Sum 41’s Deryck Whibley denies rumours he will join Linkin Park
Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley has responded to the rumours that he’s set to become the new vocalist of Linkin Park. Furthermore, he jokingly denied he was set to participate in the Oasis reunion.
As things often do in the contemporary era, speculation grew online earlier this week after Sum 41 posted on social media on August 26th, urging fans to “tune in” on the morning of the 28th PST for a “Deryck Whibley announcement”.
The rumours were also fuelled after Linkin Park shared a mysterious countdown post on social media on August 24th. Again, fans eagerly speculated about what it could mean, with a new frontman or album two popular contenders. Elsewhere, things also took on a more comedic light after the news broke that Britpop legends Oasis are reforming.
This is a particularly compelling post from Linkin Park, given the fact they have been on an indefinite hiatus since the tragic death of frontman Chester Bennington in 2017. Only two months before his passing, the group released their most recent album, One More Light. Since that record, they have only released 20th-anniversary editions of their first two LPs, Hybrid Theory and Meteora, and this year’s greatest hits compilation, Papercuts.
Although heavily speculation has surrounded Whibley joining Linking Park, it’s not without reason. In 2018, the ‘Fat Lip’ group welcomed Linkin Park’s second vocalist and rapper Mike Shinoda on stage at Reading Festival to perform ‘Faint’ from Meteora with Whibley taking on Bennington’s parts.
Furthermore, in 2023, Sum 41 announced they would split following the release of March this year’s double album Heaven :x: Hell and a farewell world tour. Their final shows are scheduled for January 28th and 30th, 2025, at Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena. Accordingly, from the outside, it seems their vocalist will have a lot of free time in the not-too-distant future.
Whibley has denied all the rumours linking him to Linkin Park. In an Instagram post shared on August 27th, he wrote: “It’s been brought to my attention that many people think I could be joining a reuniting band. But I just want to say, despite popular belief, I am not joining Oasis…. or Linkin Park. or any other band for that matter.”
He then revealed that he has a solo “tour and book” announcement that has now been moved to the end of the week because of the erroneous gossip. He added: “I do look forward to seeing whatever both these amazing bands do in the future”.
The speculation surrounding the Sum 41 frontman also follows the announcement on September 19th, 2023, that he had been hospitalised with Covid-19 and pneumonia, which resulted in heart failure.
The vocalist later revealed he had been discharged but was not fully recovered. His response to the rumours about joining Linkin Park does seem to suggest that he is recovered, particularly given Sum 41 has been on their farewell tour since February.
Could Linkin Park reunite?
The Whibley rumours follow reports that broke earlier this year that Linkin Park are looking to reunite in 2025 with a female vocalist carrying the torch for the late Bennington. While this remains to be seen, it would certainly be a fresh way to revive the beloved alternative metal band.
Billboard claimed the booking agency WME had started taking offers for a potential Linkin Park tour along with prospective headline festival slots.
Additionally, in March, Orgy’s Jay Gordon addressed the rumours when he appeared on Wired in the Empire on KCAL 96.7. He remarked. “Very, very cool guys and obviously a great band. They’ve been around a long time, and they’re still going for it… It’s going to be tough without Chester, but we’ll see. I heard they got a girl singer now. That’s what I heard.”
Gordon later issued a statement shortly after his appearance on the radio saying his comments were taken out of order and he doesn’t “know nothing about any of that”.
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