Chester Bennington was so distraught about the death of Chris Cornell in May that he couldn’t get through the song “One More Light” during a taping of Jimmy Kimmel Live.
In a May interview with Radio.com posted Thursday – the day Bennington took his own life – bandmate Mike Shinoda said the band chose to play the title track from their new album instead of the single “Heavy” after hearing about Cornell’s death.
“It’s about the loss of a friend,” he explained.
Shinoda said during soundcheck, Bennington struggled to get through the song. “He was getting halfway through and getting choked up,” he said.
“Even when we did play the whole song … he kinda just stopped before the end. He missed the last couple lines of it – he just couldn’t finish the song.”
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Shinoda said performing “One More Light” in tribute to Cornell was cathartic.
“The message of the song is: when you’re dealing with something so deep as losing a friend or in this case even just somebody you admire, someone you look up to, one of the things you can do is to reach out to people and offer them community,” he said. “Let them know we’re a family, we’re a community, we care about each other.
“Whether it’s a friend who’s lost somebody or a family member or whatever, to reach out and let them know even that you’re thinking about them… sometimes that’s enough.”
Watch the Linkin Park performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live: