Linkin Park is a highly successful American rock band that formed in 1996 in Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup consists of founding members Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson, Dave Farrell, Joe Hahn, and Rob Bourdon. Former members of the band include vocalists Mark Wakefield and Chester Bennington.
Categorized as alternative rock, Linkin Park's earlier music fused heavy metal and hip hop, while their later music incorporates more electronica and pop elements. The band rose to international fame with their debut studio album, Hybrid Theory (2000), which became certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The album's singles, including "One Step Closer," "Crawling," and "In the End," received heavy airplay on MTV and charted highly on the US Mainstream Rock chart. "In the End" also crossed over to the nation's Billboard Hot 100.
Linkin Park continued their success with their second album, Meteora (2003), which explored themes of personal struggle and faith. The band then experimented with different sounds on their third album, Minutes to Midnight (2007), which showcased their evolving musical style.
By the end of the decade, Linkin Park had become one of the most successful and popular rock acts of their time. They are among the best-selling bands of the 21st century, having sold over 100 million records worldwide. The band has won numerous awards, including two Grammy Awards, six American Music Awards, two Billboard Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards, 10 MTV Europe Music Awards, and three World Music Awards.
MTV2 named Linkin Park the sixth-greatest band of the music video era and the third-best of the new millennium in 2003. Billboard ranked Linkin Park No. 19 on the Best Artists of the Decade list. In 2012, the band was voted as the greatest artist of the 2000s in a Bracket Madness poll on VH1. Kerrang! declared them as "The Biggest Rock Band in the World Right Now" in 2014. Linkin Park's music continues to be influential and beloved by fans around the world.
