Linkin Park

Linkin Park
Linkin Park performing in Berlin, in October 2010. From left to right: Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell, Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon and Chester Bennington.
Linkin Park performing in Berlin, in October 2010. From left to right: Joe Hahn, Dave Farrell, Brad Delson, Mike Shinoda, Rob Bourdon and Chester Bennington.
Background information
Also known as
  • Xero (1996–1998)
  • Hybrid Theory (1999–2000)
OriginAgoura Hills, California, U.S.
Genres
Discography
Years active1996–2017[a]
Labels
Members
Past members
Websitelinkinpark.com

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's lineup consists of vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn, and drummer Rob Bourdon, with vocalist Chester Bennington also part of the band until his death in 2017. Vocalist Mark Wakefield was an early member prior to Bennington's recruitment. Categorized as alternative rock, Linkin Park's earlier music spanned a fusion of heavy metal and hip hop, while their later music features more electronica and pop elements.

Formed in 1996, Linkin Park rose to international fame with their debut studio album, Hybrid Theory (2000), which became certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Released during the peak of the nu metal scene, the album's singles' heavy airplay on MTV led the singles "One Step Closer", "Crawling", and "In the End" all to chart highly on the US Mainstream Rock chart. The lattermost also crossed over to the #2 spot on the nation's Billboard Hot 100.[1] Their second album, Meteora (2003), continued the band's success.[2] The band explored experimental sounds on their third album, Minutes to Midnight (2007).[3] By the end of the decade, Linkin Park was among the most successful and popular rock acts.[4]

The band continued to explore a wider variation of musical types on their fourth album, A Thousand Suns (2010), layering their music with more electronic sounds. The band's fifth album, Living Things (2012), combined musical elements from all of their previous records. Their sixth album, The Hunting Party (2014), returned to a heavier rock sound, while their seventh album, One More Light (2017), was a substantially more pop-oriented record. Linkin Park went on an indefinite hiatus following the suicide of longtime lead vocalist Bennington in July 2017. In April 2022, Shinoda revealed the band was neither working on new music nor planning on touring in the foreseeable future. Since Bennington's death, they have only released 20th-anniversary editions of their first two studio albums, as well as a greatest hits album, Papercuts, in 2024.

Linkin Park is among both the best-selling bands of the 21st century and the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 100 million records worldwide.[5] They have won two Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, 10 MTV Europe Music Awards, and three World Music Awards. In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth-greatest band of the music video era and the third-best of the new millennium. Billboard ranked Linkin Park No. 19 on the Best Artists of the Decade list. In 2012, the band was voted as the greatest artist of the 2000s in a Bracket Madness poll on VH1. In 2014, the band was declared as "The Biggest Rock Band in the World Right Now" by Kerrang!.


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  1. ^ Grow, Kory (July 20, 2017). "Chester Bennington, Linkin Park Singer, Dead at 41". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  2. ^ Zahlaway, Jon (April 2, 2003). "Linkin Park's 'Meteora' shoots to the top". Soundspike: Album Chart. Archived from the original on May 4, 2009. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  3. ^ "Linkin Park: The Inside Story Of Minutes To Midnight". Kerrang!. May 17, 2019. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
  4. ^ "Linkin Park, Nickelback top decade's rock charts". Reuters. December 18, 2009. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
  5. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on February 9, 2019. Retrieved January 29, 2020.