Linkin Park News

(4/3/03, 4 p.m. ET) -- Linkin Park's album Meteora made its debut at Number One on the Billboard charts. The album has already sold a whopping 811,000 copies--almost 400,000 copies more than Celine Dion's album, One Heart, which also made its debut on the charts this week.

With such a fantastic debut, Meteora looks like it could repeat the phenomenal success of Linkin Park's last album, Hybrid Theory, which was the best-selling album of 2001. However, despite Linkin Park's incredible track record, the band's DJ Mr. Hahn said the numbers aren't important--it's the quality of their work and their relationship with their fans that matters most.

"We've done a body of work that we're very proud of," Mr. Hahn said. "We have our fans that we're dedicated to. As long as it reaches out to them, then we're happy--regardless of whether it's a commercial success or not. It's not as important as just being able to do this for a living."

Linkin Park will be kicking off its second annual Projekt Revolution tour on April 8 in Rochester, New York--and as a special nod to U.S. servicemen and women and their families, the band is inviting them to come as its guests to shows in cities nearest their bases.

"We feel the need to give back to these making personal sacrifices for our country," said guitarist Brad Delson in a statement. "So, we've set aside tickets in every city we're playing to invite armed-services personnel and their families to attend the shows for free."

Delson added, "Our hope is that during this difficult and challenging time, these special guests enjoy a moment of entertainment and fun."

The Projekt Revolution tour dates (subject to change):

April 8 - Rochester, NY - Blue Cross Arena

April 9 - University Park, PA - Bryce Jordan Center

April 11 - Evansville, IN - Roberts Stadium

April 12 - Memphis, TN - Mid South Coliseum

April 13 - New Orleans, LA - Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena

April 15 - El Paso, TX - Don Haskins Center

April 16 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum

April 18 - Phoenix, AZ - America West Arena

April 19 - Tucson, AZ - Tucson Convention Center

April 21 - West Valley City, UT - E Center

April 22 - Nampa, ID - Idaho Center

April 23 - Spokane, WA - Spokane Arena

April 25 - Billings, MT - MetraPark Arena

April 26 - Rapid City, SD - Rushmore Plaza Civic Center

-- Darren Davis, New York

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