Linkin Park believes the backlash to their new singer had to do with one thing, and one thing only: sex.
Seven years after the band’s frontman, Chester Bennington, died by suicide, Emily Armstrong was named the group’s new vocalist. The decision was largely met with criticism from fans, a fact that Linkin Park’s co-founder, Mike Shinoda, had some feelings about.
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“There were people who lashed out at Emily and it was really because she wasn’t a guy,” Shinoda told The Guardian in a recent interview. “[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,” he continued. “They’re pointing in 10 different directions saying: ‘This is why I’m mad, this is why the band sucks.’”
For her part, Armstrong was admittedly not prepared for the criticism she faced.
“Not this. No, not this,” she told the outlet of if she expected backlash. “I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest.”
Linkin Park’s New Era
What she wasn’t naive about was Linkin Park’s impact and legacy.
“I’ve been in a band for 20 years and I could only dream of this kind of success,” she said, before admitting that she doesn’t want to “ruin” Linkin Park. “I’m like, you guys are a legacy band – you guys are so important.”
Armstrong has been a fan of the group since she was a teenager, so going out and performing Linkin Park classics with the group makes her feel “like a child again,” she said.
Linkin Park isn’t relying on their old hits to get them through, though. They put out their latest album, From Zero, last year to great success.
“For any band that’s been around a long time, it’s really easy to start heading into heritage territory. You’re just playing that old stuff,” Shinoda said. “This tour and this album are one of our most successful of all time. That, for me, is insane. That is way beyond my hopes and dreams for what this whole thing could be.”
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