"Hurricane" is a song written by American rock band

Thirty Seconds to Mars Thirty Seconds to Mars (commonly stylized as 30 Seconds to Mars) is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, formed in 1998. The band consists of brothers Jared Leto (lead vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards) and Shannon Leto (drums, pe ...

that is featured on their third studio album, ''

This Is War ''This Is War'' is the third studio album by American rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars, released on December 8, 2009 through Virgin Records. It was the band's first studio album in four years, after the breakthrough of their previous work, ''A ...

''. The song was written by lead vocalist and songwriter

Jared Leto Jared Joseph Leto ( ; born December 26, 1971) is an American actor and musician. Known for his method acting in a variety of roles, he has received numerous accolades over a career spanning three decades, including an Academy Award and a Golde ...

and produced by Leto,

Flood A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrol ...

and Steve Lilywhite. There are two versions of this song, one of which is included on the album and another which is a collaboration with rapper

Kanye West Ye ( ; born Kanye Omari West ; June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and fashion designer. Born in Atlanta and raised in Chicago, West gained recognition as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records in the ea ...

, titled "Hurricane 2.0". "Hurricane" was awarded Best Single at the

Kerrang! Awards 2011 The Kerrang! Awards 2011 were held in London, England, on 9 June 2011, at The Brewery in Romford and were hosted by Slipknot singer Corey Taylor and Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian. On 4 May 2011, ''Kerrang!'' announced the 2011 nominees. The ma ...

. The thirteen-minute music video, directed by Leto under the pseudonym Bartholomew Cubbins, garnered controversy when it premiered on November 29, 2010. It was banned by

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

because of its sexual content. An edited version, however, was put on heavy rotation on

MTV2 MTV2 (formerly M2) is an American pay television Cable television, channel owned by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. The channel launched initially as an all-music video service, once the original MTV had started to sh ...

Background and recording

Leto wrote the piano ballad "Hurricane" in winter 2007 whilst in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

. In an interview, Jared said the following about the song:

Music video

The video, which runs for 13 minutes and 10 seconds and was directed by Leto under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Bartholomew Cubbins, premiered on MTV on November 29, 2010. The experimental short film is 12 minutes long and contains excerpts from the tracks "Escape" and "Night of the Hunter." It takes place in what is believed to be a dream, and explores a violent and sexual world where 30 Seconds to Mars are stalked and attacked by various figures known as "The Gimps", while a bisexual female couple known as Shae and Sunisa engage in sexual bondage activities with Jared while he is confronted by hallucinations. Jared spends the entire video shirtless and being chased by a sledgehammer-wielding killer obsessed with trying to kill him. Shannon battles with a woman, who shares romantic feelings for him, ending with a kiss. Tomo, who liberates a woman from her abuser (who is also Jared's stalker), receives a key as a gift. He composes the orchestral score of the song with three identical copies of himself.

Controversy

The music video for the song was banned by MTV and several other TV channels around the world. The video was

censored Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

and banned because of its elements of violence, nudity, and sex in an almost pornographic context. On November 28, 2010, Jared Leto posted a letter from an unnamed network about the censorship of the video on his blog. The list features the offending scenes, such as a woman running her finger on the anus of another

G-string A G-string is a type of thong, a narrow piece of fabric, leather, or satin that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a waistband around the hips. A G-string can be worn both by men and by women. It may al ...

clad woman, which was classified as "restricted". Another offensive scene is the Rabbi, Priest, and Monk burning religious books. It was these two shots which had made the video completely restricted. The video is still available online with a viewing certificate of 18+. The video uses the version of the song without

, hence West does not make an appearance in the video.

Hurricane 2.0

"Hurricane 2.0" is a song written by American rock band

that is featured on their third studio album, ''

'' (deluxe version), which was released as the fourth single from the album in November 2010. The song, produced by

and Thirty Seconds to Mars, features vocals from American rapper

. This version only appears on the deluxe version. The latter has a variation in certain parts of the track.

Background and recording

During May 2009, Kanye West posted a photo of himself,

Brandon Flowers Brandon Richard Flowers (born June 21, 1981) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and philanthropist, best known as the lead singer, keyboardist, and occasional bassist of the Las Vegas-based rock band the Killers. In addition to his w ...

(the frontman of

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

), and Jared Leto together and announced that he and Leto were working together on a song named "Hurricane". This collaboration was only included on an early version of "Hurricane", and West's work did not make it onto the album. Leto said that he, West's vocal contribution to the song was ultimately removed because of legal issues surrounding the rights of each record company. Although it was not released on the original pressing of the album, Leto has said the track will be heard eventually. The early leaked versions of the album had the version of "Hurricane" featuring Kanye West included. The deluxe version of ''This Is War'' included this version of the song as its first bonus track, retitled "Hurricane 2.0".

Charts

References

External links

Hurricane Video Clip
{{authority control Thirty Seconds to Mars songs 2010 singles Songs written by Jared Leto Song recordings produced by Flood (producer) Music videos directed by Jared Leto Virgin Records singles 2009 songs Music video controversies 2000s ballads Rock ballads