21 Lesser-known Facts About Linkin Park

by Unbelievable Facts7 years ago

11 Linkin Park faced numerous rejections from most of the major record labels in the beginning. Warner Brothers had rejected Linkin Park three times before signing a deal. The band finally managed to crack the deal with them in 1999.

Linkin Park
Image credit: Twitter

The band has been at the pinnacle of success for many years. However, in their nascent stage, not only did they struggle with early exits of band members, but they also had to face multiple rejections from major record companies. For three years after being formed, the band was turned down by every major record label. Warner brothers rejected them three times before finally signing them in 1999. Jeff Blue, the Vice President of A&R at Zomba Music, helped the band in getting the deal signed with Warner Brothers. Jeff, in an interview, once mentioned that a Xero club date had no audience and had to be filled with A&R scouts, and they too left the place by the end of the third song, making the place empty. After Bennington joined in 1999, the band played forty-two showcases for labels and got rejected by everybody.(1,2)

12 Linkin Park’s debut album “Hybrid Theory” is the best-selling debut album of the 21st century. Up until this date, it has sold close to 10,500,000 copies in the US.

Hybrid Theory
Image courtesy: linkinpark.com

The debut album of Linkin Park was named “Hybrid Theory.” It was released on October 24, 2000, under the Warner Brothers record label. The album had four singles and the lyrics of these songs were drawn from the childhood trauma that Chester Bennington faced. The music for this album was first produced as a nine-track demo tape in 1999. The band sent this demo tape to forty-two different record companies and was turned down by every single one before being signed by Warner Bros. Records. The recording of the album was carried out at NRG Recordings in North Hollywood, California. The album was nominated for the Best Rock Album at the 2002 Grammy Awards. The album is also listed among the “1001 albums you must hear before you die.” The single “In the End” became the highest charting song from the album.(source)  

13 Chester Bennington did not like the song “In the End” initially and did not want it to be included in the album Hybrid Theory. However, it went on to become one of the most loved songs.

In the end linkin park
Image credit: giphy

The single “In the End” from Linkin Park’s super successful debut album “Hybrid Theory” was initially not quite approved by the lead vocalist, Chester Bennington. He did not want it to be a part of Hybrid Theory. However, it was included on the album and went on to become the band’s highest charting single in the U.S. It gained a lot of popularity in many other countries as well. It is the most played song in all of the band’s live performances. Chester Bennington later confessed that for some unfathomable reasons, he could not appreciate the song at that time, however, later on, he liked the song a lot.(1,2)

14 One of the founders and lead singer of Linkin Park, Mike Shinoda, was threatened to be removed from the band by Warner Brothers during their debut album “Hybrid Theory”.

Mike Shinoda playing guitar
Image credit: Norrel Blair/wikiwand

After being rejected by Warner Bros. Record three times and finally getting signed under Warner’s label, the band began working on their debut album, Hybrid Theory. In one of the interviews, Chester Bennington revealed that while the recordings for “Hybrid Theory” were going on, Warner Bros. wanted to remove Mike Shinoda from the band. He added that the band members truly had a lot of faith in their approach and were unable to understand the reason for wanting to remove Mike. However, that did not happen and Hybrid Theory went on to become a blockbuster album of the band. Warner Bros. later understood the valuable contribution of Mike to the band.(source)

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15 Before the release of “Hybrid Theory,” Chester Bennington made a bet with Myra Simpson, National Promotions Manager at Warner Brothers. She challenged him that if the album went “Gold” by Christmas of 2000, she would give him the Stone Temple Pilots’ plaque. The album indeed went “Gold” by Christmas and Bennington won the bet.

Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
Image credit: Peter Petrus/flickr

Linkin Park’s debut album, Hybrid Theory, was released under the label of Warner Bros. Records. Myra Simpson, the National Promotions Manager at Warner Bros. Records, had a triple platinum Stone Temple Pilots’ plaque with her. Chester Bennington, a big fan of Stone Temple Pilot (STP), was challenged by Myra that if the album went “Gold” by Christmas, she would give it away to him. On topping the charts and becoming “Gold” by Christmas, Bennington won the bet and the STP plaque too. He slept with it in his bed every night while on tours.(source) 

16 In 2005, Linkin Park and Warner Brothers decided to part ways owing to some financial differences and trust issues. However, their contract was resigned after a few months.

Linkin Park and Warner Brothers
Image credit: mikeshinoda/twitter

In 2005, Warner Bros. Records went through an Initial Stock Offering to the public. According to the band, the label expected to raise around $750 million from the IPO, but did not plan to spend any of that on Linkin Park in spite of Linkin Park being their biggest act. The label was accused of using a part of that money to reward the top executives heftily. On the flip side, Warner Bros. said that Linkin Park was trying to extort money from them. The band asked for a $60 million advance for its next record which was rejected and brought down to $15 million and a fifty-fifty profit split for five albums by Warner. The band did not accept this offer and threatened to spoil the IPO. It all ended in both partners deciding to part ways. However, after a few months, the two reunited in December 2005.(source)

17 In 2015, Linkin Park played their first show in Beijing. Apparently, the band had to submit a list of songs to the Chinese government for its review and approval. The Chinese government requested the band remove a few songs due to censorship laws. Even during their visit to Shanghai in 2009, the band had to get their list of songs pre-approved by the Chinese government.

Linkin Park Beijing
Image credit: Daniel Wong/youtube

Linkin Park’s China visits have a story to tell. The band had to submit a list of songs which it planned to perform on stage to the Chinese government in advance. Linkin Park visited China twice and had to do this both times. It required a nod from the Chinese government before performing. This was due to the cultural gaps and stringent government policies. Out of the list submitted to the government, Linkin Park was asked to remove “Given Up” and “Hands Held High.” The band abided by the rules and replaced those songs with others. Other artists like Metallica also had to remove a few songs before performing in China.(1,2)

18 Chester Bennington was a very close friend of Soundgarden’s lead singer Chris Cornell. Chris Cornell committed suicide on May 18, 2017, by hanging himself. Chris Bennington was devastated by this news and also wrote a gratitude letter to Cornell on Instagram. Two months later, on July 20, which would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday, Bennington also committed suicide by hanging himself.

Chester Bennington Death
Image credit: linkinpark/twitter

Chris Cornell, a well-known American singer, musician, and song writer was lead vocalist in bands like Soundgarden and Audioslave. In 2008, Cornell was seen performing with Linkin Park in their shows of Projekt Revolution tour. Cornell and Bennington were very close friends and Bennington happened to be the godfather to Cornell’s son Christopher. On May 18, 2017, Cornell committed suicide by hanging himself and was found dead in his bathroom in Detroit. Chester Bennington was shattered by Cornell’s death and sang “Hallelujah” at his funeral. He even wrote a letter to him on Instagram expressing his grief. After two months, on July 20, 2017, which would have been Cornell’s 53rd birthday, Chester Bennington committed suicide by hanging himself and was found dead in his apartment.(source)

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19 The band has established a non-profit organization named “Music for Relief” to undertake various causes for social welfare. 

Music for Relief - Linkin Park
Image source: musicforrelief.org

Through “Music for Relief,” Linkin Park assisted “We Care Solar,” another non-profit organization, in bringing solar energy to health clinics in Uganda and encouraged Linkin Park fans to sign a pledge to support sustainable energy for all. We Care Solar had designed a “Solar Suitcase” to facilitate health workers with lighting, communication devices and power for medical devices. Linkin Park promoted this suitcase in their concerts and urged supporters to extend their help by donating $10 or more. Mike Shinoda expressed his concerns over medicine being practiced in dark places. He conveyed the importance of using solar power in such places to make the life of people and health workers better.(source)

20 Linkin Park has won two Grammy Awards and has been nominated for it six times.

Linkin park grammy
Image credit: tumblr

In 2002, Linkin Park was nominated for “Best Hard Rock Performance” for “Crawling,” “Best Rock Album“ for “Hybrid Theory,” and “Best New Artist” for the band itself. It won the title of “Best Hard Rock Performance.” In 2004, it was nominated for “Best Rock Instrumental Performance” for “Session,” however, could not win it. In 2006, it won the Grammy for “Best Rap / Sung Collaboration” for “Numb / Encore.” In 2010, it was nominated for “Best Hard Rock Performance” carried out live at Milton Keynes, for “What I‘ve done” from Road to Revolution, however, could not win it.(source)

21 In 2012, Linkin Park became the first rock band to have more than one billion views on Youtube.

Linkin park billion views
Image credit: giphy

Linkin Park got over one billion hits on their own YouTube channel, LinkinParkTV, for their single “New Divide.” It was the leading single to the soundtrack “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” which alone received 131 million views. Lady Gaga was the first artist to hit the one billion views mark in 2010. Her record was broken by Justin Bieber who received 2.8 billion views. The other rock bands in line behind Linkin Park are Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day.(source)

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