Stone Temple Pilots put out the feelers, received tons of submissions and now it looks like a few lucky singers will be advancing to the next stage of the audition process as they search for a new singer.

The band revealed their amicable split with Chester Bennington last fall, with the Linkin Park vocalist realizing he couldn't devote the time required to fronting both bands. Bennington had replaced original frontman Scott Weiland after a tumultuous split, and while some may have wondered if another reunion with Weiland was in the cards, those thoughts were dashed with Weiland's death late last year.

After trying out a few singers quietly before Bennington's exit was announced, the band decided to open auditions to a wider talent pool and posted on their website where those interested could try out by sending in submissions of themselves performing "Interstate Love Song," "Vasoline" and "Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart." Fans could also see the submissions and share their thoughts on some of those trying out. Now comes word from the band that the submission process has ended via the post below:

Hi everyone.
We wanted to once again thank all of those who took the time to submit. Thank you kindly.
Those of you that put forth your top 3 candidates and singer suggestions was a great help as well. Thank you for that.
With MANY hours clocked in behind the computer, the 3 of us have chosen and are auditioning some very talented people.
Auditions will start on April 18th.
We are thrilled to get in a room with each of these very talented individuals.
Let the good times roll.
Love,
Robert, Eric, Dean

We spoke with bassist Robert DeLeo about the process earlier this year. He told us, "I think seeing them sing is the first step, and seeing what kind of talent these people have. I think it’s a matter of taking that talent and getting together with them and seeing what kind of people they are. There are many different levels to … look man, we’re going to be spending a lot of time together. It’s gonna take the right kind of person as well as the right kind of singer to really make this work on a longevity basis." DeLeo also stated that he had no preference when it came to whether the singer was an established name or an unknown, adding, "It’s just looking for greatness. I don’t really have a preference of age or color, I just want someone to have greatness."

So now the DeLeo brothers and drummer Eric Kretz will take a closer look at a select few from the audition process, get to know them better and see how they can handle the music, both newly written tracks and catalog favorites, before making their final decision. Stay tuned to see how it plays out.

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