Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda and new lead singer, Emily Armstrong, sat down for an interview with iHeartRadio's Woody. They spoke about their new album that came out on November 15, From Zero, and at one point, Shinoda gushed over his new bandmate, noting that she's a professional in the field.
During iHeartRadio LIVE with Linkin Park, Shinoda gave his two cents on why he thinks Emily is the perfect addition to Linkin Park, saying:
"She's done it for a long time and knows she's a seasoned professional. She hasn't experienced playing a headline show in Paris in front of that huge stadium. But she's played that whole thing about having 10,000 hours of experience to do things."
Emily Armstrong says she was hit with an identity crisis when she joined as Linkin Park's vocalist
Mike Shinoda also reflected on Emily Armstrong's expansive portfolio:
"She is well over 10,000 hours doing shows, writing songs, being a performer. So we already knew that we were in a good spot, a good position to be very comfortable and no going on."
During the interview, Shinoda also revealed that the band was looking for a voice different to that of their late bandmate, Chester Bennington, to step in as lead singer. He stated:
"We just want Emily to be Emily. The songs are the songs, Emily is Emily. I was watching videos, I think a video of a cover band, a Linkin Park cover band showed up in my feed, fans were loving it and they were all like, 'Oh my God, this person's so good. They sound so much like Chester.' And I was watching it. "
He then went on to note that the brain would "always know the frickin difference," before adding:
"It's like your brain likes it better and better the more it gets more real and close to the real thing. And then the moment before it becomes exactly as real, the moment before that, your brain goes completely the opposite direction. It goes right back down to, 'I hate it' because your brain can tell that it's trying to be tricked. And nobody's brain likes that. So, when I was watching this YouTube video or Instagram video of this cover band, I was like, 'That's really cool. And it's also creepy.' It made me immediately know that that wasn't the move for us. I don't like it. I like it for them."
As for Emily Armstrong, filling in the late Chester Bennington's shoes didn't come easy to her. Thus far, fans have taken a liking to her, but back in November as reported by Ultimate Guitar, she told Shinoda that joining was difficult for her. She admitted to being afraid of what people would see her and about all the new eyes on her and revealed that she had a bit of an identity crisis.
However, Emily Armstrong conceded to pushing herself to do it anyway, noting that she's learned to "do the opposite of that fear thing because it's all good."
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From Zero is Linkin Park's latest and eighth full-length studio album. It is also their first release since Emily Armstrong stepped in, and it spans 11 tracks, including The Emptiness Machine, Heavy Is The Crown, Over Each Other, and Two Faced.
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