Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley has revealed he will be making an announcement tomorrow (August 28), the same day Linkin Park are set to do the same. What could this possibly mean?
Update: Deryck Whibley has issued a statement on socials explaining that his announcement is not about joining Linkin Park or "any other band for that matter."
"I feel the need to dispel some current rumors," Whibley writes. "It’s been brought to my attention that many people think I could be joining a reuniting band. But I just want to say, despite popular belief, I am not joining Oasis.... Or Linkin Park. Or any other band for that matter.
"I have my own “tour and book” announcement that I will now move to the end of the week, ahead of our US tour," he continues.
He concludes, "I do look forward to seeing whatever both these amazing bands do in the future."
Both announcements are set for Wednesday morning, which has led to rampant speculation.
Whibley is currently sunsetting Sum 41, who are closing out their farewell tour and will play their final show together on January 30, 2025 at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON. This means his schedule for a potential run next year with a famous nu-metal band is totally clear.
Last December, Whibley told iHeartRadio Canada's Jesse and JD, "I'd like to put some focus and energy into something else." Could that something else be Linkin Park???
Linkin Park, meanwhile, have been rumoured to be searching for a new singer, following the unexpected death of frontman Chester Bennington in 2017.
Back in the spring, word leaked from Orgy singer Jay Gordon in an appearance on the Wired In The Empire podcast that the band was looking to bring in a female vocalist. This then led to speculation that said vocalist would be Evanescence singer Amy Lee, however, she shot down any hypothesizing of her fronting Linkin Park in during an interview with iHeartRadio Canada's Jesse and JD.
There is some history between Sum 41 and Linkin Park to link the two bands: they did perform together for a couple of European dates on the latter's One More Light World Tour in 2017, and the following year, Mike Shinoda joined Sum 41 onstage at the Reading Festival to cover Linkin Park's "Faint."
So make of that what you will.
Wednesday 8/28 - AM PST pic.twitter.com/cPsofXF5MS
— Sum 41 (@Sum41) August 26, 2024
https://t.co/81TjG5cyAZ pic.twitter.com/0fS6zYIeQs
— LINKIN PARK (@linkinpark) August 24, 2024