Closer to the Edge

Not to be confused with Close to the Edge, a 1972 song from the Yes album of the same name.

"Closer to the Edge"
Single by 30 Seconds to Mars
from the album This Is War
Released	August 2010
Format	CD single, maxi single, digital download
Recorded	2008–2009 The International Centre for the Advancement of the Arts and Sciences of Sound (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Rock
Length	4:15 (radio edit) 4:34 (album version)
Label	Virgin, EMI
Writer(s)	Jared Leto
Producer	Flood, 30 Seconds to Mars
30 Seconds to Mars singles chronology
"This Is War" (2010) "Closer to the Edge" (2010) "Hurricane" (2011)
Music video "Closer To The Edge" on YouTube

"Closer to the Edge" is a song written by Jared Leto and performed by American rock band 30 Seconds to Mars. Produced by the band, co-produced by Flood, the track is the seventh track and the third single from their third studio album This Is War. It was released in the United States in August 2010.^[1]

Background

Tomo Miličević, the lead guitarist of 30 Seconds to Mars, said about the song, "A really interesting track. We call it our 'pop' song, but when you really listen to it, you realize that it has a lot of rock glory in it. It's a song that fools you, and I like that. Jared really pushed himself as a songwriter here in that he was trying to reach for a new way of presenting music that was very accessible but not spoon-feed it to the audience. He has a lot of respect for the fans in that way. The guy's a trip - very inspiring to be around and work with."^[2]

Music video

The music video premiered on June 9, 2010, on the band's YouTube account.^[3] The video was directed by Bartholomew Cubbins, Jared Leto's director name.^[4] The video contains concert footage from about 30 performances^[5] during their Into the Wild world tour, which commenced on February 19, 2010, and ran till December 18, 2010. The six-minute-long video shows each location played at until a certain date, fan commentary and some backstage footage. "Closer to the Edge" is not the band's first live video, being preceded by "Edge of the Earth".

Critical reception

The video was received with highly positive reviews by critics. Australia's RadarRadio referred to the video as "epic".^[6] UK rock music website RockLouder also called the video "lovely" and "worth the watch".^[7]

About.com's Grierson says "'Closer to the Edge' emphasize atmospheric flourishes over melodic assurance."^[8]

Formats and track listings

All songs written and composed by Jared Leto. 

CD single
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Closer to the Edge" (radio edit)	4:13
2.	"Closer to the Edge" (album version)	4:32
Total length:		8:45

Charts and certifications

"Closer to the Edge" debuted on the UK Singles Chart on July 11, 2010, at number 90 before climbing to number 82 the following week. On July 18, 2010, the single rose a further four places to number 78. The single also found success on the UK Rock Chart, where it climbed until peaking at number 1 on July 11, 2010, knocking The Pretty Reckless' "Make Me Wanna Die" off its seven-week reign. The single also peaked at number 88 on the Dutch Single Top 100. It is also their highest charted single in Australia, peaking at number 13, becoming platinum. It debuted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated May 21, 2011,^[9] more than two months after it dropped off of the Rock Songs and Alternative Songs charts.

Weekly charts Chart (2010–11) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[10] 13 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[11] 20 Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[12] 21 Finland Airplay Chart[13] 15 Germany (Media Control Charts)[14] 26 Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[15] 88 New Zealand (RIANZ)[16] 21 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[17] 61 UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[18] 44 UK Rock Singles (The Official Charts Company)[19] 1 US Adult Pop Songs (Billboard)[20] 17 US Alternative Songs (Billboard)[21] 7 US Pop Songs (Billboard)[21] 30 US Rock Songs (Billboard)[21] 21 US Billboard Hot 100[9][22] 99

Year-end charts Chart (2010) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[23] 85 Certifications Country Certifications Australia Platinum[24] New Zealand Gold[25] Portugal Platinum[26]

See also

• List of number-one rock hits of 2010 (UK)

References

1. ^ "Thirty Seconds To Mars New Single, 'This Is War' Claims The #1 Spot At Alternative Radio" (Press release). Virgin Records America. 2010-07-19. http://www.virginrecords.com/home/news.aspx. "Their new single 'Closer To The Edge' is already climbing the airplay charts across Europe and will impact U.S. radio in August." 
2. ^ Bosso, Joe (2009-12-02). "30 Seconds To Mars: exclusive track-by-track album preview :Jared Leto and band declare This Is War". http://thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/?p=972. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
3. ^ 30 Seconds to Mars "Closer to the Edge" video premiere
4. ^ Leto, Jared (2010-06-11). "Closer to the Edge: The Film". http://thirtysecondstomars.thisisthehive.net/blog/?p=972. Retrieved 2010-06-24. 
5. ^ "Closer to the Edge: de video". 2010-06-13. http://www.30secondstomars.nl/index/2010/06/closer-to-the-edge-de-video/. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
6. ^ "30 Seconds to Mars Closer to the Edge music video". Radar Radio. Austereo. 2010-06-22. http://www.radarradio.com.au/blog/2010/06/22/30-seconds-to-mars-closer-to-the-edge-epic-music-video/. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
7. ^ "Jared and crew unveil their brand new video". 2010-06-15. http://www.rocklouder.co.uk/videos/article/30-seconds-to-mars-closer-to-the-edge. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
8. ^ Grierson, Tim (2009-12-11). "30 Seconds to Mars Swing for the Fences on Ambitious Third Album". http://rock.about.com/od/reviews/fr/30SecondsToMarsThisIsWar.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-15. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "US Singles Top 100 (May 21, 2011)". αCharts.us. http://acharts.us/us_singles_top_100/2011/20. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
10. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Thirty Seconds to Mars – Closer to the Edge". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
11. ^ "Thirty Seconds to Mars – Closer to the Edge – Austriancharts.at" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien.
12. ^ "Ultratop.be – Thirty Seconds to Mars – Closer to the Edge" (in Dutch). Ultratip. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
13. ^ "Äänet ajalle 10:00 15.07.2010 - 10:00 22.07.2010, lista #388" (in Finnish). YLE. http://ylex.yle.fi/radio/ohjelmat/himotuimmat/chart?period=388. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 
14. ^ "Chartverfolgung / 30 Seconds To Mars / Single" (in German). Media Control Charts. 2010-09-01. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/artist/30+Seconds+To+Mars/?type=single. Retrieved 2010-09-01. 
15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Thirty Seconds to Mars – Closer to the Edge" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
16. ^ "Charts.org.nz – Thirty Seconds To Mars – Closer to the Edge". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
17. ^ "Thirty Seconds To Mars – Closer to the Edge – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
18. ^ "Chart Stats – 30 Seconds To Mars – Closer to the Edge" UK Singles Chart. Chart Stats.
19. ^ "Top 40 Rock & Metal Singles – July 17, 2010". The Official Charts Company. 2010-07-12. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/10/2010-07-17/. Retrieved 2010-07-12. 
20. ^ "Chart Highlights: Adult Pop, Rap Songs & More". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2010-02-07. http://www.billboard.com/#/column/chartbeat/chart-highlights-adult-pop-rap-songs-more-1005024482.story. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
21. ^ ^{a b c} "Closer to the Edge - 30 Seconds to Mars". Billboard. http://www.billboard.com/#/song/thirty-seconds-to-mars/closer-to-the-edge/15191104. Retrieved 2010-11-11. 
22. ^ "This Is War - 30 Seconds to Mars". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1675172/charts-awards/billboard-single. Retrieved 2011-10-16. 
23. ^ "ARIA Charts – End Of Year Charts – Top 100 Singles 2010". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2010.htm. Retrieved 2011-01-08. 
24. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2011 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/httpwww.aria.com.aupageshttpwww.aria.com.auSINGLEaccreds2011.htm. Retrieved 4 April 2011. 
25. ^ "Latest Gold / Platinum Singles". RadioScope. Media Sauce Ltd. http://www.radioscope.net.nz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=77&Itemid=63. Retrieved 2011-04-05. 
26. ^ "Top 50 Nacional Português". Billboard Brasil (BPP Promoções e Publicações Ltda.) (2): 82. October 2010. ISSN 977-217605400-2. 

Preceded by "Make Me Wanna Die" by The Pretty Reckless

UK Rock Chart number-one single July 11, 2010 – September 12, 2010

Succeeded by "Change Your Name" by Ash