Campaign: Get Linkin Park’s One More Light to Number one the week of 7/20 for Suicide Awareness.
On July 20th, 2017, two months after the release of ‘One More Light‘, Chester Bennington died by suicide, sending shockwaves throughout the music world and devastating his many millions of fans worldwide.
Tributes poured in from worldwide, highlighting the incredible impact Chester had on so many people. He inspired an entire generation of people through the music he created in Linkin Park (as well as Dead By Sunrise et Grey Daze). His voice is widely regarded as one of the greatest in the history of rock music.
Yet amongst all the tributes to this larger-than-life icon, it’s easy to forget that there was a father, devoted husband, and friend behind the frontman of one of the most successful rock bands of all time.
Indeed, Chester’s personal story is all too common. Suicide takes the lives of far too many and leaves a path of inconceivable sadness in its wake. According to the World Health Organization, more than 700,000 people a year die by suicide. To put that in perspective, that is a larger number of people than the populations of Washington DC, Las Vegas, et Detroit. Moreover, in the UK, the location of the author of this article, suicide is the biggest killer of men under 45.
As the world winds down from the Covid-19 pandemic, we as a species must recognize that we are in the throes of a relentless ongoing epidemic of hopelessness. The lengths that the pandemic has exacerbated this are still largely unclear. Still, all signs point to a hugely negative impact.
In the last days of santé mentale awareness month in the US, we here at Altwire propose launching an initiative to highlight the tragedy of suicide to get people to open up about their feelings and understand help is at hand through various resources. We propose boosting the single ‘One More Light’ by Linkin Park to number one to coincide with the date of Chester’s untimely passing in hopes that it will get people talking. Throughout his almost 20 years with the band, Chester always sought to give help to those who needed it. With this campaign to get One More Light to number 1, we can honor Chester Bennington’s legacy of helping others.
‘One More Light’ comes from the band’s album of the same title. The accompanying music video was released posthumously, highlighting how much Chester was loved and adored by his fans, bandmates, friends, and family. This initiative would mean purchasing the single One More Light on the week of July 11th, 2022. Doing so would mean that on the 5th anniversary of Chester’s passing, the song that touches upon the theme of death and subsequently missing a loved one is number one in the charts.
Linkin Park – One More Light official music video
We hope that this initiative can help raise awareness of this issue in some way. Likewise, this is our way of saying thank you to Chester and Linkin Park and saying we miss you, Chester. We also hope that it goes some way to say that to those who may be affected by this topic or to anyone who feels hopeless or in need of help, you are not alone.
References and resources:
American Foundation for Prevention of Suicide
Samaritans US: #(877) 870-4673 (HOPE)
Samaritans UK: #116-123
Legal Disclaimer: This initiative is not officially endorsed by Linkin Park, Warner Music, its subsidiaries, or the Bennington family. Altwire is not partnered with any of the listed charities.
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