Linkin Park teamed up with America’s Got Talent winner Nene Royal for a performance of 2024 single The Emptiness Machine during the results show of the US talent competition last night.
16-year-old Royal performed with the Diamond-selling nu metal icons shortly before being named as the winner of this year’s series at the end of the show. She also joined The Warning onstage and jammed the Mexican alt-rockers’ song Kerosene. Watch both performances below.
Royal, the first Thai woman to ever win America’s Got Talent, became a fan-favourite through the series thanks to her vocal and guitar covers of such rock and heavy metal acts as The Cranberries, Soundgarden and Muse. Her winning performance took place at the grand final on Tuesday, when she covered The White Stripes’ signature track Seven Nation Army.
Linkin Park’s appearance precedes the theatrical release of their new documentary/concert film, Unshatter, next week. Directed by band member Joe Hahn, the film follows the band’s return from their extended hiatus, which began shortly after lead singer Chester Bennington died in July 2017, aged 41. It features archival recordings, clips from the sessions for their 2024 comeback album, From Zero, and footage from a show in São Paulo, Brazil on their 2024 tour.
From Zero was released on November 15, 2024, and was the band’s first album to feature Emily Armstrong, who replaced Bennington, and drummer Colin Brittain, replacing co-founder Rob Bourdon. The album topped charts worldwide and has already sold more than 1,600,000 units or equivalent.
In June, Linkin Park became the first band with a female vocalist to headline Download at Donington Race Track, the largest rock and heavy metal festival in the UK. Vocalist/multi-instrumentalist Mike Shinoda responded to the distinction during a BBC interview that weekend.
“So, I’ll start with the fact that I don’t feel like I should be answering the question, that Emily should be answering, so I went and asked her, because she can’t be here right now,” he said.
“I asked her and she said: ‘If it wasn’t us, it would’ve just been someone else, because there are so many great female-fronted bands.’ But, she’s so grateful, she wanted you guys to know, she’s so grateful that she is the one and that she’ll remember it forever.”
The band have no future live shows announced at time of publication.
