Linkin Park, the multi-platinum Grammy Award-winning rock band that has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide, first performed in China in 2007 in Shanghai. They returned to Shanghai in 2009 before touring five Chinese cities to promote their sixth album The Hunting Party in 2015.

Shinoda said he experienced a difficult period following Bennington's passing. In a March interview with UK-based rock magazine Kerrang, Shinoda said "the idea of the studio was scary".

"It wasn't just the idea of attempting to make a song and being overwhelmed by those memories," said the 41-year-old as quoted by Kerrang. "There's another layer of fear for artists in this situation that is, 'What if I can't make anything good [without that person]?'"