Lerner & Rowe Music News

Mike Shinoda dives into origins of Linkin Park’s “new, old song” “Lost”

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Warner Records

Linkin Park‘s “Lost” certainly hasn’t had trouble finding listeners.

The newly unearthed song — which dates back to the sessions for LP’s 2003 Meteora album and features lead vocals by the late Chester Bennington — is the #1 single on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart and hit the top 40 on the all-genre Hot 100 ranking.

“It’s been really nice to see so many people react to [‘Lost’] and connect to [it],” co-vocalist Mike Shinoda tells ABC Audio.

“Lost” is making its debut two decades later, ahead of the upcoming 20th anniversary Meteora reissue.

“It’s a new, old song,” Shinoda laughs. “It’s a very weird release. I don’t think we’ve ever had a new, old song.”

Given its huge success, you might wonder why “Lost” didn’t make the track list for the original Meteora.

“In making the album, we had 20-something songs, 20-something demos,” Shinoda explains. “Then eventually, it was, like, ‘OK, there’s gonna be 12 songs on the album,’ and ‘Lost’ was #13.”

“It became obvious that we already had ‘Numb’ on the album,” he continues. “We thought [‘Lost’] was similar in tone, so we didn’t want another song like that.”

Linkin Park would then follow Metora with 2007’s Minutes to Midnight, which marked a significant sonic departure from the nu-metal of the group’s first two albums.

“We intended to put [‘Lost’] out in some way after [Meteora],” Shinoda shares. “But by the time we got to the next album, Minutes to Midnight, it was obvious that we weren’t going to do that.”

The 20th anniversary Meteora package will be released April 7.

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