Latest news with #EmilyArmstrong
New York Post
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda claims fans ‘lashed out' at new singer Emily Armstrong because she's a woman
Linkin Park isn't 'Numb' to the backlash against new singer Emily Armstrong. In a new interview with The Guardian, Mike Shinoda explained why he thinks part of the the band's fanbase was outraged over Armstrong, 39, joining the group seven years after lead singer Chester Bennington's death. 'There were people who lashed out at Emily, and it was really because she wasn't a guy,' Shinoda, 48, stated. 10 Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park perform at the opening ceremony of the UEFA Champions League Final 2025. Getty Images The guitarist claimed that critics were 'used to Linkin Park being six guys' with 'the voice of a guy leading this song' and haven't adapted to the band's new iteration. 'They were just so uncomfortable with what it was that they chose a ton of things to complain about,' Shinoda explained. 'They're pointing in 10 different directions saying: 'This is why I'm mad, this is why the band sucks.'' 10 Linkin Park in the press room at the 48th Grammy Awards in 2006. Getty Images 10 Colin Brittain, Dave 'Phoenix' Farrell, Emily Armstrong, Mike Shinoda, Joe Hahn of Linkin Park at the 2024 Billboard Music Awards. Billboard via Getty Images Armstrong — also the lead singer of the rock band Dead Sara — joined Linkin Park last year as the group reunited for the ongoing From Zero World Tour. The singer received backlash in part due to her connection to Scientology and her support of actor and Scientologist Danny Masterson before he was convicted of rape in 2023. 10 Emily Armstrong performs at the Sonic Temple Art and Music Festival in May 2025. Amy Harris/Invision/AP 'Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance, and went to one early hearing as an observer,' she wrote in a social media statement in Sept. 2024. 10 Mike Shinoda and Emily Armstrong perform at Barclays Center in NYC in Sept. 2024. Getty Images 'Soon after, I realized I shouldn't have,' Armstrong added. 'I always try to see the good in people, and I misjudged him. I have never spoken with him since. Unimaginable details emerged, and he was later found guilty.' 10 Emily Armstrong and Mike Shinoda at the 2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards. Getty Images for iHeartRadio Armstrong told The Guardian that she wasn't prepared for the negative public reaction to her joining Linkin Park. 'Not this. No, not this. I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest,' Armstrong said, adding that she used to avoid social media 'for mental-health purposes.' 10 Emily Armstrong performing during the Linkin Park concert in London on June 28. Michal Augustini/Shutterstock 'If there was something really, really pressing, I think our PR would talk to us about it,' she shared. 'But I'm old enough to know the difference between real life and the internet.' Amidst Linkin Park's tour, Shinoda said there are some songs that he'd 'feel weird playing' including 'One More Light' from the band's final album with Bennington. 10 Mike Shinoda performs at the I-Days Festival in Italy on June 24. Corbis via Getty Images 10 Linkin Park arrives at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards in 2006. Getty Images Shinoda noted the song 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.' Bennington tragically died in 2017 by suicide. He was 41. 10 Chester Bennington performs during the Projekt Revolution Tour in 2008. FilmMagic His 29-year-old son, Jaime Bennington, slammed Linkin Park for adding Armstrong to its lineup last year. Jaime claimed Shinoda had 'quietly erased my father's life and legacy in real time … during international suicide prevention month.' He also brought up Armstrong's Scientology connection and said the band 'failed to address the concerns of their diverse fan base.'
The Independent
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda addresses backlash towards new singer
Linkin Park member Mike Shinoda stated that fans were "uncomfortable" with new singer Emily Armstrong because "she wasn't a guy", as they were used to the band having six male members. Armstrong joined the nu-metal band in 2024, following the death of original frontman Chester Bennington in 2017. Bennington's son, Jaime, and mother, Susan Eubanks, expressed their unhappiness, with Eubanks feeling "betrayed" for not being informed about the band's comeback. Fans also criticised Armstrong for her connection to Scientology and her past support for actor Danny Masterson, who was later convicted of rape. Armstrong issued a statement clarifying that she "misjudged" Masterson and does not condone abuse, as Linkin Park continues their global tour for their 2024 album, 'From Zero'.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- 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
Forbes
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Linkin Park's Global Tour Helps The Band Soar On The Charts
Linkin Park's From Zero lands on seven U.K. charts after the band's Wembley show, including a jump ... More to No. 5 on the Official Rock & Metal Albums ranking. MUNICH, GERMANY - MAY 31: Emily Armstrong, Lead Singer of Linkin Park, preforms, as a pyrotechnical display takes place prior to the UEFA Champions League Final 2025 between Paris Saint-Germain and FC Internazionale Milano at Munich Football Arena on May 31, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by) Linkin Park launched its From Zero World Tour in September 2024, already nearly a year ago. The trek is scheduled to run through late June 2026, with dates already on the calendar well into the future. The hard rock band recently played to a massive crowd at Wembley Stadium in London in late June. As is often the case when a major international act visits the United Kingdom, Linkin Park's catalog is enjoying a resurgence — especially From Zero, the project being promoted most heavily on the venture. From Zero Returns to Multiple Charts This week, From Zero appears on seven different charts in the U.K. The project returns to three of them and surges on a fourth, without needing to reenter. From Zero reappears highest on the Official Vinyl Albums chart, landing at No. 24. It also returns to the all-encompassing consumption-based ranking of the biggest releases in the country, the Official Albums list, where it settles at No. 59. From Zero lands lowest on the Official Albums Streaming tally, placing at No. 93. The project – the band's first with new singer Emily Armstrong following the passing of Chester Bennington some years ago – manages to appear inside the top 10 only on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart. Linkin Park sat at No. 10 on that genre-specific list just days ago, but as the tour touched down in the U.K., From Zero jumped to fifth place. Linkin Park Rocks Into the Top 40 The same project bolts into the top 40 on both the Official Physical Albums and Official Albums Sales charts, coming in at Nos. 26 and 27, respectively. It also leaps more than 20 spaces on the Official Album Downloads list, climbing to No. 57. Papercuts, Hybrid Theory and Meteora While From Zero is commanding much of the attention in the U.K. when it comes to Linkin Park's music, it's not the only title from the rockers that's performing well. Papercuts, a compilation the group released just months before From Zero, is also rising. The collection narrowly misses the top 10 on both the Official Albums Streaming and Official Albums charts, where it lands at Nos. 12 and 16, respectively. At the same time, Linkin Park's debut full-length Hybrid Theory returns to the main ranking of the biggest albums in the country, landing at No. 97. That same introductory set declines on three other tallies, while Meteora, its follow-up, climbs several spaces on the Official Rock & Metal Albums chart.
Forbes
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Sunday Conversation: Linkin Park Open Up On Friendship, Music And More
MONTERREY, MEXICO - FEBRUARY 5: performs during a concert as part of the 'From Zero World Tour' at ... More Estadio Banorte on February 5, 2025 in Monterrey, Mexico. (Photo by Medios) Back in 2004 I went on the road with Linkin Park to do a coffee table book, From The Inside: Linkin Park's Meteora. I became friends with all the band members, but over time I became closest with Chester Bennington as he spent time in Long Beach, California, where I lived at the time. Fast forward to 2012, when I get invited down to the Viper Room to see L.A. breakout rock band Dead Sara. I did their first major story, for Rolling Stone, and became good friends with frontwoman Emily Armstrong. So, when Armstrong was announced in 2024 as the new lead singer of Linkin Park, I definitely understood fans' conflicted emotions. However, whatever you felt as a fan or associate or anything, only Brad Delson, Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell, Mike Shinoda and former drummer Rob Bourdon had a right to decide the band's future. As someone who has, by this point, interviewed as many bands as anyone in the world, I have seen what losing a band mate does to someone. I will never forget sitting with Who frontman Roger Daltrey at the legendary Sunset Marquis in L.A. and asking him if he ever went into the Morrison Hotel Gallery in the front of the hotel. His response: 'No, because all I see are pictures of dead friends.' I just did a piece for The L.A. Times on the sixtieth anniversary of The Doors. More than 50 years later, John Densmore and Robby Krieger are still impacted by the loss of Jim Morrison. Losing a band mate is like losing a brother or a sister, someone you traveled with, created with, fought with, loved, and one of the only people who experienced the highs and lows with you. It is a loss that requires grieving and as anyone who has suffered loss knows, there is no right way to grieve. It is up to you to decide. So, as someone who still considers LP friends I am thrilled to see their new chapter because it is their right. Now with Armstrong and new drummer Colin Brittain, as well as touring guitarist Alex Feder, the band is conducting a huge worldwide tour at the moment behind the From Zero record. I spoke with Delson and Farrell in in-depth separate conversations over two days. It was great to catch up with two old friends to look at this new chapter of Linkin Park. Steve Baltin: Not touring with them, does it allow you the freedom to do stuff that you would not otherwise do? Brad Delson: I don't look at it that way. I look at it as really focusing on the aspects of the band that are the most energizing for me, which in this chapter really is the creative stuff, the stuff in the studio, even like the show itself, like the conceptual design behind the show, which I worked on. That, to me, is the most fun thing to do in this moment. And so I think Steve, one of the benefits of having taken time off from making new stuff is we all gained the ability to look at the creative opportunity of the band with fresh eyes and not just do things because we've done them in the past but really opting into what is fun and what we love. That's kind of an ethos for the whole band. And I think actually that's one of the reasons we've worked together so well in this chapter together and we've had success creatively together, is that openness. Maybe some of it is maturity, and just the experience of having done things a certain way and now having the gift of being able to approach things with a new perspective. Baltin: I hadn't thought about this, but unfortunately you reach a certain age we've all gone through way too much loss and it gives you a lot of perspective. During that time when you're thinking about stuff does it also let you gain perspective on what you want and what you don't want? Delson: I think one of the benefits of experience is just having more self-awareness of what you know, what makes us tick, what fills our cup, what gives us energy, how we can be most contributive. As humans when we're happy, it's easier to fill someone else's cup. So, for me, yeah, just moving toward what feels energizing and we're really excited about this chapter, just the way it's all come together. The album, for me, the most important things are the relationships and then the art. The album itself we've always been hyper intentional as you know about anything we put out including an incredible coffee table book that a very prominent prestigious writer helped us create back in the day. We never want to put out anything that we don't put all our love and care into and really believe in and this album is no exception. Even the fact that there's only 10 songs on the album, there was a lot of music written and creative exploration. So, whittling it down to its most essential parts was really a privilege. And even with the deluxe, there are only three new songs on the deluxe and each of them felt like an important song to share for different reasons. We take our contract with our fan base really seriously and we want to share stuff that we believe in and that we love. That's served us well in the past and that's something I love participating in. Baltin: Has stepping back from the road reinvigorated you? Delson: Yeah, super energized. Then when other creative stuff comes up behind the scenes, I'm fresh I can be helpful. Our whole ecosystem is really, as you know, quite elaborate. The band is creatively prolific and ambitious, and we love making things and sharing things with our supporters, whether it's the zine that we're putting out, the LPU, the tour and the production of the tour, the merch, little popups that we've been doing, or it's stuff online. We just like putting care into it and a lot goes into all of it. So, it's been fun to focus on some of that stuff. Just being creative, working on song ideas and supporting everything that's going on. Yeah, very privileged to be a part of it all, very stoked and really grateful that our fan base continues to evolve and has embraced this new chapter with so much passion. That's ultimately the dream of any artist is to share what they love with other people and then get some kind of connection back. You look at 'The Emptiness Machine' for example, that exceeded everyone's wildest imagination. When that happens it's not something we take for granted. The band is focused on playing great shows, making great music and being really intentional about what we're able to do as musicians and as artists. Baltin: I talked about this with Gerard Way and there is no way to predict this, but it seems like for certain bands the absence just builds the legacy. And it seems like for you guys as well, there's been that hunger of people who miss you. Then there's a new generation who didn't get to experience it. Delson: Yeah, when we put out "Lost," which was the song that we held off of Meteora -- I remember it was with Andy Wallace in New York, and we intentionally held that one off. Then to release it over 20 years later and it was number one that year, it signaled to us yeah, that there really is a very hungry appetite for the music. It's really cool to see shows, I've been hearing feedback of fans that have supported the band since our early history, standing next to people who are seeing Linkin Park for the first time. When I started playing guitar my favorite band was Led Zeppelin. I had the whole songbook and I tried to learn all the songs and 14-year-olds today learning guitar, I've heard that our band is the one that they're learning all the songs from. That was always our goal, to make timeless music. It's an ambitious thing to say. It's a pretty surreal thing when that actually happens. There's also this really interesting juxtaposition of the early history having a recurring Impact on culture today and then the new stuff like right along with it. So, I think that's a really exciting thing about the show, you're getting these classic songs and then you've got 'Heavy Is The Crown' or 'Up From The Bottom' or 'Emptiness Machine' or whatever and those songs are brand new. So, it's like this weird pastiche of moments that emerge at different junctures throughout our career all coming together for this really amazing celebration that's moving around the world on stage in front of our fans. Baltin: Talk about working with Emily. Delson: I think what's amazing about her integration into our creative DNA is she's clearly her own ingredient. It's not Emily trying to be somebody else, it's just Emily being herself. That's what really stuck out to me. Even when we were hanging out at East West, just her presence, her energy, even without her singing, something about her energy felt right to me. It felt like a natural fit. Baltin: I talked to Brad yesterday and he and I talked about the fact that during the unexpected hiatus, each of you got some chance to decide what you did and didn't miss. What did you miss? Dave Farrell: Yeah, I think it was definitely something I'd missed. Music, for me, has been a big part of my life since I was really little. I was still able to obviously enjoy so many of the different aspects of that that I've always loved. I could still listen to music, I could still go to shows with my wife and kids, still experience that connection that I've always loved and had with it, but I definitely missed not being able to play and share that experience and feeling with fans and with the crowd. And I think, yes, definitely there was a chance to zoom out a little bit and look at what we had done and how we had done it and say, 'This aspect I loved, this aspect of it I'd like to change.' And watch the whole process with that new framework. Baltin: As he and I talked about yesterday as well, unfortunately loss is one of those things that shapes you immensely. So, while you never planned on the break, it's one of those things that during that time off you're going to readjust everything. Farrell: Yeah, 100 percent. You don't get to choose if you're going to suffer or not in life. You're going to suffer, but you do get to choose how you try to navigate it and you do get to choose what you do with it and how you try to move forward. This was putting that mentality to the test for me and just taking the punches and then kind of saying, 'Okay, how do we move forward from here? What feels good? What doesn't? Where do you go?' A big part of that process too was even taking a first step when it came to the band. I was pretty paralyzed early on with the mentality that I needed to figure out everything before I even was able to take a step. Questions like, 'Are we going to do a new album? Are we just going to do a new single? Then if we do play shows, are we going to play old stuff? Or is it just going to be new stuff? And then what's the band going to look like?' Then at a certain point I was like, 'I can create these crazy questions to try to figure out, or I could just get in a room with Mike and Joe and make stuff and see if we even like it. Let's just take a step and then see what the next step may or may not be.' It was so freeing when I finally got to that space because it just took so much pressure off of the whole thing that is Linkin Park. It's like, 'Let's pursue what we enjoy about this and let's not have any preconceived ideas of where it's going or what it needs to be, but let's just see if we even like it.' There was a moment when I didn't know if we would still write music that I liked as weird as that might sound to some people. A lot of stuff that you do, sometimes you get it to a place and you're like, "This isn't working for me. I'm not connecting with it.' Similarly, I didn't know if I would want to go out and play the old songs. I didn't know what that might feel like, I didn't know if it would hurt too much. So, it was just a process of, let's just take each little step and see what that opens up for the next step, and then fast forward. Here we are. Baltin: Did you find when you started writing with Mike and Joe, was it something like excuse the cliché, of riding a bicycle? Farrell: No, it was more for a period of months, I would say, we'd have time scheduled to be together, where for eight hours it was just eat lunch, talk about a bunch of stuff, talk about what we might do, talk about what that is then, we're going to eat dinner and then it's like, 'Let's just mess around on some guitar riffs and then okay cool, see you tomorrow.' We did versions of that in different ways for a long time and even in the early phases of it, it was like this is a great excuse just for us to get together and be friends and hang out and have a scheduled reason for that. We didn't know what we were doing, or if it was even going to be Linkin Park. We didn't know if it would feel like that or fit for that. And even when we started bringing in other people to write with and to play with, we were very intentional about telling them, we're just getting together to work on music and enjoy it and have fun. But this is not Linkin Park. That's not what we are writing for or that's not what we're working on exactly. So even super early in the process with Colin first and then with Emily it was just an opportunity for us to get together and hang out with people, write music, play music and eventually those two were not only extremely talented but just so fun to be around and so enjoyable to spend time with it just grew into a thing. I don't know what that is or where that goes. We don't know, but we want to now pour more time, energy, effort into whatever this group is and see what this can do. Baltin: It's not something I had thought of, but the idea of you guys just reconnecting as friends is interesting because when you go through a tragedy, it's natural to pull away. Farrell: At least for me, I have different groups of friends that I do different things with. Some of my friends are friends that my wife and I go out to dinner with. Some of my friends are friends that I play golf with or are interested in soccer or whatever, friends that I grew up with. Linkin Park is a group of my closest friends, but what we do together is play and make music. When we're on periods of time when we're not playing or making music, we're still close, but we don't have that same connection or reason that's pulling us together. With Chester passing, we lost Chester, but we also lost this thing that we get to do together. So, a part of the journey of the whole thing has been us saying, 'What do we do now? When we get together, what does that look like? How does that work? What's our new relationship going to be? Are we still doing music together? We're obviously still friends and have shared so much life experience together that we're going to be friends and we're going to be in each other's lives if we're not doing music but it's different. That relationship has changed if we're no longer doing music together.' But rediscovering that initially with Mike and Joe and then adding Brad into the mix down the road that was like a new pathway to having these relationships that are just so special and awesome for me. And having it then work in a scale with the fans that's the icing on the cake. Or that's the cherry on the sundae for me is that it came together and people have enjoyed it.
