Did Linkin Park's Plans for a New Singer Just Get Leaked?

Could Linkin Park be planning their return to the music scene with a new singer? During a recent interview, Orgy frontman Jay Gordon shared some of the speculation he's heard about the band's plans and some interesting information about the direction they're supposedly going for a new vocalist.

UPDATE (April 3, 2024): Jay Gordon has since issued a statement and an additional comment regarding what he said about Linkin Park and a potential new singer.

What Did Jay Gordon Say About Linkin Park?

Gordon was speaking with KCAL 96.7's RadioActive Mike Z. for his Wired in the Empire weekend radio show as the pair were reminiscing about the singer's history with Linkin Park. Orgy took Linkin Park on their first tour and Gordon later remixed "Pts.OF.Athrty" for the band's Reanimation remix album.

It was during the discussion that Gordon tipped some activity in the Linkin Park camp.

“Very, very cool guys and obviously a great band. They’ve been around a long time and they’re still going for it," remarked the singer. "It’s going to be tough without Chester [Bennington], but we’ll see. I hear they got a girl singer now. That’s what I heard.”

After Mike Z. posited whether the band might return some day, Gordon walked back his comment some, adding, “Don’t quote me on that. 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.”

Orgy's Jay Gordon Speaks With Wired in the Empire's RadioActive Mike Z

What Have Linkin Park Been Up to Since Chester Bennington's Death?

After Bennington's 2017 passing, the band reunited onstage one more time for a tribute show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles celebrating Bennington's life and the band's music with many of their peers stepping in to handle vocal duties.

Following the emotional performance, the group went on hiatus. Mike Shinoda has since pursued a solo career and become active in producing other artists as well, being the most visible member of the group since they put recording and touring on hold.

YouTube: Linkin Park

Linkin Park have largely remained in the public eye through celebration of their past works, delving into putting together special 20th anniversary packages for their Hybrid Theory debut and Meteora sophomore set.

Earlier this year, they also announced the career-spanning Papercuts singles compilation that's due on April 12.

The singles "She Couldn't," "Lost," "Fighting Myself" and more recently "Friendly Fire" have all come from the reissue album anniversary and singles compilation packages.

In April 2022, Mike Shinoda revealed during a Twitch livestream that the band members still talked regularly, but that there were no tours, no music and no albums in the pipeline.

READ MORE: Are Linkin Park Emo?

Which Women Vocalists Have Ties to Linkin Park?

With speculation often comes fans trying to connect the dots to those with ties to the group. So let's name some of the names of those who have associations with the band:

Chester Bennington Tribute Show Performers

Alanis Morissette was the biggest name of all the female performers joining Linkin Park at the Chester Bennington tribute show, but Morissette has already announced touring plans for 2024.

The tribute show also featured up-and-coming singers such as Ilsey Huber and Kiiara, with the latter already having a close tie to Linkin Park when she duetted with Chester Bennington on the One More Light song "Heavy."

Linkin Park, "Heavy" (ft. Kiiara)

The show also featured Echosmith's Sydney Sierota, acclaimed pop songwriter and artist Julia Michaels and pop star Bebe Rexha.

Mike Shinoda Collaborators

Mike Shinoda has kept the door open for guests on a number of his solo works. The most intriguing of these names might be K. Flay, who was part of Shinoda's song "Make It Up as I Go." She's had some inroads with alt-rock as well as pop music.

Other collaborators include Upsahl, who appeared on the single "Happy Endings" and Kailee Morgue who guests on the more recent hit "In My Head."

Who Else?

Halestorm's Lzzy Hale honored Chester Bennington at the 2017 Loudwire Music Awards. Her powerful voice could certainly broach the range of Bennington's more melodic work with his screams.

Plus she's shown the ability to work well with others, having appeared on songs with Daughtry, Nita Strauss, Device, Lindsey Stirling, Evanescence, GWAR and others. She's also signed on to sing for Skid Row on a number of shows this year.