As many have probably heard, Linkin Park released their new album “One More Light” on May 19, 2017. At first, fans were thrilled to learn about the new album. However, they quickly came to realize that the band had shifted their genre to more of a pop style of music rather than rock. They received numerous types of responses from people.

In one case, the album is greatly hated by all those who expected more of Linkin Park’s rap metal rock. Therefore, “One More Light” caused huge controversy from fans. As the Washington Post brilliantly puts it, “As an exercise in branding, it’s a disaster roughly akin to Linkin Park dragging their entire fan base, kicking and screaming, off an overbooked United flight.” Indeed many people posted comments on YouTube such as “You were supposed to destroy Pop, not join them!” and “If I want to listen to cheap pop music then I’ll go listen to Justin Bieber.” The sudden change was a complete shock but the band leader, Chester Bennington stands his ground and has even backlashed at his fans during interviews. What he said went something along the lines of who cares about those people who don’t like the album, “we don’t want them as fans anyways. By now, if people don’t know that we can throw a curveball…” then too bad for them. (His interviews are not appropriate for a high school newspaper but feel free to look some up.) Many fans also complained that the only reason the band changed their style was for the money. It’s no surprise to anyone that pop music is the most popular form of music, especially among teens and young people. In fact, several people have commented that the album sounds like a 90s boy band targeted at teenage girls. If one has heard their previous albums such as “Meteora” or “Hybrid Theory,” they are nothing like the new album.

On the other side, some people loved the change in style that the band adopted. They instead argue that the band’s new style is just a way for them to grow rather than a set-back. Some of the YouTube comments read as, “I like it when Linkin Park continues to grow… bringing their own rendition of pop music this time around” and “Different doesn’t mean bad.” Several have been ardent fans of Linkin Park and don’t mind the transition. In fact, the album has grown so popular that it reached 1 on the Artist’s Billboard 100 chart. Roxane Fournier (9) adds, “Although I like Linkin Park’s old albums, this one has some really good songs. If you forget that it’s them then it’s actually pretty good.” Linkin Park’s change in style may actually be due to their desire of targeting a younger audience. Music for teens nowadays is more focused on hip-hop or pop rather than rock, so making an album like “One More Light” could definitely help with broadening the audience. The album also uses less bad words than their previous albums which makes it more accessible to younger people.

Some questions still remain: Should bands drastically change their styles of music, or should they keep their same style? Did they do it for the money or for the reason they give? It’s difficult to know for sure and only time will tell if Linkin Park made the right decision in changing their style of music.

Sources: youtube.com, fuse.tv, washingtonpost.com, theringer.com

Listen to the full album below.