Linkin Park is gearing up to release the deluxe edition of ‘From Zero,’ and the band shares how they created “Up From the Bottom” while touring, the success of “The Emptiness Machine,” how fans have embraced Emily Armstrong into the band and more!
Are you going to Linkin Park’s From Zero World Tour? Let us know in the comments!
Are you going to Linkin Park’s From Zero World Tour? Let us know in the comments!
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MusicTranscript
00:00He said to me in the control room, you know who she sounds like, he's a singer from Dead Sarah, I'm like, oh yeah, that's who that is, that's her.
00:06He's like, dude, really? She's so good, like, I knew I recognized her from somewhere.
00:12I kept thinking to myself, this only happens once. Enjoy it while it's happening as much as you can, Emily.
00:18I don't know what the charts were, I give it like a fuzzy idea of what they were, almost like a vibe.
00:24Look at a vibe for what they were. Villar's not doing vibes, Villar's doing numbers, right?
00:30What's up guys, this is Jason from Billboard, I'm here with the one and only Linkin Park, thank you guys for coming and hanging out.
00:38Thanks for having us, for having us, for sure.
00:47You guys just put out Up From The Bottom, new single, it's been a couple months since the album, what has it been like having the song out in the world, seeing the fan reaction, being picked up by radio, hitting the charts, what has it been like?
01:00Another day in the life.
01:03Emily's super, super jaded now. She's just so used to it.
01:07A couple months later.
01:09She used to be, she was so down to earth in the beginning.
01:15We poisoned her.
01:16I blame me and Mike.
01:18I think for us, like in this whole process, even going back to the record coming out, like I don't ever want to take it for granted that people are going to be interested in what we're doing or automatically on board.
01:31With Up From The Bottom coming out and people being interested and excited about it, I think it's like, it's exciting, it's special, it's new.
01:43And to be releasing new music at this stage of our career is something I didn't know 100% for sure that we'd be able to do, so it feels great.
01:52How did this one come together?
01:53It's unusual for us to be like writing and putting out new songs while we're touring.
01:58We usually don't do that.
02:00Did you guys even do that with Dead Sarah?
02:03Like write and put out a new song in the middle of a tour cycle?
02:06It's weird, right?
02:07Yeah.
02:07It's a different brain.
02:09Yeah.
02:09You have to really switch gears.
02:11Of the new tracks, meaning like we put out From Zero and then now we're putting out the deluxe edition has three new tracks and Up From The Bottom is the first single.
02:23That one, we started writing it, I want to say like it was the end of last year and did it in between dates, in between tours or tour legs.
02:35It kind of came together pretty fast.
02:37Like it was, of the three, it's the one that was written last and finished the most quickly.
02:44It's kind of fun having that like shorter momentum.
02:46Like I feel like it's like, I don't know, if I was like 15, I'd be, that's the only thing I would ever know.
02:52That's like how people do it these days.
02:54Like we're so meticulous and like, you know, work on things for so long that it's very different for us to put something together this fast.
03:03Didn't have to think too much.
03:04People have not heard Unshatter.
03:06Unshatter, the picture I was trying to see myself in.
03:13I can confirm they kick ass.
03:15Congrats on those.
03:16How did they come together?
03:18Well, Unshatter was one of the first ones.
03:20Yeah.
03:20That we did.
03:21Yeah.
03:21Oh, really?
03:22Yeah.
03:22Like way, way down.
03:23What do you remember from that?
03:24Because I don't, I don't, I think we all probably have different memories of like how that song came together.
03:28And by the way, you were, we were really still getting to know you when that song was coming up together.
03:34I think that was like a batch of three of the songs that we did at the beginning.
03:38That was the one that you'd like screamed on.
03:41Yeah.
03:41And we were like, whoa.
03:42Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:43Remember that?
03:44Yeah.
03:44And that's when Colin was like, is that the one that he was like, it sounds like the singer for Dead Sarah.
03:49And you're like, oh, that is.
03:50Right.
03:50He didn't know you guys hadn't been put together.
03:53That's right.
03:54He, okay.
03:54So I think that was the song.
03:56This is why I, this is why I asked that question.
03:58Because it's like stuff like this.
03:59I completely forgot about.
04:01I brought Colin into some sessions.
04:02I maybe had brought Emily in on a session or two, but she was like newer to like the process.
04:10And we weren't telling anybody Linkin Park yet.
04:13Yeah.
04:13We were just like, let's just work on some music.
04:15And so Colin was in the room and Em started screaming on the bridge.
04:21And he said, she, she was in the other room singing.
04:25And he said to me in the control room, oh, you know who she sounds like?
04:30He's a singer from Dead Sarah.
04:31I'm like, oh yeah, that's who that is.
04:33That's her.
04:33He's like, dude, really?
04:35She's a, she's so good.
04:37Like, I knew I recognized her from somewhere.
04:40Picture Emily like popping out from behind a curtain and like, actually, it's me.
04:44Confetti, I did it.
04:45Confetti.
04:46It was so funny.
04:47Like, oh yeah, but his, I loved that his reaction was like, oh, oh, that's how I recognize her.
04:53She's really good.
04:54What about Let You Fade?
04:55You're like in control on that one in the lead.
04:58That one was, that one was really interesting because it started off as one kind of not as loud kind of vibe.
05:04Yeah.
05:05It was a little more, I don't know, the demo was, was, there was something cool about it, but it wasn't there.
05:11And then we tried like a piano and vocal version.
05:14Yeah.
05:15And we did the whole song, piano and vocal, almost like an album outro was kind of the vibe.
05:20That is what you hear on the, like the bridge of that song.
05:24So the song starts really loud now and continues through the second chorus, just up the entire time.
05:30There's no, like, it doesn't let up.
05:32And then in the bridge, it comes down to a piano and vocal thing.
05:35And that piano and vocal thing was the second demo.
05:37And so like, yeah, that, that, the way the song that came, came together was very different from in our like history of writing songs.
05:43Like we're, I'm always excited when a song, like we can do something different in the, the outcome is different or the like process of making it is different.
05:52Like I, that was definitely one that was very different.
05:55And I think of the three, I hate to say, like, I know that's like kind of like leads people a little bit, but it's probably my favorite of the three.
06:02Yeah, me too.
06:03These three, um, and even on Shatter too, like that was a song for me very early on working with Emily where it's like, oh, we can do that.
06:11Like now, like Emily can do that and that fits and works.
06:14And like that opened a whole door of a bunch of other things that came after it that we were able to figure out really quickly or make work for the album.
06:23Whereas on Shatter, we still kind of like had to tinker with it and figure out how to make that present itself in the best way possible.
06:30How many discussions have you guys had about more songs, more, like more studio time?
06:35Obviously this year is going to be really busy with, with shows, but like from going from, from here into the rest of the year.
06:41Yeah.
06:42I mean, we're thinking about putting a little home studio in the bus.
06:45So, yeah, I mean, we're going to, yeah, we're going to keep it.
06:49We're going to keep it going.
06:50I don't know.
06:50I don't imagine we'll be releasing more stuff this year.
06:53Yeah.
06:54Um, that's just to like manage expectations a little bit, because we are going to be touring really heavily.
07:00Yeah.
07:00We've got U.S. dates and then Europe dates and then U.S. dates again, and then Latin American dates this year, and that's going to keep us very busy.
07:06We'll, we'll, we've got some free time.
07:08But this guy never stops though.
07:10I, I don't.
07:10Well, that's, and that's why I ask.
07:12He says that now.
07:12Because you guys are always tinkering with stuff and thinking about things and, you know, seeing where things fit.
07:18What was it like putting together the, those set lists for the September shows?
07:22And because I, just from my experience as a fan, you guys packed so many songs from so many different areas.
07:30Oh, cool.
07:30I'm glad that's how you felt.
07:32Well, and just, you know, like, I'm not expecting to hear like Thousand Sons is like a personal favorite.
07:37I'm not expecting to hear like Catalyst and Waiting for the End in 2024.
07:42Holding on to what I haven't got.
07:46And I got both, and I was at a show where you guys played Keys to the Kingdom.
07:51Just song after song after song, going through all the eras, mixing in the new songs, like, what was it like just kind of piecing those set lists together?
07:58I think we should play four hours.
08:01Let's go.
08:03The answer would have to be, I would imagine, so different from Emily or Colin versus like me or Mike.
08:12Because I was thinking about it in regards to that as well, and it was.
08:16You know, they're playing long sets.
08:17It's from a ton of different albums.
08:19In addition to that, there's like, I don't know, we're drawing from, if we're playing 30 songs or to make up a number.
08:25We've still like had to rehearse or figure out 40 plus that are going into that.
08:31And I'm always thinking of it in my own head where it's kind of like, okay, these are the three new songs that we're playing.
08:37And then everything else is like stuff that I need to go review and touch on.
08:40But Emily's over here just being like, what is going on?
08:43Like, lyric-wise, everything else, just trying to keep organized.
08:48Okay, we've got.
08:49Oh, you guys, when you play this one live, you don't play it like the album?
08:52Cool.
08:53Thanks.
08:53This is, we changed the bridge, we changed the outro.
08:56It's an entirely different intro.
08:57You'll get it.
08:58You'll get it.
08:58It's fine.
08:59It's a natural.
09:00Like, it feels.
09:01But it is.
09:02Is there a YouTube video of you guys playing it this way?
09:05No, no, it's like there's, it's pieces from different eras of the band.
09:08Like some of it's, you know, 10 years ago, some of it's 20 years ago.
09:11But then some of the videos I've watched, there's like four different versions.
09:15Which one are we playing?
09:16Which one?
09:17The intro is the first version.
09:19A new one.
09:20The bridge is the second one and the outro is brand new.
09:23Colin had so much, I wouldn't say stress, because Colin doesn't wear, isn't a stressed
09:29guy really ever, but so much stress over bleeded out.
09:32And the fact that it's like, at one point I was having a conversation with him just saying,
09:36I don't think we've ever really played it exactly the same twice.
09:40It's always, and sometimes that's on purpose, sometimes not.
09:44But it's like, when you get to the outro of it or whatever, it's a little bit more, you
09:47know, malleable.
09:48And he was kind of like, all right, we'll just, he had to get comfortable with the
09:52idea of, we'll just see where that goes, see what happens.
09:55Okay, we'll do it live.
09:55Yeah.
09:56But that's a, it's a, it's a real compliment, I think, to Emily and Colin both.
10:00But they're like, they're always just, all right, like, let's do it.
10:04Like, I'm, we'll figure it out.
10:06I'm here for it.
10:06Like, I'm excited.
10:07Yeah.
10:08It's, it's been, you've got, like.
10:10And I nail it every time.
10:13That's actually true.
10:14That's actually true.
10:15What is it, Mike and Dave, what was it like?
10:18September 5th show.
10:20Um, and then going into those first couple shows, just the outpouring of emotion from
10:24longtime fans.
10:26Because, you know, this was an enormous thing for them.
10:29You know, it's funny.
10:29I was just reflecting on this a little bit this weekend.
10:33I'm a person who sidelines, like, stress and anxiety a lot.
10:39But it's, I'm not, it's probably only because I'm not good at dealing with it.
10:42But then later on, I deal with it.
10:45And so a lot of that has been sidelined up till now.
10:50And I'm just now feeling, like, some of the stuff that's just, oh my gosh.
10:55Like, my body's telling me, like, oh my gosh, we've been through a lot of stuff in this
10:59last six months to a year to whatever.
11:02Just re-starting the band, re-uniting and connecting with the fan base.
11:10But also, like, internally and individually probably re-configuring, like, how we are
11:18and all of that also.
11:19So it's been a lot.
11:21You know, it's been, it's been a tough journey in some regards in that, in that space.
11:28But it's like, it's so rewarding.
11:30And it's so what I want to be doing.
11:33Like, I don't want to speak for other people.
11:35But it's not all just, like, high fives and rainbows.
11:39Like, it's, it's been a process.
11:41And I think that, I see that in the fan base as well.
11:44You know, I see that journey that, you know, they're on with us in some regards.
11:49In the whole process.
11:51And I think it's a pretty, it's a pretty special thing.
11:55I think the old fans reaction was, like, people who were excited for the band to come back
12:04and liked the new thing and just, like, have been so over the moon.
12:07Like, that has been, that's the best thing you can hope for is to have the people that
12:12were hoping that it, like, oh, guys, get this right.
12:14And then we do it and they're like, you got it right.
12:16That, that's a great, that's very rewarding.
12:18Also, I have daughters and, like, having them see Emily and be like, whoa, that is
12:25so, she is so cool.
12:26They say this all the time.
12:27She knows this already.
12:28But they're like, Emily's so cool.
12:31Really?
12:31They think she's the coolest human on earth.
12:34I can't hear it enough, though.
12:35Yeah, yeah, yeah.
12:36Yeah.
12:37But they're like, dad, you're not that cool.
12:40She's very cool.
12:41And I love seeing that reaction in person with them because it's very, it's what you
12:50hope for as a dad.
12:51You're like, oh, you're like, I want them to be cool.
12:54Like, I want them to have good, like, examples, like, role models of, like, what is, you know,
13:00strong, confident, cool person.
13:02That's the soundbite, by the way.
13:04The last time I saw you guys, it hadn't been announced that you were part of the band yet.
13:09And then a couple weeks later, you know, you're, you make this grand reveal and then
13:14you're playing arena shows, you know, alongside these guys and going through all these songs
13:21and, like, all these cameras are on you.
13:24And, like, was that daunting?
13:26Were you just like, I can't think about it that much and I just got to be in the moment?
13:29Like, what was that, those first few shows like for you?
13:32I mean, as much as I wanted to think and process it, I just couldn't.
13:36It was a lot, you know, I knew I had one job and just don't fuck up, just do your job.
13:43And I think that's what kept me grounded.
13:45And of course, the band, you know, it's like, it's its own, it's a family.
13:50You feel very, very safe in that.
13:52And if that's all you have, that's everything, you know?
13:55So, just being able to just be, you know, sometimes I felt out of my body a lot of the
14:01times, especially in those shows.
14:03Like, you're just, you're there, but you're not there.
14:05You're just like, this, like, again, you can't process it.
14:10So, it's just, you know, it's every feeling you could possibly have and the best of it,
14:15you know?
14:16And so, it's so worth it.
14:19It's so, you know, and I kept thinking to myself, this only happens once, you know?
14:25Enjoy it while it's happening as much as you can, Emily, as much as you can.
14:29I know, you know, and that was the only way I could just learn to accept it, you know?
14:39I remember even, you know, before the shows, like, you guys described yourselves as, like,
14:45protective, like, big brothers, kind of.
14:47Does that still feel like the vibe?
14:49Exactly, yeah, absolutely.
14:50I definitely, yeah, I feel like the, it's not just us being protective of Colin and Emily.
14:58We're also, we were just, we were telling them that because that's how we are with all of us,
15:03like, with each other.
15:03Just, you know, when there's any kind of, I don't know, things that are stressful or adversity
15:09or, like, things that are just hard.
15:1124-hour travel day is hard with, like, cancel flights or, like, you know, being stuck in a
15:18place and you're kind of, like, at the mercy of whatever is happening around you.
15:23All that stuff, you've got this, we've got each other to, like, lean on and it's not,
15:29but I think that's, like, galvanizing or, like, makes us stronger, makes us a better
15:36band to have, like, to go through those things and, like, have each other's back.
15:49The Emptiness Machine was the band's biggest chart hit in 15 years.
15:53Some of those things, by the way, I had to, like, look back before today, I was thinking,
16:00like, I feel like we did really well, but I don't know any of the, like, numbers,
16:05like, any of the stats or data or whatever.
16:07And even when I went back, I'm like, that can't be right.
16:10These, like, these numbers are crazy.
16:12Like, the actual, like, data on, oh, this was our first number one, like, pop number one
16:20in Germany, we did number one in the UK, I was like, oh, I did, I completely forgot.
16:26I think the Emptiness Machine on one of the US rock charts was number one for, like,
16:30how many weeks?
16:31Months, yeah, months.
16:32Yeah, it's been, it was 20, 20-something weeks.
16:35Yeah.
16:3525, 24?
16:36I'm learning all of this in real time.
16:38I did that, I did, like, last time I was, like, two nights ago, I looked it up.
16:42Did you prep to come to the Billboard office?
16:44You were like, I'm going on, I'm studying the Billboard charts.
16:46It was like what Dave was saying, so that was part of it, it's like, oh, we're talking
16:50to Billboard, like, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know what the charts were, I give
16:56it, like, a fuzzy idea of what they were, like, almost like a vibe, look at a vibe for
17:01what they were, that's not, that's, Biller's not doing vibes, Biller's doing numbers, right?
17:06And I'm like, okay, like, I should, like, look at the numbers and be, like, have an understanding
17:10of that, I guess.
17:11And also, it was what Dave was saying, which is, when you're go, go, go, go, go,
17:15you're not absorbing as much, and so when we're on, when we have downtime, you know,
17:22it's been, like, spring break, like, I had some downtime to, like, do a little reflecting
17:27and, like, think about some things, and that was one of those things, like, oh, I didn't
17:32absorb that at the time, and I started, like, absorbing it and being like, that's crazy,
17:37like, it's, it's not a vibe, it's a fact.
17:41It's like, there's, some of the reaction to the music has been the strongest reaction
17:45to anything we put out in, like, four or five albums, like, 15 years.
17:51That's intense.
17:53I'm curious, like, in terms of you guys returning to the music industry after a couple years
17:59away, and already, from the last album in 2017, the industry feels so different in terms
18:05of just, like, marketing an album, releasing songs, releasing videos, like, did it feel
18:09like a sea change?
18:10Yeah, if I have to do one more TikTok dance, I'm telling you, it's, like, it's so exhausting
18:14doing all these, all this content.
18:17She's always dancing, just put the camera on her, I'm just, like, for me, it's a chore.
18:21In the cooking videos, like, I'm just tired of having chef reactions, like, react to my video
18:28and tell me how bad I am.
18:32I'm gonna do makeup tutorials next.
18:34Me too.
18:35Stop biting my style, dude, that's my thing.
18:37I know.
18:37I love doing stuff with the fans where I know they're gonna be, we're gonna play with them
18:42a little bit, like, we're gonna play with their emotions or their expectations, and, I mean,
18:46you think back to, like, when we, so when we launched everything back last year, the first
18:51thing was a countdown timer, and this thing has become a notorious moment in our band's history,
18:56because they didn't know that the album was called From Zero, and so we basically did
19:01this countdown timer that went to zero, and they were expecting a new thing, like, to
19:06happen at zero, and it bounced, and it goes from to zero, and then it goes up to one, and
19:10two, and two, and then they were like, wait, the thing we get is to wait more?
19:15Like, what did the count up do?
19:17And they didn't realize until we, like, actually put out the album title, that's like, oh, it
19:22was the name, that's the name of the album.
19:24Clever.
19:25Our whole fan base still has, like, PTSD, and you put up a timer on anything, and they're
19:29like...
19:30Sorry about that.
19:31Yeah.
19:31They're like...
19:32Have you guys been enjoying, like, all the new memes, and, like, the fan art, and all
19:37that stuff, and that's being free to align?
19:39I've never seen so many GIFs of the band as the ones I see of Emily at this point.
19:46Like, you're a GIF lord.
19:48I'll be texting with friends, and then they end it with a GIF.
19:51I'm like, what?
19:52Of me.
19:52Oh, really?
19:53Of you?
19:53Just, like, boom.
19:54Like a dance one?
19:55Oh, my God.
19:55And I'm like, oh, my God.
19:56It's so funny.
19:57I like the two-faced one.
20:00The two-faced ones are good.
20:01Yeah.
20:01The dancing on stage ones are very...
20:03Yeah.
20:03I'm like, I don't even remember doing some of these dance moves, to be honest.
20:08You don't even realize how many moves you've got.
20:11You've got a lot of moves.
20:11I'm like, I don't move that much on stage.
20:13People are like, are you stupid?
20:16Have you seen the internet?
20:19There's, like, literal proof of all the moves.
20:22You guys are going to see thousands and thousands of people on tour in a couple months.
20:26Hopefully.
20:27Come on.
20:28What message do you want to give them?
20:29They bought tickets.
20:30I mean, I hope they show up.
20:32They got to show up.
20:33In this economy?
20:35What message do you want to give to people who have been with them?
20:37Who have been waiting for this tour and who are waiting for these shows?
20:40We're going to a lot of spots that we haven't been to yet, obviously, in this last couple
20:45months, but additionally, that we haven't been to in a long time, even looking back.
20:49So this is a great opportunity for us to kind of connect with some different places where
20:53we might have never played.
20:55So that's always exciting and fun for us.
20:58It gives us the opportunity to just, you know, see some new faces, play for some new people
21:02that have never been to a show.
21:04Yeah, I can't think of the last time we went to, like, Raleigh or Grand Rapids.
21:08Like, it's been a minute.
21:09We haven't even been.
21:10Like, there's a lot of spots like Nashville that we haven't even played in forever.
21:14That's just the U.S. alone.
21:15But I think that that's always fun.
21:18Like, that's cool to be able to do some different things in different spaces that we haven't
21:23done before.
21:24And I'm looking forward to that.
21:25And a beautiful time of the year.
21:27Yeah.
21:27That's a good point.
21:28There you go, guys.
21:29Last question.
21:30Do you guys have a favorite, like, Billboard moment or achievement?
21:34Billboard Music Awards.
21:35You have topped charts.
21:37You have topped.
21:38Emptiness Machine has been weeks at number one, like we were talking about.
21:42Do you have something that...
21:43Literally all of it for me.
21:46Whole thing.
21:47Yeah, it is very...
21:48The whole thing.
21:48It's been a lot.
21:49It's been very overwhelming.
21:51I agree.
21:52It's a lot.
21:53It's a lot to be grateful for.
21:55Yeah.
21:55I think is where I'm coming from.
21:58I think, too, for me, at this current moment in, like, music, and we talked a little bit
22:03about the industry and that kind of thing, it's so difficult to judge how or if things are
22:09landing with people.
22:10I think one thing that I do appreciate about Billboard is that there's still a space where
22:14you're getting a version of data that's telling you what is working, you know, what people
22:20are listening to or where they're landing with what you've released.
22:25So, in this most recent version of what we're doing, I've definitely appreciated that.
22:31It's been great, guys.
22:33It's been okay.
22:34Yeah?
22:34Just fine.
22:35This has been fine.
22:36First one of the day.
22:37Oh, finally.
22:39I'm exhausted.
22:39What an exhausting day.
22:42I'm just getting started.
22:43Jason, cheers.