BURBANK, CALIFORNIA – SEPTEMBER 05: Emily Armstrong of Linkin Park performs during a global … [+] livestream at Warner Bros. Studios on September 05, 2024 in Burbank, California. Linkin Park’s comeback single “The Emptiness Machine” grants the band their twenty-fifth top 10 hit on a pair of Billboard charts as it debuts. (Photo by Timothy Norris/Getty Images for Warner Music)
Linkin Park fans have been waiting to learn what the future of the band might hold for years now. Lead singer Chester Bennington died in 2017, and since then, the group hasn’t produced new music—until just a few days ago, that is. The rockers recently announced to the world that they have a new singer, album, tour, and single, and immediately after dropping their first new track in more than half a decade, it became a bestseller.
“The Emptiness Machine” was released with just six hours left to go in one tracking week, and yet, it performed well enough to reach a number of Billboard charts. Not only does Linkin Park’s first single in years land on several tallies, it sold well enough to become an instant top 10 smash on more than one—and it’s special for multiple reasons.
Linkin Park earns their milestone twenty-fifth top 10 hit on a pair of charts this week. Between the two tallies where the song marks a milestone win, “The Emptiness Machine” starts highest on the Hard Rock Digital Song Sales chart. The band nearly conquered that tally, as the single opens at No. 2 this frame.
“The Emptiness Machine” also helps Linkin Park score their twenty-fifth placement inside the top 10 on the Rock Digital Song Sales tally. That list is a little more all-encompassing than its hard rock counterpart, so the new single doesn’t launch quite as high on that list. Linkin Park’s new tune opens at No. 7 on that roster.
Linkin Park even manages to pass the 25 top 10 hits landmark with “The Emptiness Machine” on another ranking. The track, which is the first to feature new singer Emily Armstrong, kicks off its time on the Alternative Digital Song Sales chart at No. 4. It’s the band’s twenty-sixth track to reach the top 10.
“The Emptiness Machine” likewise manages to enter the loftiest tier on one more chart, though it’s not a milestone appearance for the Grammy winners. On the Hot Hard Rock Songs ranking, the just-released tune starts at No. 7, becoming the group’s sixth cut to settle between Nos. 1 and 10.
Linkin Park’s comeback single clearly relied most heavily on sales to approach the upper reaches of most of the aforementioned charts. Luminate reports that in just the first quarter-day the song was available, “The Emptiness Machine” sold a little less than 1,300 copies. That sum is sure to soar after the first full tracking week has passed.
ForbesLinkin Park Comes Close To Another No. 1 Smash, But Misses The Mark–For NowBy Hugh McIntyre
