The Hype (Twenty One Pilots song)

Summary

"The Hype" is a song written and recorded by American musical duo Twenty One Pilots from their fifth studio album Trench (2018). The song was released as the sixth and final single from Trench on July 16, 2019, by Fueled by Ramen and Elektra Music Group.[3] The track was written by lead singer Tyler Joseph, with production being handled by himself and Paul Meany. The song's lyrics discuss perseverance and loyalty. "The Hype" reached a peak of number 3 on the US Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart.

"The Hype"
Single by Twenty One Pilots
from the album Trench
ReleasedJuly 16, 2019
Recorded2017–2018
Studio
Genre
Length4:25
LabelFueled by Ramen
Songwriter(s)Tyler Joseph
Producer(s)
Twenty One Pilots singles chronology
"Chlorine"
(2019)
"The Hype"
(2019)
"Level of Concern"
(2020)
Music video
"The Hype" on YouTube

Composition edit

As with most of its parent album Trench, "The Hype" was written by Tyler Joseph, the lead singer of Twenty One Pilots, and produced by him alongside Paul Meany of the alternative rock band Mutemath. The songwriting process and recording took place in secret in Joseph's basement studio in Columbus, Ohio, while the track was mixed by Adam Hawkins and mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, New York City.[4][1] In an interview with Coup de Main Magazine, Joseph revealed that while writing the track, he intended for its production to sound like that of which he found in his childhood.[5] In an AMA on Reddit, he disclosed that the track was among the hardest to write on Trench.[6]

"The Hype" has been described as a 90s-style rock, indie rock and alternative rock "chant-along" featuring a ukulele bridge. Lyrically, it explores themes of perseverance, loyalty and the weight of fame.[7][8][9] Joseph explained that its lyrics address his younger self, discussing "the difference between internal pressure and external pressure," and described the track as "just an encouragement to keep going, to let things roll off your back that deserve to be put aside." He further added in an interview with Kerrang! that it reflects on the fragility of a song and how "a single comment can completely change it."[10] A clip from the first episode of their web series documenting their tour in support of their second album Regional at Best is sampled during the bridge, with the audio snippet relating to their reliance on technology during live shows, following the departure of the band's two original members, Chris Salih and Nick Thomas.[11]

Music video edit

On July 26, 2019, Twenty One Pilots published an official music video for "The Hype" on YouTube. The video starts off with Tyler Joseph standing in the middle of a road. He opens a flap on his shirt and reveals a screen behind it. The camera zooms in on the screen, and the screen appears to be playing a video. There is a house on the screen, the video then zooms in on the window of the house, and the duo is performing the song inside. There are a few people watching and listening, as if there was a concert inside the house. After singing the chorus for the second time, Joseph climbs a ladder, opens a door in the ceiling, and gets out of the house. Then continues singing, but now he's on the roof. The video zooms out, showing that there is a much larger audience outside and they're watching Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun perform on the roof. Parts of the roof start exploding, creating holes, and Joseph falls through the roof. He then sings the final lyrics to the song inside the house. While Josh is playing the final instrumental part, the pieces of all the broken objects in the room start flying around and merging with the other pieces, which repairs all of the broken objects. Joseph walks over to a painting and uses yellow tape to secure it to the wall. The video ends with Joseph closing the flap on his shirt and Dun giving him a cup filled with a strawberry drink.

The video has garnered over 75 million views on YouTube as of May 2023.

Critical reception edit

"The Hype" was positively received by music critics. Gary Ryan of NME opined that "The Hype" was one of the songs off Trench "strong enough to exist outside of any story," referring to the narrative found on the record.[12] Billboard writer Chris Payne described the song as a "jubilant, crowd-ready panorama."[13] In his review of Trench for AllMusic, Neil Z. Yeung lauded it as one of the record's "second-half highlights."[14] Stephen Keegan, writing for Hot Press, considered that the track displayed "the pop sensibilities that have earned the band their audience," additionally predicting that the track "is sure to become an alternative anthem."[15]

Track listing edit

Digital download / CD
No.TitleLength
1."The Hype"4:25

Credits and personnel edit

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Trench and Tidal.[4][16]

Recording and management

Twenty One Pilots

  • Tyler Joseph – vocals, bass, synthesizers, ukulele, organs, guitar, programming, songwriting, production
  • Josh Dun – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Additional personnel

Charts edit

Certifications edit

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[28] Gold 500,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history edit

Region Date Format Label(s) Ref.
United States July 16, 2019 Alternative [29]
August 13, 2019 Top 40 radio [30]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Carter, Emily (October 3, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots: They're back! And their journey to create Trench is a story that could only come from them..." Kerrang!. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2019 – via PressReader.
  2. ^ a b mj (September 7, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Tracks Songs for "Trench" at United Recording". United Recording Studios. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  3. ^ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations". Archived from the original on July 9, 2019. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Trench (Media notes). Twenty One Pilots. Fueled by Ramen. 2018.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Riddell, Rose (February 13, 2019). "Interview: Twenty One Pilots - believe the hype". Coup de Main Magazine. Archived from the original on July 15, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  6. ^ Riddell, Rose (February 13, 2019). "Here's what we learned from the twenty one pilots AMA". Alternative Press. Archived from the original on October 9, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  7. ^ Ganz, Caryn (October 15, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Want to Stay Strange". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 15, 2018. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  8. ^ Leijon, Erik (May 23, 2019). "Concert review: Twenty One Pilots reflect musically mishmashed times". montrealgazette.
  9. ^ Weingarten, Christopher R. (October 5, 2018). "Review: Twenty One Pilots Still Stressed, More Cohesive on 'Trench'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  10. ^ "Watch twenty one pilots' New Video For The Hype". Kerrang!. July 27, 2019. Archived from the original on July 27, 2019. Retrieved July 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Stumme, Clifford (June 4, 2019). "What does "The Hype" by Twenty One Pilots mean?". Archived from the original on July 26, 2019. Retrieved July 26, 2019.
  12. ^ Ryan, Gary (October 5, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots – 'Trench' review". NME. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  13. ^ Payne, Chris (October 5, 2018). "Twenty One Pilots Continue to Defy Critics on Surprisingly Cohesive 'Trench': Album Review". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  14. ^ Yeung, Neil Z. "Trench – Twenty One Pilots". AllMusic. Archived from the original on October 5, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  15. ^ Keegan, Stephen (October 30, 2018). "Album: Twenty-One Pilots, Trench". Hot Press. Archived from the original on October 31, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
  16. ^ "Trench / Twenty One Pilots – Tidal". Tidal. Archived from the original on October 11, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2019.
  17. ^ "Twenty One Pilots – The Hype" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved May 2, 2021.
  18. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  19. ^ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 201947 into search. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  20. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 20, 2019.
  21. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved July 4, 2019.
  22. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved October 1, 2019.
  23. ^ "Twenty One Pilots Chart History (Rock Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  24. ^ "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. 13 December 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  25. ^ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2019". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved December 15, 2019.
  26. ^ "Rock Airplay Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. 13 December 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2021.
  27. ^ "Hot Rock & Alternative Songs – Year-End 2020". Billboard. 2 January 2013. Retrieved December 5, 2020.
  28. ^ "American single certifications – Twenty One Pilots – The Hype". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  29. ^ "Future Releases on Alternative Radio Stations". Archived from the original on July 5, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.
  30. ^ "Top 40/M Future Releases". Archived from the original on August 11, 2019. Retrieved August 11, 2019.