Watch Teens React to Mike Shinoda Reacting to Teens Reacting to Linkin Park
No, you're not in a deleted scene from the mind-warping Christopher Nolan film Inception and yes, you read that headline correctly. The Kids / Teens React YouTube series has become a favorite of ours at Loudwire as it offers the chance to strip away nostalgic bias as children and teenagers react to what is often times their very first impression of some of the world's leading rock and metal acts, such as Linkin Park.
In the first go around in this sub-series, a group of teenagers weighed in on the band, ranging from tracks off their meteoric debut, Hybrid Theory, which essentially perfected the rap / rock... hybrid. When Linkin Park's new pop song "Heavy" came on, it left them confused and their comments were then digested and reacted to by co-vocalist and guitarist Mike Shinoda. Keeping the carousel whirling, the teens were then placed in the unenviable and awkward position of watching Shinoda respond to their sometimes harsh comments and, in turn, react to the video.
So, how did it go? As you can imagine, many of the teens scrunched their faces as the red in their cheeks deepened. One fan, Daniel (18), called Linkin Park's new direction "pop s--t" and Shinoda laughed at the remark, taking it all in stride. "I did not expect this to happen — wow! It's a really interesting feeling when one of your favorite artists is listening — you see them take in your criticism," said Daniel.
A good sport, Shinoda, in his reaction video, asked if he can send shirts to the teens featured in the first reaction compilation. He made good on this promise, surprising the group as they beamed with excitement over the gift. "I'm still dead on the inside. This is too much to handle. This shirt — I will remember this as the shirt where I got s--t on by Mike Shinoda," exclaimed Daniel.
To see what Shinoda said about the other positive and negative comments the teens made, watch the full video above.
Despite the harsh comments from fans about Linkin Park's pop-centric One More Light album, the new record topped the Billboard 200 with 111,000 units moved in its debut week. Catch the group on tour this summer with support coming from Machine Gun Kelly and see all the stops here.
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