Twenty One Pilots
| Twenty One Pilots | |
|---|---|
 Twenty One Pilots performing in Columbus, Ohio | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Westerville, Ohio, United States |
| Genres | Indie pop, alternative rock, indietronica, rap rock, alternative hip-hop |
| Years active | 2009-present |
| Labels | Fueled by Ramen |
| Website | twentyonepilots.com |
| Members |
Tyler Joseph Josh Dun |
| Past members |
Nick Thomas Chris Salih |
Twenty One Pilots (stylized as twenty | one | pilots) is an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. The band was formed in 2009 and consists of Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun. [1] They put out two self-released albums, Twenty One Pilots in 2009 and Regional at Best in 2011, before being signed by Fueled by Ramen in 2012.[2] They released their first Fueled by Ramen full-length album, Vessel, in 2013.[3]
History
2009-2011: Formation and Twenty One Pilots
The band was formed in 2009 in Columbus, Ohio by college friends, Tyler Joseph, Nick Thomas, and Chris Salih.[2][4] Joseph came up with the band's name while studying All My Sons by Arthur Miller, a play about a man who must decide what is best for his family after causing the death of twenty one pilots during World War II because he knowingly sent them faulty parts for the good of his business. Joseph explains that this story of moral dilemma was the inspiration for the name of the band.[5] On December 29, 2009, they released their debut, self-titled album and began touring Ohio.
In 2010, the band released two officially unreleased tracks to their SoundCloud account. One, an original song, entitled "Time to Say Goodbye,"[6] and a cover version of "Jar of Hearts"[7] by Christina Perri. Though they were originally available for free download, the option has since been removed.
In mid 2011, Thomas and Salih sequentially left due to busy schedules and Joseph was joined by Josh Dun.[4] Both posted farewell notes on the band's official Facebook page.[8][9]
2011-2012: Regional at Best and Fueled By Ramen record deal
Their second self-release, Regional at Best, was released July 8, 2011 with the new lineup consisting of only Joseph and Dun. The album was accompanied by a free CD release show on the grounds of New Albany High School. In November 2011, they played a sold out show at Columbus' Newport Music Hall attracting the attention of a dozen record labels. [10] Although many labels fought over the band, it was ultimately decided that they would sign to the Atlantic Records subsidiary label Fueled by Ramen.
On February 11, 2012, the band released a music video on YouTube for an unreleased song called "Goner." Besides the video, the song is still entirely and officially, unreleased.
2012-present: Vessel, Television debut and fourth album
In April 2012, at a sold out show at the Lifestyle Communities Pavilion, they announced their signing to Atlantic Records subsidiary label Fueled by Ramen.[4] On July 17, 2012, they released their debut Fueled by Ramen recording in the form of a three song EP, entitled Three Songs. In August 2012, they embarked on a short tour with Neon Trees and Walk the Moon.[10] They worked with Greg Wells, producer of Adele and Katy Perry, on their first full-length album on the record label Fueled by Ramen, Vessel.[11] It was released January 8, 2013 and reached 58 on the Billboard 200, 42 on the Digital Albums chart, 17 on the Internet Albums chart, 15 on the Rock Albums Chart and 10 on the Alternative Albums Chart.[12]
The group currently has their first radio hit in America, "Holding on to You", which has reached 11 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart; additionally, the singles "Guns for Hands" and "Lovely" reached 21 and 67, respectively, on the Japan Hot 100.[12]
On November 12, 2012, the official music video for "Holding on to You" was released on YouTube. Sequentially in 2013, music videos for "Guns for Hands" and "Car Radio" were uploaded on January 7 and April 19.
In May 2013, Fall Out Boy announced that Twenty One Pilots will be touring as opening acts on the Save Rock and Roll Arena Tour the following Fall.[13]
On August 8, 2013, Twenty One Pilots performed "House of Gold" on Conan in their late night debut. On Oct 2, 2013 the music video for "House of Gold" was uploaded to YouTube.
On November 30, 2013, Tyler Joseph told Rolling Stone in a post-show interview that the duo had started work on their new album, and added that it would have a "chilled-out and mysterious" sound to it. "It's the kind of album, we think, that would give you shivers down your spine, or something to that effect, if you were driving alone in the dark", he said. "It'll have sort of a chilled-out, mysterious vibe to go with it." In the same interview, Dun confirmed that the two would extend their touring for Vessel through the first quarter of the new year. Additionally, the band's producer, Greg Wells, has stated on several occasions that 'big things' are coming for Twenty One Pilots.
On December 31, 2013, New Years Eve, the music video for Twenty One Pilots' song, "Truce," was uploaded to YouTube.
Band members
- Current
- Tyler Joseph - lead vocals, piano, ukulele, keytar, synthesizer (2009–present)
- Josh Dun - drums (2011–present)
- Former
- Nick Thomas - bass guitar, keyboard (2009-2011)
- Chris Salih - drums (2009-2011)[14]
Musical style
Twenty One Pilots bring a mix of piano (sometimes an electronic keyboard or a keytar), synthesizer, drums (also mixed with electronic drums some parts), and vocals. Their songs are poetry-based (written by Tyler),[15] and when his poetry is too long he stated that he needs to start rapping to fit the lyrics in.[16]
People typically have trouble affiliating the band to a specific genre to describe them, since they bridge so many. However, many fans have labeled them "Schizophrenic pop" (also known as Schizoid pop), a technically unofficial subgenre of pop.
Although many of their songs contain allusions to Christian theology and have messages (even if implied) about God, and all members of the band (past and present) are Christians, Twenty One Pilots is not considered a Christian band.[17]
Discography
Studio albums
| Album Title | Album details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] |
US Alt [12] |
US Rock [12] | |||||||||||
| Twenty One Pilots[18] |
|
— | — | — | |||||||||
| Regional at Best[19] |
|
— | — | — | |||||||||
| Vessel[20] |
|
58 | 10 | 15 | |||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Extended plays
| Album Title | Album details | Chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] | |||||||||||||
| Three Songs EP[21] |
|
— | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [12] |
US Rock [12] |
US Alt [12] |
US Rock Airplay [12] |
JP [12] | |||||||||
| "Holding on to You" | 2012 | — | 33 | 10 | 32 | — | Vessel | ||||||
| "Guns for Hands" | 2013 | — | — | — | — | 21 | |||||||
| "Lovely" | — | — | — | — | 67 | Regional at Best | |||||||
| "House of Gold" | — | 38 | 10 | 18 | — | Vessel | |||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
Awards
A select list of Twenty One Pilots' awards and nominations.
| Year | Recipient | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "Holding On To You" | MTV Video Music Award – Artist to Watch[22] | style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated |
| 2013 | Twenty One Pilots | MTV Europe Music Awards - Best Push Act[23] | style="background: #FDD; color: black; vertical-align: middle; text-align: center; " class="no table-no2"|Nominated |
References
- ↑ "iTunes Music Twenty One Pilots". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Twenty One Pilots Biography Billboard". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ Review of Vessel, Allmusic
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 "With debut album set for release, Columbus duo Twenty One Pilots poised to break out". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ "About twenty one pilots". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ "Time to Say Goodbye" on SoundCloud
- ↑ "Jar of Hearts" cover on SoundCloud
- ↑ "Nick Thomas' Farewell Letter". Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ↑ "Chris Salih's Farewell Letter". Retrieved 31 December 2013.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Review twenty one pilots Regional at Best". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ "Twenty One Pilots - Music, Biography, Credits and Discography: AllMusic". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 12.9 12.10 "Twenty One Pilots Chart History Billboard". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ "Twenty One Pilots added to Fall Out Boy arena tour". Alternative Press. 13 May 2013. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
- ↑ "Albums by twenty one pilot". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ Interview: twenty one pilots; The National Student, 9 April 2013
- ↑ Twenty One Pilots – More Than ‘Regional at Best’; Cornerstone, 20 February 2012
- ↑ With debut album set for release, Columbus duo Twenty One Pilots poised to break out; The Columbus Dispatch, 18 October 2012
- ↑ "iTunes Music Twenty One Pilots by Twenty One Pilots". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ "Regional at Best by twenty one pilots". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ "iTunes Music Vessel by Twenty One Pilots". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ "iTunes Music Three Songs by Twenty One Pilots". Retrieved 2013-02-01.
- ↑ MTV artist to watch: TWENTY ONE PILOTS with FIVE KNIVES and KALEIDO at the Crofoot Ballroom; The Croofoot, 5 October 2013
- ↑ MTV - Best Push - Vote; MTV
External links
- Official website
- Official Tumblr
- Twenty One Pilots on Twitter
- Video Interview - Reading Festival 2013 - Hit The Floor Magazine
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