Mike Shinoda (Linkin Park) Shares New Video for ‘Happy Endings,’ ft. Ian Diorr & Upsahl

“Happy Endings” is the name of a new single from Linkin Park‘s Mike Shinoda, who’s kept plenty busy over the past year or so with regular Twitch streaming events and a heavy online presence connecting him with his legions of fans on the internet.

The new track features young rapper/musician Ian Diorr and Taylor Upsahl (better known by her stage name UPSAHL), two rising young music stars. The end result is an interesting and memorable collaboration, and the song is rising on the alternative radio charts, where it’s currently the No. 1 most added new track:

Shinoda launched this latest project in the form of an NFT auction, NFT referring to a “non-fungible token,” a form of cryptocurrency. Per a news release:

Last month, Shinoda paved the way for “Happy Endings” via social media, Twitch, and cryptocurrency authorities. Teasing out its impending arrival in groundbreaking fashion, he became “the first major label artist to launch a single via NFT auction.” The 75-second clip immediately piqued interest among fans and tastemakers; the final top 10 bidders each received an original print of the single artwork signed by Shinoda and contemporary artist Cain Caser. Proceeds from the auction benefitted ArtCenter College of Design.

I just uploaded the #NFTs of the illustration from this morning’s @Twitch stream—1.) as a still image and 2.) as a time lapse clip on @ourZORA. Let’s see which one is more valuable / if someone decides to collect them both. Check them out here:https://t.co/nxirMUKdTL

— Mike Shinoda (@mikeshinoda) March 9, 2021

Mike Shinoda released a few instrumental albums throughout 2020, featuring collaborations with fans he interacted with during his Twitch streams … as he’s clearly interested in keeping busy any way he can, despite all the obstacles that the year threw at everybody.

Should “Happy Endings” be the preview of a new proper studio album, it’d be Shinoda’s first since 2018’s Post Traumatic, which was an emotional collection of songs that came about after the 2017 death of his Linkin Park band mate, Chester Bennington.