Linkin Park:

Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries.Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA Record Sales, Retrieved on June 13, 2007 Its following studio album, Meteora, continued the band's success, topping the Billboard 200’s album charts in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work around the world.Soundspike.com,
Album Chart: Linkin Park’s ‘Meteora’ shoots to the top, Retrieved on March 19, 2007 In 2003, MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth greatest band of the music video era and the third best of the new millennium behind Oasis and Coldplay.
Having adapted the nu metal and rap metal genres to a radio-friendly yet densely-layered style in Hybrid Theory and Meteora,MSN Music, Linkin Park: Biography, Retrieved on June 14, 2007 the band explored other genres in their next studio album, Minutes to Midnight, which was released in 2007. The album topped the Billboard charts and had the third best debut week of any album that year.Billboard.com, M2M holds the top slot for the current week, Retrieved on May 28, 2007Billboard.com, Linkin Park Scores Year's Best Debut With 'Midnight', Retrieved on May 28, 2007 The band has collaborated with several other artists, most notably with rapper Jay-Z in their mashup EP Collision Course, and many others included on Reanimation. Linkin Park has sold over 50 million albums worldwide and have won two Grammy Awards.Rock On The Net, Grammy Awards: Best Rap/Sung Collaboration, Retrieved on June 9, 2007Rock On The Net Grammy Awards: Best Hard Rock Performance, Retrieved on June 14, 2006
==Band history==
===Early years (1996—1999)===
Originally consisting of three high school friends, Linkin Park’s foundation was anchored by Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, and Rob Bourdon.AskMen.com, Linkin Park – Biography Retrieved on March 20, 2007 After graduating from high school, the California natives began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting Joe Hahn, Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, and Mark Wakefield to perform in their band, Xero. Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda’s make-shift bedroom studio in 1996. Tensions and frustration within the band grew after they failed to land a record deal. The lack of success and stalemate in progress prompted Wakefield, at that time the band's vocalist, to leave the band in search of other projects. Farrell also left to tour with Tasty Snax and other bands.MusicMight.com, Linkin Park – MusicMight Biography Retrieved on March 20, 2007Livedaily.com, LiveDaily Interview: Linkin Park’s Dave 'Phoenix' Farrell Retrieved on March 20, 2007
After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield's replacement, Xero recruited Arizona vocalist Chester Bennington. Jeff Blue, the vice president of Zomba Music, had referred him to the band in March 1999.Lptimes.com, Band History Retrieved on March 20, 2007 Bennington, formerly of Grey Daze, became a standout among applicants because of his unique singing style. The band changed its name from Xero to Hybrid Theory. The newborn vocal chemistry between Shinoda and Bennington helped revive the band, inciting them to work on new material. The band’s renaissance culminated with a change in name; from Hybrid Theory, the band changed its name to Linkin Park, a play on and homage to Santa Monica’s Lincoln Park.AskMen.com, Linkin Park — Biography Retrieved on March 20, 2007 However, despite these changes, the band still struggled to sign a record deal. After facing numerous rejections from several major record labels, Linkin Park turned to Jeff Blue for additional help. After failing to catch Warner Bros. Records on three previous reviews, Jeff Blue, now the vice president of Warner Bros. Records, helped the band sign a deal with the company in 1999. The band released its breakthrough album, Hybrid Theory, the following year.
===Hybrid Theory (2000—2002)===
Linkin Park released Hybrid Theory on October 24, 2000. The album, which represented half a decade’s worth of the band’s work, was edited by Don Gilmore. Hybrid Theory was a massive commercial success; the band sold more than 4.8 million records during its debut year, earning it the status of best-selling album of 2001, while singles such as "Crawling" and "One Step Closer" established themselves as staples among alternative rock radio play lists during the year. Additionally, other singles from the album were featured in movies such as Dracula 2000, Little Nicky, and Valentine. Hybrid Theory won a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (for "Crawling") and was nominated for two other Grammy Awards: Best New Artist and Best Rock Album.United Stations Radio Network, Linkin Park's Grammy Noms Are Icing On The Cake Retrieved on March 26, 2007 MTV awarded the band their Best Rock Video and Best Direction awards for "In the End". Through the winning of the Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance, Hybrid Theory’s overall success had catapulted the band into mainstream success.
During this time, Linkin Park received many invitations to perform on many high-profile tours and concerts including Ozzfest, Family Values Tour and KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas.MTV.com, Linkin Park, P.O.D., Nickelback, More To Play LA’s KROQ Fest Retrieved on March 26, 2007 The band also formed its own tour, Projekt Revolution, which featured other notable artists such as, Cypress Hill, Adema, and Snoop Dogg. Within a year’s stretch, Linkin Park had performed at over 320 concerts. The experiences and performances of the precocious band were documented in its first DVD, Frat Party at the Pankake Festival, which debuted in November 2001. Now reunited with former bassist Phoenix, the band began work on a remix album, dubbed Reanimation, which would include works from Hybrid Theory and non-album tracks also. Reanimation debuted on July 30, 2002, featuring the likes of Black Thought, Jonathan Davis, Aaron Lewis, and many others.United Stations Radio Network, Linkin Park’s 'Reanimation' Set For July 30 Retrieved on March 26, 2007 Reanimation claimed the second spot on the Billboard 200, and sold nearly 270,000 copies during its debut week.Yahoo! Music, Linkin Park Remixes Chart With Number Two Debut Retrieved on March 26, 2007
===Meteora (2002—2004)===
Following the success of Hybrid Theory and Reanimation, Linkin Park spent a significant amount of time touring around the United States. The band members began to work on new material amidst its saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus' studio.Warner Bros. Records, "The Making of Meteora" (2003) DVD, Released on March 25, 2003. The band officially announced the production of a new studio album in December 2002, revealing its new work was inspired by the rocky region of Meteora in Greece, where numerous monasteries have been built on top of the rocks.MTV.com, Linkin Park Get Their Tempers Under Control To Complete New LP Retrieved on June 10, 2006 Meteora features a mixture of the band's previous nu metal and rapcore styles with newer innovative effects, including the induction of a shakuhachi (a Japanese flute made of bamboo) and other instruments. Linkin Park's second album debuted on March 25, 2003 and instantly earned worldwide recognition, going to #1 in the US and UK, and #2 in Australia.
Meteora sold more than 800,000 copies during its first week, and it ranked as the best selling album on the Billboard charts at the time.Yahoo! Music, Linkin Park 'Meteora' Debuts At Number One, Sets Aside Tix For Military Retrieved on April 8, 2007 The album's singles, including "Somewhere I Belong", "Breaking the Habit", "Faint", and "Numb", received significant radio attention.Yahoo! Music, Linkin Park Says 'Faint' Is Equal To Other Songs Retrieved on April 8, 2007 By October 2003, Meteora sold nearly three million copies.LAUNCH Radio Networks, Linkin Park Album Certified Triple Platinum Retrieved on April 8, 2007 The album's success allowed Linkin Park to form another Projekt Revolution, which featured other bands and artists including, Mudvayne, Blindside, and Xzibit. Additionally, Metallica invited Linkin Park to play at the Summer Sanitarium Tour 2003, which included well-known acts such as Limp Bizkit, Mudvayne and Deftones.VH1.com, Linkin Park: Biography Retrieved on April 8, 2007 The band released an album and DVD, entitled Live in Texas, which consisted of audio and video tracks of some of the band's performances in Texas during the tour. In early 2004, Linkin Park started a world tour titled the Meteora World Tour, supporting bands on the tour included Hoobastank, P.O.D. and Story of the Year.
Meteora earned the band multiple awards and honors. The band won the MTV awards for Best Rock Video for "Somewhere I Belong and the Viewer's Choice Award for "Breaking the Habit".Ringsurf.com, Linkin Park Awards Retrieved on April 4, 2007 Linkin Park also received significant recognition during the 2004 Radio Music Awards, winning the Artist of the Year and Song of the Year ("Numb") awards. Although Meteora was not nearly as successful as Hybrid Theory, it was the third best selling album in the United States during 2003. The band spent the first few months of 2004 touring around the world, first with the third Projekt Revolution tour, and later several European concerts.
===Side projects (2004—2006)===
thumb|right|150px|Chester Bennington appearing on the band's behalf at MTV Asia Aid.
Following Meteora's success, the band postponed working on a new studio album for the next few years. Instead, Linkin Park continued to tour and work on many side projects. Bennington appeared on DJ Lethal’s "State of the Art" and other work with Dead by Sunrise, while Shinoda did work with Depeche Mode. In 2004, the band began to work with Jay-Z to produce another remix album, entitled Collision Course. The album, which featured intermixed lyrics and background tracks from both artists' previous albums, debuted in November 2004. Shinoda also formed a new band, Fort Minor, as a side project. With the aid of Jay-Z, Fort Minor released its debut album, The Rising Tied, to critical acclaim.Machine Shop, Fort Minor Biography Retrieved on April 23, 2007 At the same time, the band's relationship with Warner Bros. Records was deteriorating rapidly on account of several trust and financial issues.Rolling Stone, Linkin, Warner Feud Rages Retrieved on May 12, 2007 After months of feuding, the band finally negotiated a deal in December 2005.Aversion, Linkin Park, Warner Bros. Kiss, Make Up Retrieved on May 12, 2007
Linkin Park also participated in numerous charitable events, most notably raised money to benefit victims of Hurricane Charley in 2004 and later hurricane Katrina in 2005. The band donated $75,000 to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation in March 2004.Special Operations Warrior Foundation: News and Events Archive They also helped relief efforts for the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami victims by staging several charity concerts and setting up an additional fund called "Music for Relief".VoaNews, Linkin Park Launches Relief Fund for Tsunami Victims; Backstreet Boys to Release New Album Retrieved on May 12, 2007 Most notably, however, the band participated at Live 8, a series of charitable benefit concerts set up to raise global awareness.The Linkin Park Times, Live 8 Philadelphia 2005 Retrieved on May 12, 2007 Alongside Jay-Z, the band performed on Live 8's stage in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to a global audience. The band would later be reunited with Jay-Z at the Grammy Award Ceremony 2006, during which they performed "Numb/Encore", en route to winning a Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.About.com, Jay-Z and Linkin Park to Mash-Up Onstage at the Grammys, Retrieved on June 9, 2007 They would later go on to play at the 2006 Summer Sonic music festival, which was hosted by Metallica in Japan.Linkinpark.com, Linkin Park, Fort Minor at Summer Sonic in Japan, Retrieved on June 9, 2007
===Minutes to Midnight (2006—2008)===
thumb|Linkin Park in Prague, 2007|left
Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose producer Rick Rubin. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, the album was delayed until 2007.MTV.com, Mike Shinoda Says 'No New Linkin Park Album In 2006 After All', Retrieved on June 9, 2007 The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed.MTV.com, Mike Shinoda Says Linkin Park Halfway Done With New Album, Retrieved on June 9, 2007 Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from its previous nu metal sound.MTV.com, Linkin Park Say Nu-Metal Sound Is 'Completely Gone' On Next LP, Retrieved on June 9, 2007 Warner Bros. Records officially announced that the band’s third studio album, entitled Minutes to Midnight, would be released on May 15, 2007 in the United States.Warner Bros. Records, Fans Counting the 'Minutes' as Linkin Park Reveal Album Name and Release Date, Retrieved on June 9, 2007 After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band members opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks. The album’s title, a reference to the Doomsday Clock, foreshadowed the band's new lyrical themes.MTV.com, Linkin Park Finish Apocalyptic Album, Revive Projekt Revolution Tour, Retrieved on June 9, 2007 Minutes to Midnight sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also took the top spot on the Billboard Charts.
The album's first single, "What I've Done" was released on April 2, and premiered on MTV and Fuse within the same week.Videostatic, MTV Adds for the Week of 4/2/07, Retrieved on December 19, 2007. The single was acclaimed by listeners, becoming the top-ranked song on the Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks and Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.Billboard.com, Artist Chart History – Singles Retrieved on June 9, 2007 The song is also used in soundtrack for the 2007 action film, Transformers. Later in the year, the band won the "Favorite Alternative Artist" in the American Music Awards.ShowBuzz.com, American Music Awards – Winners List, Retrieved on March 21, 2008. The band also saw success with the rest of the albums singles, "Bleed It Out", "Shadow of the Day", "Given Up", and "Leave Out All the Rest", which were released throughout 2007 and early 2008. The band also collaborated with Busta Rhymes on his single "We Made It", which was released on April 29.– "We Made It" Music Charts (Canada), aCharts. Accessed May 12, 2008
Linkin Park's touring and live shows have, among other things, included a performance at Live Earth Japan on July 7, 2007.Billboard.com, Linkin Park, Local Stars Kickstart Live Earth Japan, Retrieved on July 12, 2007 and headlining Download Festival in Donington Park, England and Edgefest in Downsview Park, Toronto, Canada. The band completed touring on its fourth Projekt Revolution tour before taking up an Arena tour around the United Kingdom, visiting Nottingham, Sheffield and Manchester, before finishing on a double night at the O2 arena in London. Bennington stated that Linkin Park plans to release a follow-up album to Minutes to Midnight.Billboard.com, Linkin Park Plans Quick 'Midnight' Follow Up, Retrieved on February 13, 2008. However, he stated the band will first embark on a United States tour to gather inspiration for the album. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Bennington said that the band had already begun writing new material for the album, and Shinoda too stated that the album could well be released in late 2009. Mike Shinoda also announced a live CD/DVD entitled "Road to Revolution: Live at Milton Keynes", which is a live video recording from the Projekt Revolution gig at the Milton Keynes Bowl the 29th June 2008, which was officially released on the 24th November, 2008.Rollingstone.com, Linkin Park has already begun writing their next album, Retrieved on May 14, 2008.
===Future direction (2008—present)===
In October 2008 Mike Shinoda revealed on his blog that he, Phoenix and Hahn had begun working on two song ideas at Hahn's home, with studio recording to begin in earnest soon. In 2008, Bennington announced that Linkin Park's fourth studio release will be a concept album. The band has not released many specific details about the album. In an interview with MTV in November 2008, Bennington stated, "It sounds a little daunting to me, so, I think my confidence level will drop, but when it was presented to us by this friend of ours, we liked the idea. It was an inspiring idea, and it was something we could relate a lot of the things we like to write about to". He also added that the band planned to begin recording in December for a six-week session. The album was expected in mid 2009, but in late March, Mike Shinoda wrote on his blog saying "We're hoping to have Chester's Dead By Sunrise album out this fall, and the new LP album out early next year."Mike shinoda blog, In Studio: March 2009
In December 2008, Digidesign gave the band the opportunity to preview the new Pro Tools 8 software. The experiment resulted in an instrumental song called "Lockjaw" performed by Shinoda and Bourdon.http://www.mikeshinoda.com/blog/gadgets__recommendations-in_the_studio-linkin_park_/protools_8_mike_in_the_studio
In April 2009, Shinoda revealed on his blog that Linkin Park would be working on the score for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen with successful film composer, Hans Zimmer.Transformers 2: New Linkin Park Song and Score MikeShinoda.com April 24, 2009. On May 7, it was further confirmed that the song recorded for the film was titled "New Divide," and was released as a single on May 18.Transformers Song Name MikeShinoda.com. May 7, 2009.Ditzian, Eric 'Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen' Soundtrack To Feature Linkin Park MTV News. May 7, 2009. The music video for "New Divide" was released on June 12, 2009 and was directed by Hahn. On June 22, 2009, the band played a short set after the premiere of the movie. The concert took place on the street in Westwood Village.
In May 2009, Linkin Park announced that they were working on their fourth album to be released in 2010, with the aim for it to be "genre-busting." Shinoda also stated recently in an interview with IGN that the new album will have in comparison to Minutes to Midnight a bigger "thread of consistency" and will also be more experimental and "hopefully more cutting-edge". Additionally Bennington confirmed that Rick Rubin will return to produce the new album.
In July 2009, Linkin Park played at the Sonisphere Festival in Europe. They also played at the Epicenter music festival In August 2009.
On January 19, 2010, Linkin Park released a new song entitled "Not Alone" as part of a compilation from Music for Relief in support of the Haiti Earthquake crisis. On February 10, 2010, Linkin Park released the official music video for the song on their homepage.
The band has produced a video game titled 8-Bit Rebellion!, released April 26, 2010, for the iPod Touch, iPhone and iPad. The game includes a new song, "Blackbirds", which is unlocked when the player completes the game. Mike Shinoda has also stated that the game will be regularly updated with new content over time.Mike Shinoda Blog - 8-Bit Rebellion on the way Retrieved on March 28, 2010Linkin Park: 8-Bit Rebellion Page Retrieved on March 28, 2010
On June 6, the band revealed that their new album was nearing completion, and announced the first five dates for their first tour for 2010. The tour will begin in Berlin, Germany on October 20.First 2010 Linkin Park Tour Dates Retrieved on June 6, 2010 Six days later, Shinoda revealed that Linkin Park have almost made their decisions for all of the final qualities for the album, which include the track listing, the name and the album cover. Retrieved on June 16, 2010 
On June 14, Shinoda posted the message "A big LP announcement coming today. Stay tuned." on his Twitter account.Mike Shinoda Twitter Retrieved on June 24, 2010 Shinoda eventually posted a link to the announcement, a "message" in the form of an animation at linkinpark.com/message,Linkin Park Message 1 Retrieved on June 24, 2010 on his blog.Linkin Park News: Message Retrieved June 24, 2010 This is believed to be the beginning of a viral marketing campaign for Linkin Park's fourth studio album. The message was soon updated to include the very faint text "MORE MESSAGES COMING SOON." on the first frame of the animationLinkin Park Message 1 Updated Retrieved on June 24, 2010 On June 23, the message was changed completely, this time consisting of a picture of binary code.Linkin Park Message 2 Retrieved June 24, 2010
==Musical style==
Both Hybrid Theory and Meteora combined the alternative metal, nu metal,Linkin Park at MusicmightLinkin Park review at PopmattersLinkin Park at NMELinkin Park at Rolling StoneLinkin Park review at IGN music and rap rockLinkin Park at about.comLinkin Park at Allmusic sound with influences and elements from hip-hop, alternative rock, and electronica, utilizing programming and synthesizers. William Ruhlmann from Allmusic regarded it as "a Johnny-come-lately to an already overdone musical style,"Ruhlmann, William. Allmusic.com allmusic (((Hybrid Theory > Overview))):, Retrieved on May 30, 2007 whereas Rolling Stone described their song "Breaking the Habit" as "risky, beautiful art".Rolling Stones Rolling Stone: Linkin Park: Meteora: Music Reviews:, Retrieved on May 30, 2007
In Minutes to Midnight the band experimented with their established sound and drew influences from a wider and more varied range of genres and styles, a process Los Angeles Times compares to a stage in U2's work.Calendarlive.com, Linkin Park releases new album: 'Minutes to Midnight' Retrieved on May 30, 2007 In it, only two of the songs feature rapping, and the majority of the album can be considered alternative rock.IGN, Linkin Park – Minutes To Midnight, Retrieved on January 27, 2008.MetaCritic, Minutes To Midnight. Retrieved on January 27, 2008.
The vocal interplay between Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda is a major part of Linkin Park's music, with Bennington being the lead vocalist, Mike Shinoda as the rapping vocalist. On Linkin Park's third album, Minutes to Midnight, Shinoda sings lead vocals on "In Between", "Hands Held High", and on the B-side "No Roads Left".
==Band members==
;Current members
*Chester Bennington – vocals (since 1999)
*Rob Bourdon – drums, percussion (since 1996)
*Brad Delson – lead guitar (since 1996)
*David "Phoenix" Farrell – bass (1996–1998, 1999, since 2001)
*Joseph "Mr." Hahn – turntables, programming, samples (since 1996)
*Mike Shinoda – vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboard (since 1996)
;Former members
*Mark Wakefield - lead vocals (1996–1998)
==Discography==
;Studio albums
*Hybrid Theory (2000)
*Meteora (2003)
*Minutes to Midnight (2007)
==See also==
*List of Linkin Park awards
*List of best-selling music artists in the United States
*List of best-selling albums worldwide
==References==
===Literature===
* Saulmon, Greg. Linkin Park. Contemporary Musicians and Their Music. New York: Rosen Pub. Group, 2007. ISBN 1404207139.
* Baltin, Steve. From The Inside: Linkin Park's Meteora. California: Bradson Press, 2004. ISBN 0960357416.
==External links==
* Official website
Category:Grammy Award winners
Category:Alternative rock groups from California
Category:American alternative metal musical groups
Category:American nu metal musical groups
Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles, California
Category:Musical sextets
Category:Rap rock groups
Category:Linkin Park
Category:Musical groups established in 1996
Category:MTV Video Music Awards winners
Category:MTV Europe Music Awards winners
Category:World Music Awards winners
Category:Kerrang! Awards winners
Category:1990s music groups
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