| Revision as of 09:49, 8 September 2007 view source87.209.82.237 (talk) →Current← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:25, 8 September 2007 view source 72.229.219.7 (talk)No edit summaryNext edit → | ||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| {{Infobox musical artist | {{Infobox musical artist | ||
| | Name = ] | | Name = ] | ||
| | Img =Linkinparkmarysville.JPG | |||
| | Img_capt = Linkin Park at ] in ] on ] tour. | |||
| | Background = group_or_band | |||
| | Origin = {{Flagicon|USA}} ], ] | |||
| | Genre = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<!-- Do not change this without consulting talk page --> | |||
| | Years_active = ] - ] | |||
| | Label = ]<br>] | |||
| | Associated_acts = ]<br>]<br>]<br> ]<br> | |||
| | Current_members = ]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>]<br>] | |||
| | Past_members = ] (Stand-in)<br>] (Stand-in)<br>]<br> | |||
| }} | |||
| '''Linkin Park''' is a rock band<!-- Do not change this without consulting talk page --> from ], ]. They formed in 1996, and have since sold more than forty million albums and won two ].<ref name="mwire">Marketwire.com, , Retrieved on ] ]</ref><ref>Rock On The Net, , Retrieved on June 99, 2007</ref><ref>Rock On The Net , Retrieved on June 14, 2006</ref> They first achieved mainstream success in 2000 with their debut album, '']'', which has since been certified ] by ].<ref>Recording Industry Association Of America, , Retrieved on June 13, 2007</ref> Their following studio album, '']'', continued the band's success, topping the ]’s album charts in 2003, and was followed by extensive touring and charity work around the world.<ref>Soundspike.com, | |||
| , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> | |||
| Linkin Park is recognized for adapting the ] genre into a radio-friendly style and creating many successful singles, such as '']'', '']'', and '']''.<ref name="msn">MSN Music, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> They are also known for their several collaborations, most notably with ] ] in their ] album '']'', and a plethora of other artists on '']''.<ref name="msn"/> The band’s latest studio album, '']'', which was released in May 2007, has stemmed away from their previous nu metal sound venturing into various other genres.<ref>MTV.com, , Retrieved on ], ].</ref> The album topped the Billboard Charts by selling nearly 625,000 copies in its debut week, making it the best debut week of any album for the year.<ref>Billboard.com, , Retrieved on ] ]</ref><ref name ="billm">Billboard.com, , Retrieved on ] ]</ref> | |||
| ==Band History== | |||
| ===Early years (1996-2000)=== | |||
| Originally consisting of four close ] friends from ], Linkin Park’s foundation was anchored by ], ], and Rob Bourdon.<ref name=Ask-Bio>AskMen.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> After graduating from high school, the ] natives later began to take their musical interests more seriously, recruiting ], ], and ] to perform in their band then titled ]. Though limited in resources, the band began recording and producing songs within Shinoda’s make-shift bedroom studio in 1996.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> Tensions and frustration within the band began to increase after they failed to land a record deal. The lack of success and stalemate in progress prompted Wakefield, at that time the band’s ], to leave the band in search for other projects.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> Later, Farrell would also leave the band in order to tour with ] ,as well as other bands.<ref name=RockD>Rockdetector.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref><ref>Livedaily.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> | |||
| After spending a considerable time searching for Wakefield’s replacement, Xero recruited ] vocalist ]. ], the vice president of Zomba Music, referred Bennington to the band in March of 1999.<ref name=LPT>Lptimes.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Bennington, formerly of a band named ], became a standout among applicants for his unique and vivid singing style. The newborn vocal chemistry between Shinoda and Bennington helped revive the band, inciting them to work on new material.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> The band’s ] culminated with a change in name; from Hybrid Theory, the band changed their name to Linkin Park, a play on and homage to ]’s Lincoln Park.<ref name="Ask-Bio">AskMen.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> However, despite these changes, the band still struggled to sign a record deal. After facing numerous rejections from several major ], Linkin Park turned to Jeff Blue for additional help. After failing to catch ] on three previous reviews, Jeff Blue, now the vice president of Warner Bros. Records, helped the band sign a deal with the company in 1999. Now aside with Warner Bros. Records, the band released their breakthrough album, '']'', the following year.<ref name=LPT/> | |||
| === Breakthrough: ''Hybrid Theory'' (2000-2002) === | |||
| Linkin Park released ''Hybrid Theory'' on ], ]. The album, which represented half a decade’s worth of the band’s work, was edited and polished by music producer ].<ref name=Ask-Bio/> ''Hybrid Theory'' was well received by music fans; the band sold more than 4.8 million records during its debut year, earning it the status of best-selling album of 2001, while singles such as '']'' and '']'' established themselves as staples among ] radio playlists during the year.<ref name="RockD">Rockdetector.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Additionally, other singles from the album were featured in movies such as '']'', '']'', and '']''.<ref name=RockD/> ''Hybrid Theory'' was also nominated for three ]s, including best new artist, best rock album, and best hard rock performance (for ''Crawling'').<ref>United Stations Radio Network, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> ] also awarded the band their Best Rock Video and Best Direction awards for '']''.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> Through the winning of the Grammy for best hard rock performance, and for Best Rock Album, ''Hybrid Theory’s'' overall success had catapulted the band into the ]'s attention. | |||
| During this time, Linkin Park received many invitations to perform on many recognized tours and concerts including ], ] and ].<ref name=RockD/><ref>MTV.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> The band also formed their own tour, ], which featured other notable artists such as, ], ], and ].<ref name=LPT/> Within a year’s stretch, Linkin Park had performed at over 320 concerts.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> The experiences and performances of the precocious band were documented in their first ], '']'', which debuted in November 2001. Now reunited with former ] Dave Farrell, the band began work on a remix album, dubbed '']'', which would include works from ''Hybrid Theory'' and '']''.<ref name="RockD">Rockdetector.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> The album "Reanimation" debuted on ], ], featuring the likes of ], ], ], and many others.<ref>United Stations Radio Network, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> ''Reanimation'' claimed the second spot on the ], and sold nearly 270,000 copies during its debut week.<ref>Yahoo! Music, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> | |||
| ===Continued success: ''Meteora'' (2002-2004)=== | |||
| Following the success of ''Hybrid Theory'' and ''Reanimation'', Linkin Park spent a significant amount of time touring around the United States. The band began to work on new material amidst the saturated schedule, spending a sliver of their free time in their tour bus' studio.<ref name=dvd>Warner Bros. Records, "The Making of Meteora" (2003) , Released on ], ].</ref> The band officially announced the production of a new studio album in December 2002, revealing their new work was inspired by the rocky region of ] in ], where a lot of ] have been built on top of the rocks.<ref>MTV.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> '']'' featured a mixture of the band's previous ] and ] styles with newer innovative effects, including the induction of a ] (a ] flute made of bamboo) and other instruments.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> Linkin Park's second album debuted on ], ] and instantly earned worldwide recognition.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> | |||
| ''Meteora'' sold more than 800,000 copies during its first week, and it ranked as the best selling album on the ] at the time.<ref>Yahoo! Music, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Music videos for some of the album's singles, including '']'', '']'', '']'' and '']'', received significant radio attention.<ref>Yahoo! Music, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Eventually, ''Meteora'' sold nearly three million copies by October 2003.<ref>LAUNCH Radio Networks, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> The album's success allowed Linkin Park to form another ], which featured other bands and artists including, ], ], and ].<ref name=Ask-Bio/> Additionally, ], a famed ] group, invited Linkin Park to play at the ], which included well-known acts such as ], ] and ].<ref name=vh1>VH1.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> The band released an album and ], entitled '']'', which consisted of audio and video tracks of some of the band's performances in ] during the tour.<ref name=Ask-Bio/> | |||
| ''Meteora'' also earned the band additional awards and honors. The band won ]'s awards for Best Rock Video (''Somewhere I Belong''), Viewer's Choice Award (''Breaking the Habit'').<ref name=ring>Ringsurf.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Linkin Park also received significant recognition during the 2004 ]s, winning the Artist of the Year and Song of the Year (''Numb'') awards.<ref name=ring/> Although ''Meteora'' was not nearly as successful as ''Hybrid Theory'', it was the third best selling album in America during 2003.<ref name=RockD/> The band spent the first few months of 2004 touring around the world, first with the third Projekt Revolution tour, and later several ]an concerts.<ref name=RockD/> | |||
| ===Side projects and charity work (2004-2006)=== | |||
| ]Following ''Meteora'''s success, the band postponed working on a new studio album for the next several years. Instead, Linkin Park continued to tour and work on many side projects. Bennington appeared on ]’s ''State of the Art'' and other work with ], while Shinoda did work with ].<ref name=RockD/> In 2004, the band began to work with ] to produce another remix album, entitled '']''. The album, which featured intermixed lyrics and background tracks from both artists' previous albums, debuted in November 2004. Shinoda also formed a new band, ], as a side project. With the aid of Jay-Z, Fort Minor released their debut album, '']'', to critical acclaim.<ref>Chartattack, Retrieved on ], ]</ref><ref>Machine Shop, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> On the home front, the band's relationship with ] was declining rapidly on account of several trust and financial issues.<ref>Rolling Stone, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> After months of feuding, the band finally negotiated a deal in December 2005.<ref>Aversion, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> | |||
| Additionally, they also participated in numerous charitable events. Linkin Park helped raise money to benefit victims of ] in 2004 and later ] in 2005.<ref name=RockD/> They also helped relief efforts for the ] victims by staging several charity concerts and setting up an additional fund called "Music for Relief".<ref>VoaNews, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Most notably, however, the band participated at ], a series of charitable benefit concerts set up to raise global awareness.<ref name=liv8>The Linkin Park Times, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Alongside Jay-Z, the band performed on Live 8's stage in ], to a global audience.<ref name="liv8"/> The band would later be reunited with Jay-Z at the ], during which they performed ''Numb/Encore'', en route to winning a Grammy for ].<ref>About.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> They would later go on to play at the 2006 ] music festival, which was hosted by Metallica, in ].<ref>Linkinpark.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> | |||
| ===Reemergence: ''Minutes to Midnight'' (2006-present) === | |||
| Linkin Park returned to the recording studios in 2006 to work on new material. To produce the album, the band chose popular producer ]. Despite initially stating the album would debut sometime in 2006, the album was pushed off to 2007.<ref name="No new">MTV.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> The band had recorded thirty to fifty songs in August of 2006, when Shinoda stated the album was halfway completed.<ref>MTV.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> Bennington later added that the new album would stray away from their previous nu metal sound.<ref>MTV.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> ] officially announced that the band’s third studio album, entitled '']'', would be released on May 15, 2007 in the ].<ref>Warner Bros. Records, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> After spending fourteen months working on the album, the band opted to further refine their album by removing five of the original seventeen tracks.<ref name="No new"> The album’s title, a reference to the ], foreshadowed the band's new lyrical themes.<ref>MTV.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> ''Minutes to Midnight'' sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, making it one of the most successful debut week albums in recent years. The album also captured the top spot on the Billboard Charts.<ref name ="billm"/> | |||
| The album's first single, "]" was released on April 2, and later premiered on MTV and ] within the same week.<ref>Videostatic, </ref> The single was acclaimed by listeners, reaching the ] days after its debut, and later was the top-ranked song on the ]'s ] and ] charts.<ref>Billboard.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> '']'' is the second single from ''Minutes to Midnight'' which was released ], ]. | |||
| Linkin Park performed at ] on July 7, 2007.<ref>Billboard.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> The band has just finished touring on their fourth ] tour.<ref>Zvents.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> | |||
| == Style == | |||
| ] | |||
| Both ''Hybrid Theory'' and ''Meteora'' intertwined the ] and ] sound with influences and elements from ], ], ], and ], utilizing ] and ]. '']'' regarded it as "a Johnny-come-lately to an already overdone musical style,"<ref>Allmusic.com , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> whereas '']'' called "]" "risky, beautiful art."<ref>Rollingstones.com, , Retrieved on ], ]</ref> | |||
| In ''Minutes to Midnight'' the band experiments with their established sound and sees them drawing influences from a wider and more varied range of genres and styles, a process '']'' compares to a stage in ]'s work. <ref>Calendarlive.com, Retrieved on ], ]</ref> In it, only two of the songs feature rapping. It also is their first studio album to feature guitar solos and to feature Mike Shinoda's singing, rather than rapping. | |||
| Linkin Park's use of two separate vocalists has become a large part of their music. Chester Bennington is most known for using growling and screaming vocals common in various forms of metal, while also using more melodic singing, and has placed 46th in Hit Paraders list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists". | |||
| Mike Shinoda is the group's ], and does all of the rapping. Mike has also done all of the backing vocals live, and in their latest album, ''Minutes to Midnight'', he sings lead vocals on three songs: ''In Between'', ''Hands Held High'', and the b-side ''No Roads Left''. Shinoda has also been placed in Hit Paraders list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists" at 72. | |||
| ==Band members== | |||
| ] | |||
| ===Current=== | |||
| *] - lead vocals (1999-present) | |||
| *] - MC, vocals, rhythm guitar, (1996-present) | |||
| *] - drums (1996-present) | |||
| *] - lead guitar, backing vocals (1996-present) | |||
| *] - bass guitar, backing vocals (1996-1999, 2001-present) | |||
| *] - turntables, programming, samples, beats (1996-present) | |||
| ===Former=== | |||
| * ] – ] (1996–1998, while the band was named Xero) | |||
| ===Stand-ins=== | |||
| * ]— ] (1998–1999) Stand in bass player during Phoenix's absence from the band during the ]. | |||
| * ]— ] (1999–2001) Stand in bass player in the Hybrid Theory album. Records on the song "]" and appears in the video. | |||
| {{col-begin}} | {{col-begin}} | ||
Revision as of 14:25, 8 September 2007
{{Infobox musical artist | Name = File:Linkinparklogo2.svg
