"The Hype" is a song written and recorded by American musical duo
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...
from their fifth studio album ''
Trench
A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches result from ero ...
'' (2018). The song was released as the sixth and final single from ''Trench'' on July 16, 2019 by
Fueled by Ramen
Fueled by Ramen LLC is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by 300 Elektra Entertainment. The label, founded in Gainesville, Florida in 1996, is now based in New York City.
History
John Janick conceived of the l ...
and
Elektra Music Group
300 Elektra Entertainment (or 3EE) is an umbrella label group owned by Warner Music Group. It exists as a merger of 300 Entertainment and Elektra Music Group, along with its respectively owned labels.
The umbrella label describes itself as " av ...
. The track was written by lead singer
Tyler Joseph
Tyler Robert Joseph (born December 1, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman for the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside bandmate Josh Dun. He has been nominated for ...
, with production being handled by himself and
Paul Meany
Paul Meany (born July 2, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music director and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and keyboardist for the alternative rock band Mutemath.
Career
While under the mon ...
. The song's lyrics discuss perseverance and loyalty. "The Hype" reached a peak of number 3 on the US ''
Billboard'' Hot Rock Songs chart.
Composition
As with most of its parent album ''
Trench
A trench is a type of excavation or in the ground that is generally deeper than it is wide (as opposed to a wider gully, or ditch), and narrow compared with its length (as opposed to a simple hole or pit).
In geology, trenches result from ero ...
'', "The Hype" was written by
Tyler Joseph
Tyler Robert Joseph (born December 1, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman for the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside bandmate Josh Dun. He has been nominated for ...
, the lead singer of
Twenty One Pilots
Twenty One Pilots (stylized in all lowercase or as twenty øne piløts) are an American musical duo from Columbus, Ohio. Initially a band, the group was formed in 2009 by lead vocalist Tyler Joseph along with Nick Thomas and Chris Salih, who ...
, and produced by him alongside
Paul Meany
Paul Meany (born July 2, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music director and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and keyboardist for the alternative rock band Mutemath.
Career
While under the mon ...
of the
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
band
Mutemath
Mutemath (sometimes styled as MuteMath or MUTEMATH) is an American alternative rock project founded by American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer Paul Meany. Originally co-founded as a band with Darren King in 2002, ...
. The songwriting process and recording took place in secret in Joseph's
basement studio in
Columbus,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, while the track was mixed by
Adam Hawkins and mastered by
Chris Gehringer
Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...
at
Sterling Sound,
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
.
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. In an
AMA on Reddit, he disclosed that the track was among the hardest to write on ''Trench''.
"The Hype" has been described as a 90s-style
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 Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
,
indie rock
Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...
and
alternative rock
Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
"chant-along" featuring a
ukulele
The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings.
The tone and volume of the instrumen ...
bridge. Lyrically, it explores themes of perseverance, loyalty and the weight of fame.
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!
''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...
'' that it reflects on the fragility of a song and how "a single comment can completely change it." 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.
Music video
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 50 million views on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
as of June 7, 2021.
Critical reception
"The Hype" was positively received by music critics. Gary Ryan of ''
NME
''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
'' 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. ''
Billboard'' writer Chris Payne described the song as a "jubilant, crowd-ready panorama."
In his review of ''Trench'' for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
, Neil Z. Yeung lauded it as one of the record's "second-half highlights."
Stephen Keegan, writing for ''
Hot Press
''Hot Press'' is a fortnightly music and politics magazine based in Dublin, Ireland, founded in June 1977. The magazine has been edited since its inception by Niall Stokes.
History
''Hot Press'' was founded in June 1977 by Niall Stokes, who co ...
'', 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."
Track listing
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Trench'' and
Tidal
Tidal is the adjectival form of tide.
Tidal may also refer to:
* ''Tidal'' (album), a 1996 album by Fiona Apple
* Tidal (king), a king involved in the Battle of the Vale of Siddim
* TidalCycles, a live coding environment for music
* Tidal (servic ...
.
Recording and management
*Published by Warner-Tamerlane publishing Corp. (
BMI) and Stryker Joseph Music (BMI)
*Recorded at
Tyler Joseph
Tyler Robert Joseph (born December 1, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman for the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside bandmate Josh Dun. He has been nominated for ...
's home studio
( Columbus, Ohio) and
United Recording Studios ( Hollywood, California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
)
*Mastered at
Sterling Sound ( New York, New York)
Twenty One Pilots
*
Tyler Joseph
Tyler Robert Joseph (born December 1, 1988) is an American singer, rapper, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman for the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside bandmate Josh Dun. He has been nominated for ...
– vocals, bass, synthesizers, ukulele, organs, guitar, programming, songwriting, production
*
Josh Dun
Joshua William Dun (born June 18, 1988) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the musical duo Twenty One Pilots, alongside Tyler Joseph, and also contributes backing vocals and trumpet to the band's work. He has collabor ...
– drums, percussion, backing vocals
Additional personnel
*
Paul Meany
Paul Meany (born July 2, 1976) is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music director and record producer. He is best known as the lead singer and keyboardist for the alternative rock band Mutemath.
Career
While under the mon ...
– synthesizers, programming, production
*
Adam Hawkins – mixing
*
Chris Gehringer
Chris Gehringer (born May 27, 1962) is an American mastering engineer, known for having mastered recordings such as Gwen Stefani's '' Love. Angel. Music. Baby.'' (2004), Rihanna's '' Loud'' (2010), Lady Gaga's '' Born This Way'' (2011) and Drake' ...
– mastering
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hype, The
2018 songs
2019 singles
Twenty One Pilots songs
American alternative rock songs
American rock songs
American indie rock songs
Songs written by Tyler Joseph