Mike Shinoda met with English songwriter and producer Justin Parker in London for a writing session during The Hunting Party Tour.[5] Shinoda later told Ticketmaster, "I did a couple of stopovers in London on the way back from the Hunting Party tour and worked with two different songwriters and really enjoyed it. I thought it was super fun and saw merit in keeping that going. I took the songs back to the band and asked them what they thought. They loved the material, first and foremost." One of those tracks was "Invisible",[6] a song that deals with Shinoda wanting to concentrate on being a father.[7][8]
Throughout the process, both Shinoda and Bennington recorded vocals for the song, but since "Invisible" is Shinoda's story, he decided he should be the one singing on the final version. The song was written about his kids and the thought that when they get older and become teenagers, it will be harder to discipline them. According to him, "Invisible" sends the listener to that moment when, in a parental or mentoring situation, you have to tell your kids something they don't wanna hear and you want them to know you're doing it because you care, not because you want to hurt their feelings.[9]
Release and promotion
The song was released from their seventh studio album One More Light.[2] It was released digitally on May 10, 2017.[4] The band released a lyric video of the song on the same day.[10]
Live performances
The song's first live performance was in front of the audience who were in attendance at the taping of James Corden's The Late Late Show in February.[11] The performance aired on the June 12, 2017, episode. The first public performance was during Maximus Festival 2017 at the Santiago, Chile show.[12] The track has been performed multiple times since then.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 30. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved August 1, 2017.