Linkin Park’s comeback single “The Emptiness Machine” on pace for ‘Billboard’ Hot 100 debut
Linkin Park is set to return to the Billboard Hot 100 with their comeback single, “The Emptiness Machine.”
Billboard reports that the song’s streams and sales are “likely setting it on pace for a big Hot 100 bow.”
Linkin Park last appeared on the all-genre Hot 100 in 2023 with “Lost,” an unearthed song featuring lead vocals by the late Chester Bennington. Before that, they hadn’t charted on the Hot 100 since 2017’s “Heavy,” the lead single off LP’s final album with Bennington, One More Light.
“The Emptiness Machine” marks Linkin Park’s first song with new vocalist Emily Armstrong and is the lead single of their upcoming album, From Zero, due out Nov. 15.
Since Armstrong’s introduction on Sept. 5, Billboard reports that streams of classic LP songs including “Numb,” “One Step Closer” and “Faint” have increased by 60%, 76% and nearly 100%, respectively.
However, the reaction to Linkin Park’s comeback with Armstrong hasn’t been all positive. Following the news of her joining the band, reports of her ties to Scientology and convicted rapist Danny Masterson surfaced, and one of Bennington’s children, Jaime, wrote that co-vocalist Mike Shinoda “quietly erased my father’s legacy in real time” in bringing Armstrong in.
Armstrong said in a statement, “Several years ago, I was asked to support someone I considered a friend at a court appearance, and went to one early hearing as an observer. Soon after, I realized I shouldn’t have.” She noted that she’s “never spoken with [Masterson] since,” adding, “To say it as clearly as possible: I do not condone abuse or violence against women, and I empathize with the victims of these crimes.”
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