Linkin Park to Play the VMAs

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Linkin Park will perform their new single "The Catalyst" on this year's MTV Video Music Awards, broadcasting live from Los Angeles, September 12th, with Chelsea Handler as host. "After two years of working on our new album, we're looking forward to sharing our first live performance of new music with our fans," singer Chester Bennington says in a statement. "The Catalyst" is the first single off the band's fourth album A Thousand Suns, due out two days after the VMAs, on September 14th. Linkin Park previously performed at 2001 VMAs ("One Step Closer") and the 2007 VMAs in Las Vegas ("Bleed It Out").

Linkin Park join a roster of performers that includes Eminen, Kanye West, Drake, Justin Bieber, B.o.B, Paramore, Usher and Florence + The Machine. Robyn, Travie McCoy and Jason Derulo will perform in combination with Deadmau5, the DJ. Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Ke$ha, Trey Songz and Ne-Yo will be among the artists presenting awards. For more on host Chelsea Handler, be sure to check out the new issue of Rolling Stone, on stands tomorrow.

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Song Stories

“He Will Break Your Heart”

Jerry Butler | 1960

A lightly swinging Latin-influenced, almost cha-cha groove and close harmonies decorated Jerry Butler's early soul hit "He Will Break Your Heart," delivering a stately warning that his rival would never love his girl like he did. The melody came to Butler as he was driving on the highway from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to Philadelphia with Curtis Mayfield, and as Butler told Rolling Stone, "I just sang the melody and Curtis put the chords to it." The song's premise, Butler added, "was something that I'd lived ...The lyric was an experience rather than a revelation. Whereas music is usually a revelation."

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