Mike Shinoda names Linkin Park song that is “too sad to play” due to Chester Bennington’s death
Mike Shinoda has revealed why Linkin Park refuses to play ‘One More Light’ after singer Chester Bennington’s death in 2017.
‘One More Light’ is the title track from their album of the same name. It was released just two months before Bennington’s death and has taken on extra emotional weight for the band in the years since.
According to Setlist FM, Linkin Park have performed ‘One More Light’ only on 21 occasions, all of which occurred in 2017. It was last played on October 27th, 2017, at a tribute show held at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles in memory of Bennington.
In a new interview with The Guardian, Shinoda explained of the band’s current live show with new vocalist Emily Armstrong: “I think we all wanted our show to be really good vibes. I want you walking away feeling like, this was such a wonderful, special, fun night.”
Shinoda then admitted there are certain tracks that would “feel weird playing” before naming ‘One More Light’ which he revealed was initially written “for a woman at the label that we worked with who passed away.”
However, in recent years, it has taken on a new meaning with Shinoda adding, “Then after Chester passed, the world decided that it was about him. And so that’s just too sad to play”.
In the same interview, Shinoda also addressed the controversy surrounding Emily Armstrong joining the band, stating that she was criticised because “she wasn’t a guy”.
Elaborating on his comment, Shinoda claimed that fans are “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 same interview, Armstrong, who has links to the Church of Scientology, revealed that she was not prepared for the level of criticism that came in her direction, stating, “Not this. No, not this”. She added: “I was a little bit naive about it, to be honest.”
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