Nearly a year after former frontman Scott Weiland‘s death, Stone Temple Pilots may have ended their search for a new lead singer.
Entertainment Tonight reports that band members Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz have selected former X Factor finalist Jeffrey Adam Gutt to take over vocal duties. According to the show’s sources, the new STP lineup has been writing and recording for several months, and current plans call for them to tour in 2017 with a set list that includes “classic STP hits along with new songs.”
Reports of Gutt’s arrival come after months of rumors regarding the band’s future. Their previous singer, Linkin Park frontman Chester Bennington, left the lineup in 2015, and in recent weeks, it was suggested that singer John Borja had gotten the gig, although an official announcement never came — and if Entertainment Tonight‘s sources are correct, now we know why.
Gutt, who competed on The X Factor in 2013, would beat out a list of contenders that included anyone who submitted vocals through the open audition the band held through its website earlier this year. Guitarist Dean DeLeo explained the process to Rolling Stone, saying they put out the call for submissions because they believed they’d be doing themselves a “disservice if we didn’t allow all the talent that is out there to become a part of this.” While insisting they weren’t going to pick a singer just for the sake of having one, he expressed optimism that they’d find a way to move forward.
“What we’re looking for is a pretty tall order, man. We’ve had the fortune of playing with some of the greatest and most talented singers out there,” DeLeo argued. “Robert, Eric and I know what we want, and, like I said earlier, when that person walks into a room, we’ll know.”
