Mike Shinoda would have wanted success for Linkin Park “without being recognisable”

nme.com:

Mike Shinoda has stated that he would have wanted success for Linkin Park “without being recognisable” in a new op-ed.The singer and producer reflected on Linkin Park’s 2003 sophomore album ‘Meteora’ – which celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2023 – in a new op-ed written for The Guardian.

In the piece, he wrote about his discomfort with growing visibility as the band rose in popularity at the time. “Fame was never a priority.

But it happened,” wrote Shinoda, before stating that he and Chester Bennington did not want to be seen as the faces of Linkin Park.“If the photographer had it their way, it would just be Chester, or me and Chester, but we wanted people to know that this band was all of us, not just the singers at the front,” he added. “Linkin Park being well known or well regarded was a blessing, but would I have wanted the band to be successful without being recognisable?

Probably. The fame aspect of my career always felt odd.”Elsewhere in the article, Shinoda recalled the lead-up to recording the band’s sophomore LP, in which they toured relentlessly. “We were going from city to city all over the world without any breaks for 18 months,” he recounted. “I was rarely home – to the extent that I let the lease go on my apartment.