Sum 41 frontman Deryck Whibley has responded to the rumours that he’s set to become the new vocalist of Linkin Parl. Furthermore, he’s also jokingly denied he’s set to participate in the Oasis reunion.
As things often do in the contemporary era, speculation grew online earlier this week after Sum 41 posted on social media on August 26th, urging fans to “tune in” on the morning of the 28th PST for a “Deryck Whibley announcement”.
The rumours were also fuelled after Linkin Park shared a mysterious countdown post on social media on August 24th. Again, fans eagerly speculated about what it could mean, with a new frontman or album two popular contenders. Elsewhere, things also took on a more comedic light after the news broke that Britpop legends Oasis are reforming.
This is a particularly compelling post from Linkin Park, given the fact they have been on an indefinite hiatus since the tragic death of frontman Chester Bennington in 2017. Only two months before the heartbreaking passing, the group released their most recent album, One More Light. Since that record, they have only released 20th-anniversary editions of their first two LPs, Hybrid Theory and Meteora, and this year’s greatest hits compilation, Papercuts.
Although heavily speculation has surrounded Whibley joining Linking Park, it’s not without reason. In 2018, the ‘Fat Lip’ group welcomed Linkin Park’s second vocalist and rapper Mike Shinoda on stage at Reading Festival to perform ‘Faint’ from Meteora with Whibley taking on Bennington’s parts.
Whibley has denied all the rumours linking him to Linkin Park. In an Instagram post shared on August 27th, he wrote: “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.”
He then revealed that he has a solo “tour and book” announcement that has now been moved to the end of the week because of the erroneous gossip. He added: “I do look forward to seeing whatever both these amazing bands do in the future”.
The speculation surrounding the Sum 41 frontman also follows the announcement on September 19th, 2023, that he had been hospitalised with Covid-19 and pneumonia, which resulted in heart failure.