On Friday (May 10), producer-songwriter and TV/film composer Tommee Profitt released Covers, Vol. 2, a new 10-song collection of reworked hits featuring a variety of vocal collaborators. One of the highlights of the album is Skylar Grey’s gentle, stripped-down rendition of Linkin Park’s enduring smash “Numb,” which also received a sweeping music video on the day of the album release.
Watch Profitt and Grey’s video for “Numb” below:
“I connected with Skylar a few years ago, and it was instantly clear that we both loved making cinematic music for movies and TV shows,” says Profitt, whose genre-twisting production work has landed synch placements in dozens of trailers and on multiple streaming platforms. “Skylar’s voice is perfect for the kind of music I love to produce.
“When I told her I was working on a covers album,” he continues, “we started brainstorming on what song we could do together, and it didn’t take long for ‘Numb’ by Linkin Park to come up. I could hear exactly in my head how her voice would sound on it… and yet she still over delivered. We wanted it to be both raw and beautiful, while climbing to an epic conclusion… It definitely feels like a movie! And the emotional depth of Skylar’s performance brings that to life in a way that most couldn’t. Her voice is so unique, and was definitely meant for this song; this was a perfect first collab!”
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Meanwhile, Grey — who has scored hits as a solo artist, featured performer and as a songwriter for Eminem, Rihanna and Dr. Dre, among others — has a long-standing connection to Linkin Park: she performed the iconic hook to “Where’d You Go,” the 2006 smash from the band’s Mike Shinoda under his Fort Minor project, when Grey was still performing under the name Holly Brook. A deal with Linkin Park’s Machine Shop Records helped start her career as a teen in the mid-2000s, years before Grey was able to pay tribute to the band alongside Profitt.
“Multiple people had been telling me, ‘You should work with Tommee Profitt,’ since I really love working in the cinematic music space… and he’s the best in the biz!” says Grey. “So we finally connected over Instagram and made it happen. I’ve had writers block for about a year, so it seemed like the perfect opportunity to release a cover of one of my favorite Linkin Park songs. Linkin Park signed me to my very first record deal when I was 18, and I got to tag along on tour with them for a while, so there’s a huge nostalgic connection there.”
Linkin Park’s version of “Numb” peaked at No. 11 on the Hot 100 after being released on the band’s 2003 sophomore album Meteora. In addition to the collaboration with Grey, Covers, Vol. 2 features takes on Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (featuring Fleurie), Goo Goo Dolls’ “Iris” (with Ruelle) and AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” (featuring William Joseph), among others.