During a recent appearance on the “Mythical Kitchen’s Last Meals” podcast, Mike Shinoda shared an intriguing ‘what-if’ scenario about LINKIN PARK’s early days. He revealed that the band’s original concept nearly excluded him from the lineup, a decision that was almost finalized.

 

This pivotal moment underscores how LINKIN PARK’s journey—and the iconic dynamic between Shinoda and Chester Bennington—could have taken a vastly different path if their record label hadn’t eventually supported their vision.

Shinoda explained: “When you’re young and you’re new at a label, they’re doing their best to try to sell records. They want to get the thing that’s the hit. In the process of making Hybrid Theory, they weren’t hearing it. I can’t explain that, we were positive that it was good. More importantly, we felt like this is us on this record”

“They went to Chester and got him alone in the studio and were like, ‘Look man, this is all about you! You’re the star here! Let’s just build this project around you because, what you guys are making, we don’t get it.”

Bennington was straightforward. Shinoda remembered the exact response his friend had given to the label: “He went immediately from that conversation back to us and said, ‘This is what just happened.’ And we were like, ‘Oh no, thanks for telling us. What did you tell them?’ ‘I told them to go f**k themselves.’