Minutes to Midnight is Linkin Park's third studio album that was released, depending on location, between May 9, 2007 and May 18, 2007. It has sold remarkably well in the space of a few months and has been certified 2× Platinum in the United States. It is also their first studio album with a parental advisory label, besides Collision Course (the album featuring Jay-Z) which was a remix album.
The album debuted at #1 in the United States and in 15 other countries, including the UK and Canada, around the world. In the U.S. the album had the biggest first week sales of 2007 with 625,000 albums sold. The album was certified Platinum (One million albums sold) in the U.S. and shipped over 3.3 million albums worldwide in its first four weeks of release. This album was #25 on Rolling Stone 's list of the Top 50 Albums of 2007.
There are two versions of the album cover. Both feature all six members of the band in black clothing. On the slipcase, the band members are looking away from the camera and on some of the standard jewel case covers, most of the band members are looking at the camera. The order of the band (from left to right) is as follows: Chester Bennington, Phoenix, Joe Hahn, Brad Delson, Rob Bourdon, and Mike Shinoda.
The lead single from the album, "What I've Done", was digitally released on April 2 in the U.S. and April 3 in the UK. The CD single was released on April 30.
