As part of Jimmy Kimmel Live’s Mash Up Mondays, the English soul singer Joss Stone teamed up with veteran grunge rockers Stone Temple Pilots for a live performance of Interstate Love Song last night. The soulful take on the ’90s grunge rock hit gig comes right as Chester Bennington, the Linkin Park frontman who replaced original singer Scott Weiland in 2013, announced his departure.
Also known for hits like Plush and Creep, the band noted in a statement recently that they’re looking for Bennington’s replacement. “There is an abundance of new music written, some of which is already recorded. We have had the fortune of playing with some very talented singers over the last few months and will continue to do so until each of us feels and knows when the right person arrives.”
Bennington, who left to focus on Linkin Park and his family, recorded a two-song EP and did some touring with the band. “The last few years have been an amazing experience,” said the frontman in a statement. “I got to create and perform with one of the greatest rock bands of our generation, that had so much influence on me growing up. With the amount of time STP deserves, in addition to being in Linkin Park, and with the needs of my family, one of them always seems to fall short.”
As for Joss Stone, the 28 year-old singer who has sold more than 14 million albums worldwide recently released Water For Your Soul in July. For her seventh record, she delves into reggae and hip hop. “The creation of the album has been going on for a while and I certainly had no idea what was getting myself into when I started it,” she said to British publication Official Charts earlier this year.”The songs on the album Wake Up and Underworld I wrote ages ago, with no real plan of them going on a record. Then I met Damien Marley when we were working on the Superheavy stuff and we started writing songs in the spare time we had between the sessions. I developed such a strong love for reggae music.”
Past musician mash-ups put together by Jimmy Kimmel include eclectic groupings like Weezer and ZZ Top (dubbed Wee-Z-Top), Kenny G and Warren G (Kenny and Warren G), and REO Speedwagon and Imagine Dragons (REO SpeedDragons).