Linkin Park refuse to play poignant song live after Chester Bennington’s death – Bundlezy

Linkin Park refuse to play poignant song live after Chester Bennington’s death

Linkin Park Perform In Hamburg
Linkin Park have taken one song off their set list for their current tour (Picture: Redferns)

Linkin Park have struck a poignant song from their set list in the wake of frontman Chester Bennington’s death.

The musician died by suicide in 2017 at the age of 41, leading to an outpouring of tributes from fans around the world.

The group, known for tracks including Numb, In The End and Faint, went on an indefinite hiatus following their loss, but reformed last year with Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell and Joe Hahn returning to the fold.

Emily Armstrong was announced as their new lead singer, with Colin Brittain joining on drums.

They are currently jetting around the globe on their From Zero world tour, but rapper Shinoda revealed that some tracks won’t be performed.

‘I think we all wanted our show to be really good vibes,’ the 48-year-old told the Guardian. ‘I want you walking away feeling like, this was such a wonderful, special, fun night.’

Unpacking the setlist, he shared that there were hits that he would ‘feel weird playing’, including One More Light – which was on Bennington’s last Linkin Park album.

Linkin Park Perform At Phones4U Arena In Manchester
Chester Bennington died by suicide in 2017 (Picture: Getty)
2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards - Press Room
Emily Armstrong joined the group as lead vocalist last year (Picture: Getty)

He explained that 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.’

Shinoda founded Linkin Park in the 90s, along with Delson and Rob Bourdon, with Farrell and Hahn joining shortly after, followed by Benington.

They went on to become one of the biggest rock bands of all time, with hits including One Step Closer, Crawling, Papercut and Somewhere I Belong.

The group dropped seven albums together, and one collaboration with Jay-Z, before the lead singer’s death in 2017 – which came just months after their One More Light record was released.

2025 iHeartRadio Music Awards - Press Room
The group are currently on the From Zero tour (Picture: Getty)

After a break of nearly a decade, the group announced their return last year, unveiling Armstrong’s position as lead vocalist.

Following their efforts at the Champions League final in May, the rockers will be bringing their From Zero tour to New York this month ahead of performances in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, LA and more.

From there, they will be traveling through Colombia, Peru, Chile, Brazil and Mexico before appearing in Sweden, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal.

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