Latest news with #FromZero
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Linkin Park Drop ‘One More Light' From Live Shows After Bennington's Death
Linkin Park's emotional ballad 'One More Light' will no longer feature in the band's live performances. In a new interview with The Guardian, co-founder Mike Shinoda shared that certain songs have been removed from setlists following Chester Bennington's death in 2017, with 'One More Light' being one of the most significant omissions. More from Billboard Selena Gomez Celebrates 33rd Birthday With Benny Blanco, Taylor Swift & More Mariah Carey 'MC16' Album Details Coming Tomorrow Fans Choose BTS' 'Permission to Dance On Stage' Live Album as This Week's Favorite New Music 'I think we all wanted our show to be really good vibes,' Shinoda said. 'I want you walking away feeling like, this was such a wonderful, special, fun night.' He added that there are some Linkin Park tracks that he would 'feel weird' performing without Bennington, including 'One More Light.' 'It was originally written for a woman at the label that we worked with who passed away,' Shinoda explained. 'Then, after Chester passed, the world decided that it was about him. And so that's just too sad to play.' The decision comes as Linkin Park navigate a new chapter in their career. Last year, the band introduced Dead Sara's Emily Armstrong as their new lead vocalist and released From Zero, their first album since Bennington's passing. The album debuted at No. 1 on numerous Billboard charts last November, except for the Billboard 200 and Top Album Sales, where it arrived at No. 2. Following its deluxe reissue with additional tracks on May 16, From Zero saw a return to Top Album Sales (at No. 5), Top Hard Rock Albums (No. 4), Vinyl Albums (No. 8), Top Alternative Albums (No. 9), Top Rock Albums (No. 15), Top Rock & Alternative Albums (No. 17), Indie Store Album Sales (No. 17) and the Billboard 200 (No. 71) charts dated May 31. The band is currently in the middle of their From Zero world tour, which recently included high-profile stops at the UEFA Champions League Final in Munich and a sold-out show at London's Wembley Stadium, with their U.S. leg set to kick off July 29. 'One More Light' was the title track from Linkin Park's final album with Bennington, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
Metro
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Linkin Park refuse to play poignant song live after Chester Bennington's death
Linkin Park have struck a poignant song from their set list in the wake of frontman Chester Bennington's death. The musician died by suicide in 2017 at the age of 41, leading to an outpouring of tributes from fans around the world. The group, known for tracks including Numb, In The End and Faint, went on an indefinite hiatus following their loss, but reformed last year with Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell and Joe Hahn returning to the fold. Emily Armstrong was announced as their new lead singer, with Colin Brittain joining on drums. They are currently jetting around the globe on their From Zero world tour, but rapper Shinoda revealed that some tracks won't be performed. 'I think we all wanted our show to be really good vibes,' the 48-year-old told the Guardian. 'I want you walking away feeling like, this was such a wonderful, special, fun night.' Unpacking the setlist, he shared that there were hits that he would 'feel weird playing', including One More Light – which was on Bennington's last Linkin Park album. He explained that it was originally written 'for a woman at the label that we worked with who passed away. 'Then after Chester passed, the world decided that it was about him. And so that's just too sad to play.' Shinoda founded Linkin Park in the 90s, along with Delson and Rob Bourdon, with Farrell and Hahn joining shortly after, followed by Benington. They went on to become one of the biggest rock bands of all time, with hits including One Step Closer, Crawling, Papercut and Somewhere I Belong. More Trending The group dropped seven albums together, and one collaboration with Jay-Z, before the lead singer's death in 2017 – which came just months after their One More Light record was released. After a break of nearly a decade, the group announced their return last year, unveiling Armstrong's position as lead vocalist. Following their efforts at the Champions League final in May, the rockers will be bringing their From Zero tour to New York this month ahead of performances in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, LA and more. From there, they will be traveling through Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil and Mexico before appearing in Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: TV soap legend Eileen Fulton died aged 91 MORE: Dog the Bounty Hunter's grandson, 13, shot dead by own father in 'tragic accident' MORE: Sia, 49, and reality TV star, 28, spark baffling romance rumours on unlikely date
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
People lashed out at Linkin Park's Emily Armstrong "because she wasn't a guy" says Mike Shinoda
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda says the band's lead vocalist Emily Armstrong faced a backlash from some people simply because "she wasn't a guy." Armstrong was introduced as the band's new singer when they confirmed their reunion last year. She replaced the late Chester Bennington, who died in 2017 at the age of 41. Armstrong's introduction has been a notable success, with the band playing sold-out arena shows around the world and releasing their first album featuring her vocals – From Zero – to great reviews. Metal Hammer described the record as a "genuinely great album worthy of their canon." But it was not an easy start to life in the band, as they faced criticism for daring to try and replace Bennington at all. She also came under fire for her links to Scientology and previous support for now convicted rapist Danny Masterton. Shinoda says in a new interview that he believes the backlash was mostly to do with Armstrong's gender. He tells the Guardian: 'There were people who lashed out at Emily and it was really because she wasn't a guy.' He adda that fans were 'used to Linkin Park being six guys and the voice of a guy leading this song. They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about. They're pointing in 10 different directions saying "this is why I'm mad, this is why the band sucks.'" Armstrong herself admits she was taken aback by the reaction to her appointment. She says: "I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest." Linkin Park have a number of world tour dates still to come in 2025. Linkin Park 2025 remaining world tour dates Jul 29: Brooklyn Barclays Center, NYAug 01: Boston TD Garden, MAAug 03: Newark Prudential Center, NJAug 06: Montreal Bell Centre, CanadaAug 08: Toronto Scotiabank Arena, CanadaAug 11: Chicago United Center, ILAug 14: Detroit Little Caesars Arena, MIAug 16: Philadelphia Wells Fargo Center, PAAug 19: Pittsburgh PPG Paints Arena, PAAug 21: Nashville Bridgestone Arena, TNAug 23: St Louis Enterprise Center, MOAug 25: Milwaukee Fiserv Forum, WIAug 27: Minneapolis Target Center, MNAug 29: Omaha CHI Health Center, NEAug 31: Kansas City T-Movile Center, MOSep 03: Denver Ball Arena, COSep 06: Phoenix Footprint Center, AZSep 13: Los Angeles Dodger Stadium, CASep 15: San Josa SAP Ceter, CASep 17: Sacramento Golden 1 Center, CASep 19: Portland Moda Center, ORSep 21: Vancouver Rogers Arena, CanadaSep 24: Seattle Climate Pledge Arena, WAOct 26: Bogota TBA, ColombiaOct 29: Lima TBA, PeruNov 01: Buenos Aires TBA, ArgentinaNov 05: Santiago TBA, ChileNov 08: Rio De Janeiro TBA, BrazilNov 10: São Paulo TVA, BrazilNov 13: Brasilia TBA, BrazilNov 15: Porto Alegre TVA, Brazil Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
21-07-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Linkin Park talks Emily Armstrong backlash, the Chester Bennington song they won't play
Linkin Park has been through the rock 'n' roll gauntlet, but the musical warriors are forging ahead. The Grammy-winning alt-rock group, previously fronted by lead singer Chester Bennington, opened up about its latest lineup with co-lead singer Emily Armstrong in an interview with The Guardian published Friday, July 18. The Dead Sara frontwoman was enlisted by Linkin Park after the band ended its indefinite hiatus following Bennington's 2017 death. However, Linkin's changing of the guard was not without controversy. The group's selection of Armstrong sparked backlash among fans, in part due to Armstrong's alleged ties to the Church of Scientology and convicted "That '70s Show" actor Danny Masterson. Even Bennington's family, namely mother Susan Eubanks and son Jaime Bennington, criticized the lineup change. "I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest," Armstrong, 39, told the British outlet of the controversy. "But I'm old enough to know the difference between real life and the internet." Offering his take on the backlash, co-lead singer and rhythm guitarist Mike Shinoda suggested that the selection of a female vocalist may have drawn the ire of fans because listeners were "used to Linkin Park being six guys and the voice of a guy leading this song." "There were people who lashed out at Emily, and it was really because she wasn't a guy," Shinoda, 48, said. "They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about. They're pointing in 10 different directions, saying: 'This is why I'm mad, this is why the band sucks.'" "From Zero," Linkin Park's first album with Armstrong, was released in November and peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart. The band is currently playing on the From Zero World Tour, which is expected to return to North America on July 29 with a show in Brooklyn, New York. Linkin Park album review: Rockers roar back as they start 'From Zero' with singer Emily Armstrong Why Linkin Park won't play 'One More Light' on tour Linkin Park is honoring its musical legacy on the road, but there are some boundaries. The band, whose early hits "In the End," "Crawling," "Numb" and "Breaking the Habit" helped define 2000s alternative rock, pays tribute to its iconic catalog in the setlist for the From Zero World Tour. "We all wanted our show to be really good vibes," Shinoda told The Guardian. "I want you walking away feeling like, this was such a wonderful, special, fun night." Chester Bennington's mom 'repelled' by Linkin Park performing with new singer To that end, the band is refraining from performing a handful of songs that Shinoda explained would "feel weird playing" onstage, such as "One More Light." The song serves as the title track for Bennington's final album with the band (Bennington died by suicide two months after the album's May 2017 release). Shinoda said the song was originally written "for a woman at the label that we worked with who passed away," but fans have since dedicated it as a tribute to Bennington. "After Chester passed, the world decided that it was about him," Shinoda said. "And so, that's just too sad to play." Contributing: KiMi Robinson and Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY
The Guardian
18-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘People lashed out because she wasn't a guy': Linkin Park on nu-metal, nostalgia and their new frontwoman
It's been almost 25 years since Linkin Park released their debut album, Hybrid Theory. An irresistible fusion of metal, hip-hop, electronica, industrial rock and infectious pop melody, it established the Californian sextet as instant nu-metal icons and laid the groundwork for the group to become, by many metrics, the biggest US rock band of this millennium: Hybrid Theory ended up the bestselling album of 2001; its follow-up, Meteora, would also go on to rank as one of the bestselling albums of the 21st century. It's been just 36 hours, however, since the band played their biggest headline gig to date, at a steamy and rapturous Wembley stadium. Outside, it's still scorching, but in an icily air-conditioned hotel overlooking the Thames, Linkin Park's co-founder, co-vocalist and chief songwriter, Mike Shinoda, is reflecting on the show. 'For any band that's been around a long time, it's really easy to start heading into heritage territory,' says the 48-year-old. 'You're just playing that old stuff.' Linkin Park did of course play the old stuff, crescendoing with a stone-cold triad of belt-along hits – Numb, In the End and Faint – that have 6bn Spotify streams between them. But this was no greatest hits showcase. The band's eighth album, From Zero – which reached No 1 in 13 countries (including the UK) last November – also received an ecstatic response, and its lead single was one of the very rare hard rock songs to reach the UK Top 5. 'This tour and this album are one of our most successful of all time. That, for me, is insane,' marvels Shinoda. 'That is way beyond my hopes and dreams for what this whole thing could be.' This triumphant second act is all the more miraculous considering Linkin Park are not the band they used to be. In 2017, the group's lead vocalist, Chester Bennington, took his own life, having struggled with depression and addiction for decades. Sitting next to Shinoda today is 39-year-old Emily Armstrong, who now fronts Linkin Park alongside him (she sings, Shinoda raps). Bleach-blond hair, dark shades, an acid yellow oversized jersey and a voice that travels from pop croon to gruff, guttural scream: on stage, Armstrong appeared every inch the nu-metal maven. Yet while performing to 75,000 adoring fans would be the ego trip of a lifetime for most rock stars, as Bennington's replacement, it's not quite the same. On songs such as the Grammy-winning Crawling, Armstrong's role was more singalong facilitator than central attraction. 'There's so many fans that have been wanting to see Linkin Park for so long, you know?' she says, brandishing an enormous bottle of electrolyte-orange water. 'So I look at it as: this is your moment to sing. And you sing it better than I do at this point!' After Bennington's death, Shinoda paused Linkin Park and found refuge in Post Traumatic, a raw and emotional solo album that detailed his struggle to process his grief. Bennington died two months after the release of the band's seventh album, One More Light, which they were about to take on tour. Shinoda partly 'wanted to make Post Traumatic as a diary of how I felt for myself', but also had the urge to play live 'to provide an area for fans to commune and go: 'Oh, Mike is still here. We didn't lose everybody.'' The Post Traumatic tour was cathartic 'in the beginning', he says. 'And then towards the end it was exhausting. I had started to … I don't want to say move on. 'Move on' to some people means not looking back and forgetting – that's completely not how I felt. I felt like I was coping well and I was able to get up in the morning and not think about it, and I was evolving from the terrible stuff that had happened. Then I would go to the show and spend 90 minutes with half the crowd crying. And I'm like, this is fucking exhausting. You know how therapists see patients all day and help them, but then they need therapy themselves? That's how I felt.' Shinoda founded Linkin Park at 19, alongside his schoolmates Rob Bourdon (drums) and Brad Delson (guitar). His college friends Dave 'Phoenix' Farrell (bass) and the turntablist Joe Hahn joined soon after; Bennington was a later addition after a record label executive insisted they recruit a new vocalist. After Post Traumatic, Shinoda spent the next half-decade figuring out how to bring back the band that had defined his entire adult life. 'I sort through information very logically,' he says. He approached the group's future 'from a puzzle-cracking point of view', he explains, entertaining options like hiring a mini choir for live shows or relying on a rotating cast of famous vocalists. To begin with, Shinoda invited a few musicians – including some big names, such as the viral soul singer Teddy Swims – down to the studio to write material. He didn't tell them this was part of a potential Linkin Park comeback, and things could get awkwardly vague. 'Two hours into the session, they'd be like: 'Hey, can I ask you a question? What's going on here? Who are we writing for?' And we'd be like: 'Yeah, we don't know.'' Sometimes it felt like these collaborators were 'angling' to be Linkin Park's new vocalist. 'Like, 'look how good I can sing!' It was such a turn-off.' Armstrong was the tunefully raspy frontwoman of Dead Sara, a bluesy LA punk outfit who were initially hyped (in 2013, Dave Grohl insisted they 'should be the next biggest rock band in the world') but never really made it. She got an invite too. Those sessions never felt like a 'Linkin Park tryout', she says; she was simply 'excited to write with Mike Shinoda'. He laughs: 'I love when you use my full name.' The first time she met the band was in 2019, but it wasn't until she returned to the studio in 2023 that something clicked. Performance and personality-wise, Armstrong – who has sassy little sister energy around Shinoda – seemed like a natural fit. Shinoda also felt reassured that Armstrong and the drummer Colin Brittain – who replaced Bourdon around the same time – weren't just using Linkin Park to grow their profiles. 'There's a lot of people for who it's all about follower count. It's a very greedy way to live. And these guys aren't that way.' He appreciates that the pair never took any 'sneaky pictures' of Shinoda's home studio for clout. 'We had a high level of respect,' nods Armstrong, before stifling a smile. 'We did have a high level of respect.' Shinoda looks mock-wistful. 'Ah, to go back to those days.' Armstrong was never going to turn down the opportunity to front Linkin Park. 'I've been in a band for 20 years and I could only dream of this kind of success,' she says, then makes a face. 'That sounded lame.' But she was scared at the prospect of stepping into such big shoes. 'Why do I think I can do this?' she wondered, telling Shinoda that she didn't want to 'ruin' Linkin Park. 'I'm like, you guys are a legacy band – you guys are so important.' Shinoda drolly encourages the ego massage: 'Oh, go on – tell me more!' Once the new lineup was complete and From Zero finished (much of it was already written when Armstrong joined the band), it was time to tell the world. The response wasn't entirely positive. Bennington's mother said she felt 'betrayed' by Shinoda's decision to reform the band without consulting her, while Bennington's son expressed dismay at Armstrong's links to Scientology and her attendance at a hearing in support of Danny Masterson, an actor and Scientologist who was eventually convicted of rape – something that was also widely reported in the press and discussed by fans. I have been told that Armstrong will not discuss Scientology today. She did, however, release a statement at the time, explaining that she had severed all ties with Masterson and condemned his crimes. Was Armstrong braced for that kind of reaction? 'Not this. No, not this,' she says quietly. 'I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest.' Even pre-Linkin Park, she tended to avoid social media 'for mental-health purposes', and coped with the clamour by getting offline. 'If there was something really, really pressing, I think our PR would talk to us about it. But I'm old enough to know the difference between real life and the internet.' Shinoda takes a different tack to public criticism, but ends up in the same place. After the Wembley show, he posted a picture of himself in a T-shirt emblazoned with the opening lines of a snide news story about the band's decision to downsize the venue of their LA show. 'There are times when I'm not above being a little petty,' he grins. The T-shirt was 'not meant to be mean at all', he clarifies, and the music outlet in question 'are not the only ones who've said it. Lots of people have said this band is fumbling: 'Look how stupid they are, look how bad they're doing.' Well, according to the data, we're not, but you can believe whatever you want to believe.' When it came to Armstrong, Shinoda felt people's complaints were also disingenuous. 'There were people who lashed out at Emily and it was really because she wasn't a guy.' Fans, he thinks, were 'used to Linkin Park being six guys and the voice of a guy leading this song. They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about. They're pointing in 10 different directions saying: 'This is why I'm mad, this is why the band sucks.'' In the months since Linkin Park 2.0 launched, the reaction from fans has softened and Armstrong has been widely embraced. But devotees are still clearly looking for traces of Bennington in the band's work. Many interpreted Let You Fade, a bonus track on From Zero's deluxe edition, as a tribute to the singer, but 'it wasn't written that way,' says Shinoda. 'People even pulled out the fact that there's numbers in the song [that align with] Chester's birthday. I was like: whoops. That's not intentional.' At any rate, From Zero does hark back to the band's original sound: rock-rap fusion vocals, hip-hop record-scratching, highly accessible melodies and enough gristle (grinding guitar and screaming; anxious and indignant lyrics) to both intensify and offset them. Serendipitously, nu-metal is back in a big way, 'thanks to TikTok, the Y2K revival and, of course, enduring teenage angst', as per the New York Times, with bands such as Deftones enjoying a massive resurgence and acts including Fontaines DC, 100 gecs and Rina Sawayama incorporating the genre into their work. For millennials such as Armstrong, the sound of nu-metal provides nostalgia-coated comfort. She was a fan in her early teens, and feels 'like a child again' when she performs Linkin Park's old tracks. The era's garb – voluminous shorts, pulled-up sports socks, chunky jewellery, wraparound sunglasses – is also back in style, which reminds Armstrong of her teen self's beloved Adidas T-shirt and camouflage combats combo. 'We did this first!' she laughs. 'I'm old as shit!' But Shinoda doesn't look back with rose-tinted spectacles. In the early 2000s, Linkin Park did 'a bunch of metal tours and played with Metallica – the energy there was very masculine, bro energy. We were immersed in a culture where it was like an arms race for who could make the most macho music.' With peers including Korn, Slipknot and System of a Down, the nu-metal cohort was novel and outrageous enough to precipitate a mild moral panic – yet sexist lyrics in the work of groups like Limp Bizkit really were a problem. Linkin Park always seemed less aggressive and intimidating than their peers, and Shinoda always disliked the macho aspect. 'Chester connected with it a little more than the rest of us did, but not by much.' His band, he feels, featured 'more lyrics that were introspective. It wasn't like: 'Hey, I'm gonna kick your ass.' It was like: 'Somebody kicked my ass and I'm so frustrated.' In high school, I wasn't kicking anybody's ass. That was not happening.' Nowadays, nu-metal's aesthetic has been freed from its more unsavoury elements by a streaming generation who simply don't remember it; it's just another fun retro style to rehabilitate. Even Shinoda is less disgusted. 'Genres are so blended and music is so all over the place, I don't hate nu-metal any more.' Whether down to this defanged nostalgic comeback, the quality of the band's back catalogue or the incredibly catchy new material, it's clear from the Wembley show that Linkin Park have a whole new generation of obsessive young fans. The delight in the crowd was palpable – an energy Shinoda is deliberately cultivating, especially after the mental exhaustion of the Post Traumatic tour. 'I think we all wanted our show to be really good vibes,' he says. 'I want you walking away feeling like, this was such a wonderful, special, fun night.' Inevitably, this means certain songs are off the setlist. There are a couple that Shinoda would 'feel weird playing', including One More Light, the title track of the band's last album with Bennington. It was originally written 'for a woman at the label that we worked with who passed away. Then after Chester passed, the world decided that it was about him. And so that's just too sad to play.' Linkin Park tour the US from 29 July
