Latest news with #MikeShinoda
Forbes
2 days 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.
New York Post
21-07-2025
- 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
21-07-2025
- 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
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
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
