Latest news with #Meteora
Forbes
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Linkin Park's Blockbuster Albums Return Together
Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory and Meteora reenter Billboard's Top Rock Albums chart at the same time ... More while rising on several other lists as well. LOS ANGELES, CA - NOVEMBER 18: Musicians Phoenix Farrell, Rob Bourdon, Chester Bennington, Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Joe Hahn of Linkin Park poses for a portrait at the 40th American Music Awards Getty Images Portrait Studio held at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on November 18, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/AMA2012/Getty Images for AMA) It was only about two months ago that Linkin Park dropped the deluxe edition of its album From Zero. The standard version arrived in late 2024 and was heralded as a welcome comeback for the hard rock outfit, which had been largely dormant for years following the passing of frontman and lead singer Chester Bennington. While only a few weeks have passed since the group added new tunes to the project's tracklist, From Zero is nowhere to be found on the Billboard charts. Two of the Grammy-winning act's oldest sets do manage to return together to the same tally, as they remain hugely popular, decades after their initial heyday. Linkin Park Pushes Two Fan-Favorite Projects Back Both Hybrid Theory and Meteora, the band's first and second albums, respectively, return to the Top Rock Albums chart this week. The collections appear very close to one another on the tally, as Hybrid Theory reenters Billboard's ranking of the most consumed rock collections in the United States at No. 21, while Meteora finds its way to No. 23. Hybrid Theory Has Never Hit No. 1 Despite being one of the most successful rock releases of the past quarter century, Hybrid Theory has never reached No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart. In the 280 weeks it has spent somewhere on the ranking, the set has climbed as high as the runner-up spot. Meteora, however, has reached the summit, though it has only spent a fraction of the time on the tally, with 68 frames to its credit. Hybrid Theory and Meteora Surge on Multiple Billboard Lists Both Hybrid Theory and Meteora climb on almost every Billboard tally on which they appear this week. The full-lengths lift on the Billboard 200, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts. Those two projects are joined by Papercuts on the list of the biggest hard rock efforts in the country. The compilation, which gathers together many of Linkin Park's most famous tunes and was released shortly before From Zero arrived, dips one space to No. 23. Linkin Park's Biggest Singles Keep the Albums Afloat Streaming activity connected to some of Linkin Park's earliest career smashes seems to be powering both Hybrid Theory and Meteora on the charts. Tunes like "In the End," "Numb," and "Somewhere I Belong" appear on some U.S.-based rankings this week, largely ones powered solely by plays on platforms like Spotify. "In the End," the band's breakout smash, nearly returns to No. 1 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs ranking, while "Somewhere I Belong" — featured on Meteora — debuts on that tally at No. 19, earning the group its fourteenth career placement.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Linkin Park's Decades-Old Single Finally Debuts
Linkin Park's 2003 hit 'Somewhere I Belong' debuts at No. 19 on Billboard's Hard Rock Streaming ... More Songs chart, decades after the Meteora single was released. 401611 182: Linkin Park pose backstage during the 44th Annual Grammy Awards at Staples Center February 27, 2002 in Los Angeles, CA. Linkin Park won Best Hard Rock Performance for "Crawling." (Photo by) Linkin Park broke into mainstream consciousness with its debut album Hybrid Theory, which produced the band's biggest single, "In the End." It was the group's follow-up, Meteora, that proved the hard rockers could continue the runaway success that started with the first full-length. That second album spawned smashes that still reign as some of the group's most-adored tracks, including "Faint," "Numb," and "Somewhere I Belong." That latter cut earns a somewhat surprising moment in the sun this week in America, long after it first reached the ears of millions. "Somewhere I Belong" Manages a Comeback "Somewhere I Belong" appears on only one Billboard tally at the moment, as it opens at No. 19 on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart. Linkin Park earns its fourteenth placement on the roster, which focuses solely on the most successful hard rock cuts across streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music in the United States, as the cut finally reaches the streaming-only list. Linkin Park Scores One of Just Two Debuts on the Tally Linkin Park claims one of only two debuts on the 25-spot Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart this week. The list is dominated by "My Mind Is a Mountain," the latest single from Deftones, which opens in first place. Two other classics also reappear, with another Deftones tune, "Change (In the House of Flies)," and "Man in the Box" by Alice in Chains reentering at Nos. 22 and 25, respectively. Linkin Park Claims Three Smashes at Once Linkin Park currently occupies three spaces on the Hard Rock Streaming Songs tally, and none of them are filled by tracks that are even remotely new. "In the End" rises from No. 3 to No. 2, while "Numb" dips one spot to No. 10, giving the group a pair of top 10s as one of its oldest singles finally makes its way to the ranking. "Somewhere I Belong" Joins a Growing List of 'New' Hits "Somewhere I Belong" is the latest Linkin Park classic to find its way onto the Hard Rock Streaming Songs chart long after its initial release. Tracks like "In the End" and "Numb" only arrived in mid-2020, when Billboard began officially tracking hard rock streaming performances — well after streaming platforms had become the primary way millions of people access music. Several singles from the group's comeback album From Zero arrived in mid-to-late 2024, including "The Emptiness Machine," "Heavy as the Crown," and "Over Each Other." "One Step Closer," originally released in 2000, debuted in March 2024. "Faint," also from Meteora, opened in September 2024, as did "What I've Done," which comes from a later Linkin Park project. A Classic Single with Long Lasting Appeal "Somewhere I Belong" was officially released as a single from Meteora in February 2003, just weeks before the album dropped. The track became another huge hit for Linkin Park, reaching No. 1 on several rock-focused radio rankings in America and giving the band another top 40 smash on the Hot 100.
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
Forbes
05-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Linkin Park's Earliest Albums Remain The Band's Biggest — Even Decades Later
Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory and Meteora climb Billboard's Top Hard Rock Albums chart, while newer ... More release Papercuts trails behind at No. 22. AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 12: Photo of LINKIN PARK; Linkin Park, Livid Festival, Melbourne - Australia (Photo by Martin Philbey/Redferns) Linkin Park appears across a variety of Billboard albums rankings this week, with several titles charting at the same time. That's not unusual for one of the most successful acts in the hard rock genre, though some fans may be surprised to learn that the group's most successful projects at the moment are its earliest releases, not its most recent. Linkin Park's comeback full-length From Zero, which arrived in the fall of 2024, is nowhere to be found on any tally in the United States. Papercuts, which arrived just months prior, is only present on one ranking. Meanwhile, the group's first two albums are riding high, though not uniformly. Linkin Park manages to push three distinct projects north on the same chart at the same time, as consumption of the Grammy-winning act's catalog continues to grow. Linkin Park Fills a Trio of Spaces The Top Hard Rock Albums chart is the only Billboard list where Linkin Park occupies a trio of spaces. Hybrid Theory, Meteora, and Papercuts manage not only to find space on the ranking of the most consumed hard rock collections in the U.S., but also to rise from where they sat last frame. Linkin Park's debut full-length Hybrid Theory leaps from No. 9 to No. 7. Follow-up Meteora returns to the top 10, pushing up two spaces and settling at No. 9. Papercuts increases its standing by three spots, landing at No. 22. Papercuts Is the Newest of the Three Releases Between the three, Papercuts is the newest, as it was only released in 2024. Since then, it has racked up 63 stays on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart – significantly fewer than the 350-plus that both Meteora and Hybrid Theory have managed. All three bestselling titles have spent time at No. 1 in the past. Hybrid Theory and Meteora Continue While Papercuts is only present on the Top Hard Rock Albums list, Hybrid Theory and Meteora can also be located on the Billboard 200, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts. Hybrid Theory is a non-mover on the Billboard 200 and the Top Alternative Albums list, while Meteora declines slightly on the all-encompassing ranking of the biggest full-lengths and EPs in the country. Otherwise, Linkin Park's music is largely on the rise, at least when it comes to albums – though the group's singles that still find space are also largely on the downswing.
Forbes
27-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Linkin Park Hits A Milestone On The Albums Chart For Only The Second Time
Linkin Park's Meteora hits 200 weeks on the Billboard 200, joining Hybrid Theory as the band's only ... More albums to reach the milestone after more than 20 years. AUSTRALIA - OCTOBER 12: Photo of LINKIN PARK; Linkin Park, Livid Festival, Melbourne - Australia (Photo by Martin Philbey/Redferns) Linkin Park has released albums for more than a quarter-century, though the band did take a several-year hiatus following the death of frontman Chester Bennington. While the group has produced eight traditional studio albums, along with several live collections, compilations, and other projects, it's the earliest efforts that remain fan favorites and charting successes to this day. One of the hard rock outfit's oldest releases continues to find space on several Billboard charts, more than two decades after it was first released – and this week, it helps the group reach an impressive milestone for only the second time. Meteora Hits 200 Weeks on the Billboard 200 Linkin Park's sophomore full-length Meteora has now spent exactly 200 weeks on the Billboard 200. This time around, the collection lifts ever so slightly to No. 142, as it moved 10,350 equivalent units, according to Luminate. Almost 10% of that sum were pure purchases, which is an impressive figure for a decades-old project. Two Linkin Park Albums Have Managed This Feat Linkin Park has now seen two titles spend at least 200 weeks on the Billboard 200. Hybrid Theory became the first to do so years ago, and it continues as the rock band's longest-charting success. That set, which sits more than a dozen spaces above Meteora, is up to 367 stays on the tally. Meteora Climbs on Billboard 200, But Falls Elsewhere While Meteora climbs one spot on the Billboard 200, it falls on the other four rankings it's present on this week. The 2003 project also lands on the Top Hard Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts, appearing at Nos. 11, 20, and 36, respectively, but those numbers are down from last frame. Hybrid Theory Still Leads Across the Board Hybrid Theory is beating Meteora on all four of the rankings where both efforts appear, but only slightly. That introductory project declines on the quartet of tallies, but still manages to live inside the top 10 on the Top Hard Rock Albums list. Meanwhile, Linkin Park's greatest hits compilation Papercuts falls to an even lower placement, landing at No. 25 – in last place – on the Top Hard Rock Albums ranking.
