SUM 41's DERYCK WHIBLEY: 'I Am Not Joining LINKIN PARK'

SUM 41's Deryck Whibley has shot down rumors that he is joining LINKIN PARK.

Speculation that Whibley would front a reactivated LINKIN PARK was fueled largely by the fact that Deryck's social media teased yesterday (August 26) that he would be making some kind of announcement on Wednesday, August 28, seemingly coinciding with the countdown on LINKIN PARK's social media channels, set to expire on the same day.

Earlier today, Deryck released the following statement: "I feel the need to dispel some current rumors.

"It's been brought to my attention that many people think I could be joining a reuniting band. But I just want to say, despite popular belief, I am not joining OASIS… or LINKIN PARK. Or any other band for that matter.

"I have my own 'tour and book' announcement that I will now move to the end of the week, ahead of our U.S. tour.

"I do look forward to seeing whatever both these amazing bands do in the future."

LINKIN PARK launched the mysterious 100-hour countdown timer on its web site and official social media accounts on Saturday, August 24. The same countdown timer was shared by the Instagram account of Welcome To Rockville, fueling speculation that some of the band's surviving members will perform at next year's edition of the Danny Wimmer Presents-produced festival, set to take place May 15-18, 2025 in Daytona Beach, Florida. The countdown timer is scheduled to end on Wednesday, August 28 at 11:00 a.m. PDT.

This past May, Billboard reported that LINKIN PARK was considering a possible 2025 reunion tour with a female vocalist stepping in for late lead singer Chester Bennington.

LINKIN PARK's booking agency WME was reportedly taking offers for a potential tour along with headlining festival dates that would feature Mike Shinoda, Brad Delson and Dave Farrell, Billboard's sources said.

One of the sources told Billboard that LINKIN PARK was hoping to find a female vocalist to front the reunited band, a rumor which was first started in April by ORGY frontman Jay Gordon who mentioned during a radio interview that he had "heard" that LINKIN PARK was working with a "girl singer now". When pressed, Gordon continued by saying: "Don't quote me on that. I'm not sure who the singer is going to be, but I heard it was gonna be female. They might just try to move on like that. That ought to be interesting." Jay later seemingly walked back his comments, writing in a Facebook post that he knew "nothing about any of that" and accused "people" of taking his words "out of context.".

SUM 41 is currently in the middle of a farewell tour and will play its final shows in January 2025.