Korn
Korn – Freak On a Leash
About The Song
“Freak on a Leash” is a song by the American nu metal band Korn, featured on the group’s 1998 studio album, Follow the Leader. After Follow the Leader’s release, the song was released as a single on February 25, 1999, and since then, it has been re-released over ten times.
Lead singer Jon Davis wrote the lyrics about the music industry, which he compares to an owner walking a dog. While he’s this freak being paraded around, corporate America is making all the money… and it’s taking a part of him.
Korn’s alloy of metal came into vogue in 1998, when the Follow the Leader album – the band’s third – was released. “Freak on a Leash” was one of just two singles from the LP (“Got The Life” was the other). The album was released in August 1998, but the “Freak” single wasn’t issued until spring, 1999. It bubbled under at #106 on the Hot 100 on May 1, which wasn’t bad considering how few radio stations played Korn. The album, however, went to #1, selling over 3 million copies in America at a time when CDs were still selling for around $16.
Korn won their only Grammy for this song. It was for the Best Short Form Music Video of 1999.