Rumors have been swirling that Linkin Park is planning to reunite with a female vocalist, and those rumors may actually be true. According to reports, several sources close to the band have disclosed that they're planning to find a woman to succeed their late singer Chester Bennington and are considering hitting the road next year.
According to a source, booking agency WME is taking offers for a potential 2025 tour featuring Linkin Park's surviving members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Dave Farrell that also includes headlining festival dates.
These reports mirror Orgy's Jay Gordon's comments earlier this month. During a visit to the Radioactive w/ Mike Z podcast, the singer spoke about his relationship with the band and what he heard about how they're planning to move forward without Bennington. “Very, very cool guys and obviously a great band. They’ve been around a long time and they’re still going for it,” he said. “It’s going to be tough without Chester, but we’ll see. I hear they got a girl singer now. That’s what I heard.”
“Don’t quote me on that," he added. "I’m not sure who the singer is going to be, but I heard it was gonna be female. They might just try to move on like that. That ought to be interesting.”
A day after the interview aired, Gordon shared a statement on Facebook in an attempt to clarify his comments. "With regards to this linkin park singer thing. I know nothing about any of that. People sure do love to take my words out of context," he wrote. "I love those guys and wish them the best...I said nothing about knowing any of that and never brought it up. I love Chester and there will never be another him ever."
But the seeds had already been sowed.
More recently, Evanescence frontwoman Amy Lee addressed rumors that she was taking Bennington's place. The topic came up during a recent interview with iHeartRadio Canada, and the vocalist was quick to shut down the question when asked if she's been in talks with the band's surviving members.
“That is an incredible compliment. I have not heard that. No, I have not been contacted or anything like that. But [I’m a] huge fan feel like our worlds, our fanbases are a lot of the same people,” she said, before adding: “No, it’s not true. But that’s awesome. They should ask me about that. I don’t have a ton of free time, but I might do it part time.”