Hear Linkin Park’s Mike Shinoda marry alt.pop, hip-hop and the hope of a 2021 to remember on Happy Endings

Mike Shinoda
(Image credit: Mike Shinoda)

“This whole last year was a shit show...”

Credit to Mike Shinoda, he knows how to make an entrance. Linkin Park’s frontman returns to the fray with new single Happy Endings, an upbeat, wry reflection on shaking off the new year blues and taking 2021 by the horns. 

Paired with Phoenix, Arizona pop star Upsahl and Puerto Rican-born, Texas-based rapper Iann Dior, Shinoda’s new single hangs around the optimistic chorus lyric, “Still, at least in my mind, I’m feeling like I’m the hero that saves me”, and offers hope that maybe the year ahead might just be one worth celebrating, a welcome shot of positivity we could all appreciate right now.

Shinoda’s PR team have proudly informed us that, this week, the LA-based rapper became the first major label artist to launch a single via NFT auction. This, apparently, has something to do with cryptocurrency authorities, but we'll level with you here, they might as well have told us that Shinoda composed the song by synthesising unicorn urine and uploading the stem files into ProTools. Whatever, the final top 10 bidders will each receive an original print of the single artwork signed by Shinoda and contemporary artist Cain Caser, with proceeds from the auction benefitting the ArtCenter College of Design, which sounds like a good thing. So, well done everyone.

Metal Hammer

Founded in 1983, Metal Hammer is the global home of all things heavy. We have breaking news, exclusive interviews with the biggest bands and names in metal, rock, hardcore, grunge and beyond, expert reviews of the lastest releases and unrivalled insider access to metal's most exciting new scenes and movements. No matter what you're into – be it heavy metal, punk, hardcore, grunge, alternative, goth, industrial, djent or the stuff so bizarre it defies classification – you'll find it all here, backed by the best writers in our game.