Spiritbox singer Courtney LaPlante recently spoke with Allison Hagendorf and discussed Emily Armstrong’s role in Linkin Park, particularly the challenges Armstrong faces in replacing Chester Bennington.
LaPlante shared her thoughts on the criticism Armstrong has received, acknowledging how difficult it is to take on the legacy of someone like Bennington.
“It’s really hard. it’s hard because you have to be respectful and acknowledge that you didn’t create that music and then you have to feel and resonate with it and put your own spin on it,” she explained. “I can’t imagine having to deal with that, and also dealing with like a legacy.”
“Aside from the technical difficulty, people that aren’t professional singers don’t understand how physically difficult the way Chester wrote stuff is, because he doesn’t bend into a lot of notes,” the singer continued. “He’s very on the note and it’s extremely hard to sing slowly. People think that being really agile is the only vocal technical thing but singing really slowly and like having all your breaths be very placed very specifically is extremely difficult.”
LaPlante went on to say that, in her own experience, it can sometimes be easier to ‘rip through something,’ but Bennington’s style required hitting a consistent note very precisely: “Sometimes it’s a lot easier for me to just rip through something but very on the note always not bending into the note, not sliding off the note, but like hitting a consistent note really hard. So wrestling with the emotional part of it, the legacy part, and then the technical part [is] really hard and a lot of pressure on a lot of pressure.”
Armstrong joined Linkin Park in September, and since then, she has faced backlash from fans, accusing her of ‘copying’ Bennington. In an interview, she responded to the pressure by saying, There is so much to this band — this is a very, very important band to this world,” the singer replied in an interview when asked if she felt pressure. “And the integrity of the band was really helpful in keeping me grounded. There were so many of those moments where it was like, ‘Holy sh*t,’ when you talk about the size of the shows, stuff like that. I’m on cloud nine, but then it hits you that there’s a lot of work to be done.”
The singer also shared her perspective on her role in the band, comparing her contribution to Chester’s. “[I had] to identify what the song meant to me as a singer, not just as someone listening to it. You got to marry the technical part and the emotion. It’s Chester’s voice, and it’s mine, but I want it to still feel the way I feel when I listen to the song, because that’s what the fans love. There is a passion to it that I’m hoping I can fill.”
Even after the criticism from some fans, Armstrong has received support from rockers like Gene Simmons, Jacoby Shaddix, and Alicia Taylor, who have spoken out in her favor both in interviews and on social media.
