Rumor has it that Deryck Whibley of Sum 41 will be the new frontman of the reunited Linkin Park.
Speculation that the singer will take the place of the nu-metal stars’ late singer Chester Bennington began last night (August 26), with the account Sum 41 X (formerly Twitter) posting an image that simply read: “Tune in Wednesday morning (August 28), Deryck Whibley announcement.”
The post was published during a cryptic countdown that began on Linkin Park’s social media accounts on Saturday (August 24). The countdown, which is set to last 100 hours, will end on Wednesday, August 28. It was shared online by the social media account of US festival Welcome To Rockville, inspiring theories that Linkin Park will return to the live arena in 2025.
The timing of the two posts has led fans to believe that Whibley is joining Linkin Park. “Holy shit he’s the new singer of Linkin Park,” is the most popular response to Sum 41’s X-post. “I’m a huge Linkin Park fan,” adds another commenter. “There’s no way this has anything to do with Linkin Park OMGGGG,” writes another.
Linkin Park ceased its activities in 2017 after Bennington died at the age of 41. The band played a tribute concert for the frontman in October of this year with numerous singers, including Whibley for the song The catalystand have not performed together since. Whibley performed at the Reading Festival in 2018 with Linkin Park singer and multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda to cover the 2003 song “The Last Man”. Weak.
Rumors of a Linkin Park comeback began in April when Jay Gordon of industrial rockers Orgy, who had previously worked with the band, said they would reactivate. He later retracted his statement.
A Billboard A report in May added fuel to the fire. Several sources told the publication that the band would return for a tour in 2025. However, Billboard and Gordon reported that Linkin Park will return with a singer to fill in for Bennington, possibly casting doubt on Whibley’s involvement.
Whibley has fronted Sum 41 since 1996, but the punks are currently in the midst of a farewell tour. The band will begin the North American leg next month before playing Europe in October and November and Australia in December. The dates will conclude with a show in Sum 41’s native Canada in January 2025.
Whibley will publish an autobiography, Walking Disaster: My Life Through Heaven and Hellon October 8th via Gallery Books. From October 8th to 11th he will undertake a short reading tour through the USA.
