The Stone Temple Pilots have a new voice, and it comes from a reality tv star.
The band has tapped X Factor season three runner-up Jeff Gutt — who now goes by his full name, Jeffrey Adam Gutt — as its new lead singer, ET has learned. Gutt has been working with band members Dean DeLeo, Robert DeLeo and Eric Kretz for the past few months, writing and recording new material in Redondo Beach, California.
A source tells ET that Gutt and the band members have officially begun rehearsals in Hollywood this week, and are expected to tour next year. They are expected to perform classic STP hits, along with new songs.
ET has reached out to a rep for the band for comment.
Gutt was mentored by Kelly Rowland during his X Factor stint in 2013, though he continuously impressed judges Simon Cowell, Demi Lovato and Paulina Rubio with his powerhouse covers of songs like “Creep,” “Dream On,” and “Hallelujah.” (The latter, he also performed one year earlier in a season two audition. He was cut during the bootcamp round of that competition, only to return the following year.)
The news comes nearly one year after the death of former Stone Temple Pilots frontman, Scott Weiland.
“Scott Weiland, best known as the lead singer for Stone Temple Pilots and Velvet Revolver, passed away in his sleep while on a tour stop in Bloomington, Minnesota, with his band The Wildabouts,” read an announcement on the rocker’s Instagram page. “At this time we ask that the privacy of Scott’s family be respected.”
Later, a toxicology report stated that Weiland died of mixed drug toxicity, with cocaine, ethanol, and methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) in his system. The report also called attention to Weiland’s “other significant conditions,” including atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, history of asthma and multi-substance dependence. His death was officially ruled an accident.
Weiland’s ex-wife, Mary Forsberg Weiland, penned a powerful essay in the wake of his death.
“So many people have been gracious enough to praise his gift. The music is here to stay,” she wrote. “But at some point, someone needs to step up and point out that yes, this will happen again — because as a society we almost encourage it. We read awful show reviews, watch videos of artists falling down, unable to recall their lyrics streaming on a teleprompter just a few feet away. And then we click ‘add to cart’ because what actually belongs in a hospital is now considered art.”
