"Hold On" is a song written and recorded by American

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

band

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 ...

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in ''The Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, and Joe Pantolia ...

, and

Atticus Ross Atticus Matthew Cowper Ross (born 16 January 1968) is an English musician, record producer, composer, and audio engineer. Along with Trent Reznor, he won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for ''The Social Network'' in 2010. In 2013, th ...

for Korn's untitled eighth studio album. It was released as the album's second

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

in October 2007.

Music and structure

Munky James Christian Shaffer (born June 6, 1970), also known by his stage name "Munky", is an American musician best known as co-founder and guitarist of the nu metal band Korn. He has cited Steve Vai, Eddie Van Halen, and Randy Rhoads as some of hi ...

describes the song as "the closest thing to an original Korn song" on the untitled album. It is one of the four songs on the untitled album to feature

Brooks Wackerman Brooks Wackerman (born February 15, 1977) is an American musician. He is the current drummer of heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold, which he joined in 2015. His first album with Avenged Sevenfold was ''The Stage'' (2016). He is most known as t ...

Bad Religion Bad Religion is an American punk rock band that formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilitie ...

on drums.Untitled album booklet

Concept

The message in "Hold On" stems from

Jonathan Davis Jonathan Howsmon Davis (born January 18, 1971), also known as JD or JDevil, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead vocalist and frontman of nu metal band Korn, who are considered a pioneering act of the ...

' near-fatal blood disorder in 2006, and is dubbed by Davis as a "song of empowerment".

Chart performance

The song was released as a digital single in the UK, failing to chart. A

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

was also released in Germany, and the United States, where it managed to peak in the top ten of the ''Billboard''

Mainstream Rock Songs Mainstream Rock is a music chart in ''Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States, a category that combines the formats of active rock and heritage rock. The chart was launched in Ma ...

chart in February 2008. It became their last successful single of the

2000s File:2000s decade montage3.png, From top left, clockwise: The World Trade Center on fire and the Statue of Liberty during the 9/11 attacks in 2001; the euro enters into European currency in 2002; a statue of Saddam Hussein being toppled durin ...

Charts

Music video

The music video for "Hold On" features the band in a rodeo setting and with Munky and Jonathan Davis trying to "hold on" to their bulls in order to win a

bullriding Bull riding is a rodeo sport that involves a rider getting on a bucking bull and attempting to stay mounted while the animal tries to buck off the rider. American bull riding has been called "the most dangerous eight seconds in sports." To recei ...

contest. The video is dedicated to late bullrider

Lane Frost Lane Clyde Frost (October 12, 1963 – July 30, 1989) was an American professional rodeo cowboy who specialized in bull riding, and competed in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). He was the 1987 PRCA World Champion bull ride ...

, who died on July 30, 1989, as a result of injuries sustained after dismounting his bull.

Viral campaign

To promote the release of the video, several viral videos and an accompanying website were produced advertising "Ballsville Beef Parts", which featured the residents of Ballsville and the members of Korn playing various bullriders. One of these videos is a fake

news News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different Media (communication), media: word of mouth, printing, Mail, postal systems, broadcasting, Telecommunications, electronic communication, or through the tes ...

interview with Davis, in character as J.D. Kornuto.

Appearances in media

"Hold On" is featured in a commercial for the 2008

Ford Focus The Ford Focus is a compact car (C-segment in Europe) manufactured by Ford Motor Company since 1998. It was created under Alexander Trotman's Ford 2000 plan, which aimed to globalize model development and sell one compact vehicle worldwide. The ...

. This commercial was first broadcast during Game 4 of the

2007 World Series The 2007 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2007 season. The 103rd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Colorado Rockies and the American Le ...

between the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

on October 28, 2007. The song was the second one played during the

2007 World's Strongest Man The 2007 World's Strongest Man was the 30th edition of World's Strongest Man and was won by Mariusz Pudzianowski from Poland. It was his fourth and record tying title. Sebastian Wenta from Poland finished second, and Terry Hollands from the United ...

competition. the song appeared in the end credits of the 2007

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Replay: Shattered Memories and it's 2008

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

Animation Animation is a method by which image, still figures are manipulated to appear as Motion picture, moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent cel, celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited ...

film version Replay VII.

Track listing

UK digital download

#"Hold On" – 3:05 #"Evolution (

Dave Audé Dave Audé (born Oct 12, 1969) is an American Disc jockey, DJ, Record producer, producer and remixer. He operates his own label Audacious Records, and is known for having more number ones than any other producer on the ''Billboard'' Dance Club S ...

Remix)" – 7:38 #"Sing Sorrow" – 4:35

German promo

#"Hold On" – 3:03

Notes

External links

www.ballsvillebeefparts.comwww.ballsville.com
{{authority control 2007 singles Korn songs Song recordings produced by the Matrix (production team) Song recordings produced by Atticus Ross 2007 songs EMI Records singles Virgin Records singles Songs written by Reginald Arvizu Songs written by Lauren Christy Songs written by Jonathan Davis Songs written by Graham Edwards (musician) Songs written by James Shaffer Songs written by Scott Spock