Linkin Park recently honored their fallen leader Chester Bennington with a special and star-studded memorial concert, but what the future holds for the band beyond that is still uncertain. The band isn’t really quite sure how they’re going to proceed either, but one thing it seems we can definitively cross out is the idea of Linkin Park touring with a hologram version of Bennington.
Mike Shinoda hosted a live Q&A on Instagram a few days ago, and was asked about performing with a hologram Bennington, he made it very clear that he has no desire to do that whatsoever:
“I can’t even wrap my head around the idea of a holographic Chester. I’ve actually heard other people outside the band suggest that, and there’s absolutely no way. I cannot f-ck with that. […] I can’t do a hologram Chester. That would be the worst. For any of you guys who have lost a loved one, best friend, family member, can you imagine having a hologram of them? Awful. I can’t do it. I don’t know what we’re gonna do – but, you know, we’ll figure it out eventually.”
It seems like it would definitely be a challenge for Shinoda to perform alongside a fake version of his friend: That Instagram broadcast was also a listening party for the band’s new album One More Light, and he actually had to end the stream early because he got too emotional hearing Bennington’s voice, as he explained on Twitter:
“I did a listening party on Instagram Live today for the new album. I left early, and didn’t really give a reason. To be honest, it was because it’s hard for me to listen to Chester’s voice for that long. I‘m fine, I just wanted you to know. Thanks for understanding.”
I did a listening party on Instagram Live today for the new album. I left early, and didn’t really give a reason. To be honest, it was because it’s hard for me to listen to Chester’s voice for that long. I‘m fine, I just wanted you to know. Thanks for understanding. 🙏🏽❤️
— Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) December 16, 2017
Watch Shinoda’s full Instagram Live video below.
