Heavy (feat. Kiiara)

"Heavy" is a song by American rock band Linkin Park, featuring guest vocals from American singer Kiiara. The song is the first single from their seventh studio album, One More Light. The song was written by Linkin Park members Chester Bennington, Brad Delson, and Mike Shinoda, alongside Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter. The single was released for download on February 16, 2017, and was premiered on radio on February 21. It is the band's last single to be released during Bennington's lifetime.

Band members Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda, and Brad Delson worked with Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter in co-writing the song's lyrics, who had previously worked with artists such as Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez, and Gwen Stefani. Lyrically, the inspiration for "Heavy" came from band member's conversations about frustrations and troubles in their own lives. From that, they found that there was some heavy stuff happening in each other's lives. Bennington stated that personally, he has a hard time with life, even on a good day. He said the opening line "I don't like my mind right now" is him 24 hours a day. In an interview with Music Choice, Bennington said of the song: "Most of my problems are problems that I cause myself. That's what that song's about – that time when you consciously look at that. Once you acknowledge what it is, you can separate yourself from it and do something about it, as opposed to just being in it."

In a series of videos released leading up to the single's debut, Joseph Hahn brought up the idea of bringing in a female singer for the track, which he described as "something that feels out of the box for us, could give that dynamic it needs." Bennington, in working with Michaels on writing the track and hearing her rough vocal takes, suggested she sing on the final version, though she declined, stating she would rather be behind the scenes. Bennington recorded a version entirely with his vocals in case the band could not find a fit for a female singer, while the band continued their search.

The band was introduced to Kiiara through Zane Lowe, who, upon interviewing her, was informed that Linkin Park was her favorite band. Lowe reached out to vocalist Shinoda, who was intrigued considering how different Kiiara's music, like her single "Gold", was from Linkin Park's previous works. Zane put Shinoda in contact with Kiiara, and the band ended up deciding to work with her. Kiiara only recorded vocals for the song, as the lyrics and music had already been written prior to her involvement. Music producers Emily Wright and Andrew Bolooki handled vocal production. The band approved of the overall sound, with Shinoda noting that adding the female voice brought more meaning to the song, signaling that it is not just about one person's struggle.