Follow the Leader

Follow the Leader is the third studio album by Korn, released in August 1998 on Immortal/Epic Records and produced by Brendan O'Brien and Steve Thompson, the band's commercial breakthrough, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200 with 268,000 first-week sales and establishing nu-metal as a mainstream commercial genre. Davis wrote all lyrics; the album features guest appearances from Ice Cube, Fred Durst, and Tre from Sugar Ray, reflecting the hip-hop and pop-crossover commercial strategy; 'Got the Life,' 'Freak on a Leash,' and 'All in the Family' (featuring Fred Durst) were the principal tracks. 'Freak on a Leash' won the Grammy for Best Short Form Music Video and was nominated for Record of the Year, a Grammy appearance that confirmed nu-metal's mainstream cultural legitimacy. Follow the Leader has been certified six-times platinum in the United States and sparked an explosion of nu-metal commercial acts in its wake, Limp Bizkit, Papa Roach, Linkin Park, and dozens of others all accelerated their major-label activity following the album's commercial success. The album represents the full arrival of the nu-metal movement as a commercial mainstream force.