices adds a layer to the song that makes it exponentially better. Without that layer, the song is very good; great even. With that layer, the song becomes the mega hit that it was. Everybody knows the song and the reason they know it was because it was a stand out and that extra layer of depth to the vocals is the difference that made it stand out. Dual vocals is why the song is by far their biggest hit.
@pcprincipal4608 is not their fault she played the same stuff over and over. They have 5 studio albums now. (Fallen, The Open Door, Evanescence, Synthesis, and The Bitter Truth). Be open minded and listen to more than just what your little sister was playing.
Man I'm a dude and I love Evanescence, people call me weird as f*ck but just the sound of Amy Lee's voice contrasting the more heavier instrumentals is so cool to listen to idk
It wasn't bold at all, it was a predictably sexist label decision cause hard rock and metal was male dominated, and easy way to market it because that rap rock/nu metal sound was the popular radio sound of the time
In an interview, Amy Lee mentioned they told her that audiences don’t like songs with only female vocals. They insisted that because Lincoln Park was the hot new thing they wanted a male rapper added to her song. Actually they wanted a male rapper added to the band, and she had to put her foot down and settle for him to only be in the song.
"wake me up" is the reason I got that album and I was so happy that song hooked me enough to get the album... Beautiful lyrics, epic sound. Miss the music of the times so bad.
He 100% made this song, imo. I love amy too, but I wouldn't have started listening to her, if not for the feature of my favorite band's lead singer. And I still never enjoyed her music as much as 12 Stones.
@@trackydoo lmao no he didn't 100% made this song, Amy did. He's a great addition, but if it weren't for Amy, it wouldn't be what it is, not even close. Stop exaggerating. Also, I don't think whether or not you listened to her music would have changed or contributed to anything.
@@trackydoo lol ngl first time I hear someone met Evanescence because of 12 Stones and not the other way around, but good to see og nu-metal fans still around
SAME. been a fan since they came out and still a huge fan til this day. have yet to dislike any song EV or Amy has put out yet. Fallen and The Open Door were the soundtrack of my high school days lol. currently loving The Bitter Truth.
Interesting video. A classic, a lot of people know about it since it got put on the air. Heard it tons of times as a little kid on the car radio. Didn’t know the original was for a movie and that there is another version. The other version isn’t bad, different for sure.
The debut album has elements of nu metal due to the record company. Evanescence is not a nu metal band. BMTL's nu metal/rap rock was forced on by their label back then as a sexist demand to market at the time. Before that, their label had demanded they permanently add a male vocal-rapper to the band because they and radio claimed there wasn't a market for a female-led hard rock band. The song sonically doesn't represent them. Neither does My Immortal, another one the label demanded because they saw it as a pop hit. They're an alternative band that blends various genres including classical music, metal, industrial, electronica, trip hop, among others.
What you said in the last part is somewhat describing symphonic metal which is a genre i heavily associate evanescence on, one of my all time favorite bands and as much as i hate the story behind BMTL the rap still slayed tbh, but yeah id def say theyre symphonic metal and not nu metal
@@krvavaserenada I wouldn't even call them a symphonic metal band, because symphonic metal is only one part of their sound. Like gothic rock or industrial rock are also just one part of their sound. Some of their songs even have elements of r&b, electro, and soul. There isn't one specific genre that fits all their work, that's why it's probably best to just put them in the big parent genres alternative and hard rock, with the asterisk that they mix different genres. Amy's been asked before about what genre she considers Ev to be, and she said she doesn't think of it being any one specific subgenre and the reason she started Ev was to fuse different styles she loved. She writes and plays whatever she feels at the time, whether it's heavy on industrial, or on metal, or gothic vibes, or electronics, singer-songwriter ballad, or symphonic and choirs, another style, or mix of several those styles.
OK, well you say that, but off the Fallen album, BMTL pretty accurately represents Going Under, Everybody's Fool, Haunted, Tourniquet, Imaginary, Taking Over Me, My Last Breath, and Whisper. So basically, aside from My Immortal and Hello, both piano ballads, _one of which you said the label pushed,_ ALL the other songs on the Fallen album are all represented by BMTL very accurately with the lone, singular difference between it and the others being the second vocal was male instead of Amy Lee. And that singular, "sexist" difference is the reason BMTL was THE HIT of the band's career and Going Under was not. The human ear can tell it's the same person singing over themselves. If Going Under was the true duet instead of BMTL, Going Under would be the mega hit that made their career. It didn't have to be a male rapper, but it did have to be a unique voice because unique voice, that extra vocal layer, is the difference and that's what the rest of their songs that never got anywhere near as popular or iconic and everlasting as BMTL. Now, whether they should have brought on a full time male "rapper" or had Moody sing or brought in another woman to sing backup, that part can be debated. *The one thing that can't be debated is that BMTL was the big hit and the only thing that separates BMTL from 80% of the rest of that album is that a unique voice did the backing vocals.*
@@Parker-- Honestly, we will new know if BMTL would be hit without that male rapper or if Going Under would be a hit with it. I myself seriously doubt BMTLwould be such a hit with a male vocalist, as the song simply seems less catchy compared to BMTL. However, what I can say is that without the male rapper voice on BMTL and basically half of it's chorus melody removed from BMTL, I find the song sounds much less interesting than with it. When it has that guy rappin/singing, there is a nice back and forth between the 2 vocalist, like a question and answer as it's called in music composition. I dislike how these days everything is called racist/sexist if the proposed victem is a female or a person of color. However, when it's the other way around it's never like that. Men do not complain that girls like the disney princesses more than aladin and such or like to play with barbie dolls more than ken Dolls. All this victim mentality these days...
That song was awesome. Still holds up and still one of the best rock songs I've ever heard. Her vocals kick ass. I enjoyed her joint performance of the song with Wagakki Band. The song with all of those Japanese instruments, orchestra & members playing... Machia does the male vocals which kills. Yuko sings with Amy and her vocals are good as well. If you haven't seen it, go watch it.
I could go the rest of my life without ever hearing this song again, and I’ll be happy about it.. it got old after the 1000000 time they played it on the radio.
i love how amy lee originally wanted it to be just her but the execs thought it wouldn’t work out having JUST a female lead singer in the band so they put literally some random guy in the background so it would be “more likeable” and they had to have a different random guy on tour doing the vocals for that song everytime i’m glad amy was able to recreate it in her own way how it was intended
There is the original version available before they added the rap to it. I think it was on their technically first album Origin, sadly it was leaked and isnt available for purchase but theres a bunch of videos on youtube with the full album.
was having a bit of a crowd meltdown in a shopping mall at crimbo a few years back when Lithium came over the tannoy.. chilled me right out and i left grinning.. my thanks to the band.
Love this attitude. I think it's sad people hate on "gateway bands." They usually became that through awesome melodies and a unique combination of styles. Plus even if you don't like them anymore it's good to appreciate how impactful they were at that time in your life and have shaped who you are now.
Oh yeah I saw Evanescence and Halestorm in concert (amazing show) and the rap part it omitted, I think it was only kept in during her first tour and omitted afterwards.
I wonder how it would sound like though. I remember that they wanted 6 songs in the album to have rap part? I wonder what are those 6 songs? And I LOVE Bring Me To Life because of the production (The electric guitar is SOOOOOO GOOD!!! I've NEVER heard of any other Rock songs that sound like this!!!) and the male rap part, because it makes the song sounds faster!!! (And I wanna make this kinda music in the future, and the subject is gonna be about the bully that I've been through and the toxic family that makes me SOOOOOO FUCKING ANGRY btw. That's the music that I wanna make and also maybe transition to some EDM Pop music like early 2010's American Pop music btw. I think that that's my FAVORITE genre.)
no, he was just a feature. he's the lead vocalist in the band 12 Stones. originally the record label were going to hold auditions and after EV was backing out, the label caved and tried to make a compromise by inviting lead vocalist of 12 Stones to join them for the song, 'cause they already had promised it to the movie soundtrack to Daredevil ( which the scene was back and forth showing the female and male leads ) and EV caved as well, allowing that to be the only song to feature male vocals. Amy was originally wanting 'Going Under' to be their first single, but it was pushed to be the 2nd single off the album.
Well, I'm personally glad she featured Paul McCoy because i wouldn't have heard her music and started listening to her. I was a die hard 12 stones fan back then.
They still play this song live but it goes just as hard without the guy. Seeing Evanescence live definitely brings a tear to the eye. Especially “My Immortal”
I never heard of the band before, or the song, until after I heard it by my favorite cover artist, Dan Vasc. Now I know the band & the song both. Thank you Dan!
Right now they are doing more pop and rock music .only amys clothes are goth inspired .theyr actual music is now softer rock with some metal and pop elements
“Dude rapping on it”. His name is Paul McCoy, and most of what he sung wasn’t rap, but hard rock. But hey, the music industry names it what they want, and who are we as mindless puppets to say otherwise?
I feel like the guy rapping and singing the hook with her is awesome. The music executive who made that decision is a genius. Look how many views this song has on RU-vid they're still making money off this song.
He wasn't a genius, he was a sexist who unintentionally caused a good result from the wrong decisions and reasoning. His logic was that a female voice can't carry a rock band and he was forcing the band to add male rap parts to be more marketable. He wanted them to literally add a full-time male rap vocalist and take away the spotlight from Amy entirely. He wasn't a genius, he was an idiot whose idiocy accidentally made something good.
if not for that song they wouldn't ever have been as successful tbh, i understand wanting to protect your art but sometimes it's important to let it go as well
The problem is, the record label was being blatantly sexist at the time. They legitimately were trying to force the band to hire a full-time male rapper because "There's no market for a rock band with only female vocals".
I've seen Evanescence live twice after believing i wouldn't even get to see them once (during their decade long break, iykyk) and have loved both experiences and hope i can someday say i saw them more
Ben Moody, a mediocre, one-note guitarist, a commercial tyrant, and a toxic, longtime abuser. Nobody who loves Ev or likes musicianship in general misses his detracting and toxic ass.
My dad listened to evanescence, I listen to evanescence Whatever music he had in a playlist 10 years ago is the music I have in a playlist too, with some newer stuff included
TBH I didn’t even know they were considered Nu-metal until a few years ago. I probably did hear it mentioned a few times back in the 00s/10s, but if so- it definitely flew over my head because I so strongly considered Evanescence to be making music that fell into the categories of Gothic Rock, Gothic Metal, Hard Rock, Alt Rock, Alt Metal And songs like “my immortal” were emo as all heck lol
