American Music Band Twenty One Pilots Sit Atop Our #AOTW

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Our #AOTW today is an American music band- “the first band to see every song on two albums earns gold or platinum awards” – the first band to see every song on an album to go gold, platinum or multi-platinum twice (forbes.com July 2019). Their kind of music will make you think. It’s a band of many genres -they have refer to themselves as schizophrenic pop, an unofficial subgenre of pop. It’s a music duo group that originates from Columbus, Ohio.

 

Initially the band comprised three guys. At the early stage of the band formation in 2009, lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih first came together.  In December 2009, the three member line up released their eponymous self titled album, Twenty One Pilots, and began to tour their home state of Ohio. Previously In 2007, Joseph had recorded a solo album titled No Phun Intended in his parent’s basement. Thomas contributed guitar to several songs on the album, and collaborated on the track “Trees”, which happened to become a signature Twenty One Pilots song.

 

So in 2009 and 2011 they released two albums, Twenty One Pilots and Regional at Best. Their first album was conceptualized and recorded in the basement. In mid 2011, Thomas and Salih left the band due to increasingly busy schedules as they chose to pursue careers elsewhere. Both left messages on the band’s Facebook page, with Chris Salih announcing the addition of Josh Dun to the band, a former live drummer for House of Heroes.  In 2011, the band also released two previously unreleased tracks for free via their email news letter. However, since Thomas and Salih left, it’s been Joseph and drummer Josh Dun.

 

Twenty One Pilots band consisting Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun eventually signed a record deal with label Fueled by Ramen in 2012.  In September 2012, the band released their first single, Holding On To You before their first major release, Vessel, in January, 2013. The album peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200. They also released a Japan exclusive single, Lovely, in April -a re-recorded version of the track on Regional at Best as well as an official music video for Migraine, a UK exclusive single,  in December 2013 on YouTube and Vimeo. Their second album Blurryface, dropped in March 2015 (most successful) along with the lead single, Fairly Local, and music video. Later Tear In My Heart came through with music video before dropping their biggest song Stressed Out in April of 2015 also.

 

Blurryface was the band’s first album to reach No.1 on the Billboard 200 in November 2015. At the Billboard Music Awards 2016, the band won the awards for Top Rock Album and Top Rock Artist.

 

No. 4: Holding On To You (first single that rose to #11 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. Originally appeared on “Regional at Best” and then became the first single from “Vessel.” For many, it was their first impression of the Columbus act. It’s an emotional force of nature that Tyler Joseph clung to during one of the toughest times in his career). Around the time founding member Tyler Joseph released the Columbus band’s second album, “Regional at Best,” he was contemplating giving up on music.

 

Are you a fan? Does that song have a special place in your heart? Moving on, in June 2016, the Twenty One Pilots released Heathens, the lead single from the soundtrack to the movie Suicide Squad, more than a week early of the scheduled release date of June 24 due to the song being leaked on June 15. A music video was released also. After their Emotional Roadshow World Tour in April and a five-night hometown tour – Tour De Columbus in Columbus, Ohio in June 2017, Twenty One Pilots embarked on a yearlong hiatus in July 2017, following a series of cryptic tweets. Are they back?

 

No. 3: Heathens (off Blurryface album – the song along with Ride were both in the chart at the same time in 2016) Ride is my fav. “Oh, I’m falling, so I’m taking my time on my ride.” but heathens is bigger. Heathens was nominated at the Grammys in 2017 in the category Best Rock Performance. Also nominated in 2017 at the Billboard Music Awards under 3 categories: Top Hot 100 Song, Top Selling Song and Top Streaming Song (Video)

 

No. 2: The Hype (off the 2018 album Trench. a new video for “The Hype,” released in July 2019)

 

Twenty One Pilots resurfaced in July 11, 2018 with two new songs, Jumpsuit and Nico And The Niners and the album, Trench in October 2018 as well as a new tour titled The Bandito Tour between October 16, 2018, until June 30, 2019.

 

Twenty One Pilots Fact:
– The band name comes from the play ‘All My Sons’. Tyler studied the Arthur Miller classic in high school, in which a man is responsible for the deaths of 21 pilots after he sold faulty parts that were used in their planes.

– The songs are often poetry based, and Joseph has stated that if the poetry is too long he will start rapping to fit them in.

– Many of the songs contain allusions to and messages about Christian theology and God. However, the band is not itself considered a Christian band

– They are one of only three acts ever to have two singles simultaneously in the Billboard 100 Top

 

No. 1: Stressed Out (off their 4th album fourth album, Blurry Face of 2015). The song helped them reach platinum status and win a Grammy. This is the song that made Twenty One Pilots a mainstream sensation. It’s a hit right from the opening beat. It’s the band’s most successful song, reached #1 on the Billboard Top 40 in March 2016; went 3x Platinum in Australia, Canada, Italy and Poland. In the US it went 4x Platinum selling over four million copies.

 

ALBUMS: Twenty One Pilots (2009), Regional at Best (2011), Vessel (2013), Blurryface (2015) and Trench (2018)

 

AWARDS & NOMINATIONS: Billboard Music Awards, Grammy Awards, Guild of Music Supervisors Awards, Kids’ Choice Awards, USA, MTV Europe Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards (VMA) People’s Choice Awards, USA. (Twenty One Pilots have achieved commercial and critical success. Since 2011, they have received 90 nominations, of which they have won 30).