Chester Bennington Tribute: JAY-Z Honors Linkin Park Singer At V Festival

JAY-Z performed songs from his latest album, “4:44,” for the first time in the U.K. Saturday night, but the new tracks weren’t what fans were talking about after the show. The rapper ended his set with a tribute to Linkin Park’s late lead singer, Chester Bennington.

At Virgin V Festival, JAY-Z was the headliner. As he was ending his set at Hylands Park in Chelmsford, England, he asked for most of the stage lights to be turned down and asked the fans to raise their phones. “Can you guys light it up tonight for Chester?” he asked the audience.

He requested they sing along and cheer too. “Please make some noise so he can hear you all the way in heaven tonight,” JAY-Z said.

He played “Numb/Encore,” a track from Linkin Park’s collaboration with the Tidal founder. The musicians released “Collision Course,” a 2004 EP with several of their songs mashed together. “Numb/Encore” went on to win best rap/sung collaboration at the 2006 Grammys.

Watch JAY-Z’s performance below:

Chester Bennington died July 20 at the age of 41. Despite conspiracy theories running rampant on the internet, the singer’s death certificate confirmed that he used a belt to hang himself. Over 200 friends and family members attended his private funeral in Rancho Palos Verdes, California.

Bennington’s friends in the music industry have been paying tribute since his suicide. Coldplay’s Chris Martin (who has also collaborated with JAY-Z) played “Crawling” at a New Jersey concert earlier this month. Pop singer Kiiara chose newer tracks, “Battle Symphony” and “Heavy,” for her tribute in New York last month.

Jared Leto and his band Thirty Seconds to Mars went with a lesser-known Linkin Park song when they played “Alibi” at a show in Wantagh, New York in July. Leto gave a speech about how meaningful his friendship with Bennington had been.

“It’s funny. I learned a lot watching him live his life,” Leto told the audience. “He taught me so much, and when I close my eyes and think about him, I think about his face which was always smiling. I think about his heart, which he wore on his sleeve. I think about how kind he treated me, my brother, the band. I think about what he taught me about pursuing your dreams, pursuing your passion relentlessly, but at the same time being able to have an incredible family.”

Bennington’s own bandmates have not taken the stage since his death. Bennington’s suicide came just a week before the singer was supposed to start the “One More Light” tour with Linkin Park. The band was set to play over 25 concerts around North America, but the gigs were all canceled in the wake of Bennington’s death.

Blink-182 also canceled concerts that they planned with Linkin Park, called “Blinkin Park.” “Blink-182 is wrecked by the loss of our friend and amazing musician Chester Bennington,” the band wrote on Twitter. “We could never imagine playing ‘Blinkin Park’ without his incredible talent and voice. It just would not be possible.”

There may be one last Chester Bennington performance that fans can see. The late singer filmed an episode of “Carpool Karaoke” before his death. “Late Late Show” host James Corden has opted to let Bennington’s family decide if the show will air.

“We will approach it in whichever manner his family or the people that were involved in that episode, however they would like it to be handled,” Corden told the Associated Press. “We consider it not our decision to make. We will navigate it as delicately as possible and just adhere to whatever wishes they would want because I don’t think there’s any other way we could deal with it, really.”

Bennington is survived by his wife Talinda Bentley as well as his six children.